PCNSE Troubleshoot Practice Question
During a troubleshooting session, a user reports that they cannot access an internal web server through the firewall's public IP. The firewall is configured with destination NAT. The engineer checks the NAT policy and sees the rule is active. What should be the next step to verify the NAT is functioning correctly?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often jump to checking security policies or routing first, forgetting that the session table provides the most direct evidence of whether the NAT translation is actually being applied to the traffic.
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
✓
Check the session table to see if the NAT translation is occurring.
Checking the session table (e.g., using 'show session all' or 'show session id <id>') directly confirms whether the destination NAT (DNAT) translation is being applied to the traffic. If the session shows the original destination IP being translated to the internal server's IP, the NAT rule is functioning; if not, the issue lies elsewhere (e.g., policy order, matching conditions). This is the most immediate and definitive verification step in a Palo Alto Networks firewall.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Check the session table to see if the NAT translation is occurring.
Why this is correct
The session table shows the original and translated IPs, confirming NAT is working.
- ✗
Check the application dependency.
Why it's wrong here
Application dependency is not relevant to basic NAT functionality.
- ✗
Check the security policy for the post-NAT zone.
Why it's wrong here
Security policy is important after NAT is verified, but it does not confirm NAT operation.
- ✗
Check the routing table for the destination.
Why it's wrong here
Routing is needed for traffic flow but does not directly indicate NAT translation.
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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.