- A
The reconnection interval on the portal.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Reconnection interval affects how quickly client retries, not disconnection.
- B
The idle timeout on the authentication profile.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Idle timeout affects user session, not VPN tunnel.
- C
The ping interval on the gateway.
Correct. Gateway ping interval defines how often keepalives are sent.
- D
The UDP checksum offloading on the client.
Why wrong: Incorrect. Checksum offloading causes packet corruption, not periodic disconnects.
Question 25 of 516
GlobalProtect Client Disconnects Every 10 Minutes: Ping Interval Setting
This PCNSE practice question tests your understanding of secure access and vpn. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A remote user's GlobalProtect client disconnects every 10 minutes. What setting should the administrator check?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The ping interval on the gateway.
The GlobalProtect client uses a keepalive mechanism to maintain the VPN tunnel. The ping interval on the gateway determines how often the client sends ICMP echo requests to the gateway to verify connectivity. If the ping interval is set too high or the client fails to receive responses within the configured timeout, the client may interpret the connection as lost and disconnect. A 10-minute disconnection pattern strongly suggests the ping interval or related timeout is misconfigured, causing the client to drop the tunnel after a period of inactivity.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The reconnection interval on the portal.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Reconnection interval affects how quickly client retries, not disconnection.
- ✗
The idle timeout on the authentication profile.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Idle timeout affects user session, not VPN tunnel.
- ✓
The ping interval on the gateway.
Why this is correct
Correct. Gateway ping interval defines how often keepalives are sent.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
The UDP checksum offloading on the client.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Checksum offloading causes packet corruption, not periodic disconnects.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse the reconnection interval (which controls reconnection attempts after a failure) with the ping interval (which controls keepalive pings to prevent failure), leading them to select Option A instead of the correct gateway-level keepalive setting.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The GlobalProtect gateway's ping interval (default 5 seconds) and the associated ping timeout (default 10 seconds) control the keepalive mechanism. If the gateway does not receive a ping response within the timeout, it marks the tunnel as down and initiates a disconnect. In some deployments, administrators may inadvertently set the ping interval to a very high value (e.g., 600 seconds) or disable it entirely, causing the client to assume the connection is dead after a period of silence. The 10-minute pattern could also arise from a mismatch between the gateway's ping timeout and the client's internal keepalive timer, leading to a race condition where the client drops the tunnel before the gateway expects it.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the PCNSE exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
- →
Secure Access and VPN — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Secure Access and VPN practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All PCNSE questions
516 questions across all exam domains
- →
Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer PCNSE study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
PCNSE practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Related PCNSE practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Manage, Monitor and Operate practice questions
Practise PCNSE questions linked to Manage, Monitor and Operate.
Securing Traffic and App-ID practice questions
Practise PCNSE questions linked to Securing Traffic and App-ID.
Securing Users and Applications with Authentication practice questions
Practise PCNSE questions linked to Securing Users and Applications with Authentication.
Decryption and SSL Inspection practice questions
Practise PCNSE questions linked to Decryption and SSL Inspection.
Managing Troubleshooting and High Availability practice questions
Practise PCNSE questions linked to Managing Troubleshooting and High Availability.
Deploy and Configure Firewalls practice questions
Practise PCNSE questions linked to Deploy and Configure Firewalls.
Core Concepts and Architecture practice questions
Practise PCNSE questions linked to Core Concepts and Architecture.
Secure Access and VPN practice questions
Practise PCNSE questions linked to Secure Access and VPN.
Troubleshoot practice questions
Practise PCNSE questions linked to Troubleshoot.
PCNSE fundamentals practice questions
Practise PCNSE questions linked to PCNSE fundamentals.
PCNSE scenario practice questions
Practise PCNSE questions linked to PCNSE scenario.
PCNSE troubleshooting practice questions
Practise PCNSE questions linked to PCNSE troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Start a free PCNSE practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCNSE question test?
Secure Access and VPN — This question tests Secure Access and VPN — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The ping interval on the gateway. — The GlobalProtect client uses a keepalive mechanism to maintain the VPN tunnel. The ping interval on the gateway determines how often the client sends ICMP echo requests to the gateway to verify connectivity. If the ping interval is set too high or the client fails to receive responses within the configured timeout, the client may interpret the connection as lost and disconnect. A 10-minute disconnection pattern strongly suggests the ping interval or related timeout is misconfigured, causing the client to drop the tunnel after a period of inactivity.
What should I do if I get this PCNSE question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Keep practising
More PCNSE practice questions
- Arrange the steps to enable and configure GlobalProtect on a Palo Alto Networks firewall.
- Order the steps to upgrade the PAN-OS software on a standalone firewall.
- An administrator notices that traffic from zone A to zone B is being dropped silently. Security rules are in place. Trou…
- Which component of the PAN-OS architecture is responsible for processing security policies and performing packet inspect…
- A company has configured a security policy that allows HTTP traffic from the internal network 10.0.0.0/8 to the internet…
- An organization wants to map user identity from Active Directory for traffic coming from internal LAN users without inst…
Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This PCNSE practice question is part of Courseiva's free Palo Alto Networks certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PCNSE exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.