PCNSE Secure Access and VPN Practice Question
An organization uses GlobalProtect with multiple gateways for different regions. Users in the Asia region are connecting to the wrong gateway. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse gateway priority (which controls load balancing within a region) with gateway selection rules (which control which region's gateway a user connects to), leading them to incorrectly choose Option B.
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 gateway selection rules on the portal do not match the users' source IP ranges.
GlobalProtect gateway selection is primarily determined by the gateway selection rules configured on the portal. These rules evaluate the user's source IP address against defined IP ranges (or countries) to assign the appropriate gateway. If the rules do not match the users' source IP ranges in the Asia region, the portal will either fail to assign a gateway or assign a default gateway, causing users to connect to the wrong gateway.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Users are manually selecting the wrong gateway from the client.
Why it's wrong here
The scenario implies automatic assignment, not manual.
- ✗
The gateways are not configured with priority settings.
Why it's wrong here
Gateway priority is not a configuration; the portal uses rules.
- ✓
The gateway selection rules on the portal do not match the users' source IP ranges.
Why this is correct
If the source IP ranges in the rules are incorrect, users may be assigned to a non-optimal gateway.
- ✗
The DNS resolution for the portal returns multiple IPs in round-robin.
Why it's wrong here
DNS round-robin affects portal connection, not gateway assignment.
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JA
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.