PCNSE Practice Question: Managing Troubleshooting and High Availability
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit. admin@PA-220> show high-availability state High-Availability State: non-functional State: non-functional Reason: configuration mismatch Local: functional, sync-pending Peer: running, sync-pending Active: 10.1.1.1 Passive: 10.1.1.2 Last failure reason: configuration mismatch
Refer to the exhibit. What is the primary cause of the 'non-functional' state?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse 'non-functional' with a link failure or peer down state, but the 'non-functional' state is uniquely tied to configuration synchronization issues, not connectivity or hardware failures.
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 configuration on the two firewalls is not identical
The 'non-functional' state in a Palo Alto Networks HA pair indicates that the configuration synchronization (config sync) has failed because the configurations on the two firewalls are not identical. This is a prerequisite for HA operation; if the configurations differ, the HA pair cannot establish a functional sync state, even if HA1 and HA2 links are up.
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 configuration sync operation has failed
Why it's wrong here
No sync failure is shown; the state is mismatch, not sync failure.
- ✗
One firewall is not running
Why it's wrong here
Both show 'running'.
- ✗
HA1 link failure between 10.1.1.1 and 10.1.1.2
Why it's wrong here
The IPs are reachable as shown by the state.
- ✓
The configuration on the two firewalls is not identical
Why this is correct
Configuration mismatch directly causes non-functional state.
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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.