PCNSE Securing Traffic and App-ID Practice Question
An administrator is troubleshooting low throughput for a business-critical application that is identified as web-browsing instead of the custom app. The firewall is in inline mode. Which THREE potential causes should be investigated?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers assume SSL decryption is always needed for application identification, but App-ID can identify many applications without decryption using techniques like TLS fingerprinting and SNI inspection.
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The application signature is outdated.
If the application signature is outdated, the firewall may fail to identify the custom application correctly, instead classifying it as web-browsing. App-ID relies on regularly updated signatures to match application traffic; an outdated signature can cause misidentification, leading to incorrect policy application and reduced throughput for the intended application.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
SSL decryption is not enabled.
Why it's wrong here
Lack of SSL decryption may cause HTTPS traffic to be identified as ssl, not web-browsing.
- ✓
The application signature is outdated.
Why this is correct
An outdated signature may not recognize the custom application.
- ✓
The custom application uses a non-standard port.
Why this is correct
Non-standard ports can lead to fallback identification as web-browsing if not explicitly defined.
- ✓
Application Override policy is incorrectly configured.
Why this is correct
An override could force traffic to be treated as web-browsing.
- ✗
The firewall is in tap mode.
Why it's wrong here
Tap mode does not affect application identification; it only monitors traffic.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.