PCNSE Core Concepts and Architecture Practice Question
An organization wants to map user identity from Active Directory for traffic coming from internal LAN users without installing any agent on domain controllers. Which User-ID mapping method should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse Terminal Services Agent with a general agentless solution, but it is actually a specialized agent for multi-user environments, not a method for mapping standard LAN users without installing software.
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
✓
Active Directory polling
Active Directory polling is the correct method because it allows the Palo Alto Networks firewall to retrieve user-to-IP mappings directly from Active Directory domain controllers using LDAP queries, without requiring any agent installation. This method polls the security event logs on domain controllers to map authenticated users to their IP addresses, making it ideal for environments where agentless user identification is desired for internal LAN traffic.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Active Directory polling
Why this is correct
Active Directory polling retrieves user-IP mappings from domain controller logs.
- ✗
XML API
Why it's wrong here
XML API is not a User-ID method; it is used for programmatic access to the firewall.
- ✗
Terminal Services Agent
Why it's wrong here
Terminal Services Agent is for mapping users on terminal servers, not domain controllers.
- ✗
Captive Portal
Why it's wrong here
Captive Portal requires users to authenticate via a web page, not agentless AD polling.
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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.