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CCNA Network Fundamentals Questions

33 questions · Network Fundamentals · All types, answers revealed

1
MCQeasy

An administrator wants to view active sessions matching a specific source IP address (192.168.1.50) using the firewall CLI. Which command is correct?

A.show session all filter source 192.168.1.50
B.show arp filter 192.168.1.50
C.show session filter ip 192.168.1.50
D.show ip session 192.168.1.50
AnswerA

This command applies a filter to display active firewall sessions originating from the specified source IP.

Why this answer

The 'show session all filter source 192.168.1.50' command filters the active session table by source IP.

2
Multi-Selecteasy

Which TWO interface types are available when configuring physical ports on a Palo Alto Networks firewall? (Choose two)

Select 2 answers
A.WAN Accelerator
B.Layer 3
C.Switchport Trunk
D.Promiscuous Bridge
E.Virtual Wire
AnswersB, E

Layer 3 interfaces route packets between different subnets and zones.

Why this answer

PAN-OS physical interfaces can be configured in several modes, including Layer 3, Layer 2, Virtual Wire, and Tap.

3
MCQhard

A security analyst is examining a packet capture (PCAP) and observes that the TCP window size is dropping to zero during a data transfer between a client and a server through the firewall. What does a zero window size typically indicate in a TCP transmission?

A.The maximum segment size (MSS) negotiation has failed during the three-way handshake.
B.The receiver's buffer is full and it is requesting the sender to pause transmission.
C.An asymmetric routing loop has caused sequence numbers to go out of sync.
D.The firewall has blocked the session due to a security profile match.
AnswerB

The TCP window size field informs the sender how many bytes the receiver can accept; zero means the buffer is full.

Why this answer

A TCP zero window size indicates that the receiver's buffer is full and it cannot currently accept any more data, temporarily pausing transmission.

4
MCQhard

A network engineer configures OSPF on a Palo Alto Networks virtual router. Neighbors are stuck in the EXSTART/EXCHANGE state. What is the most likely cause of this issue?

A.A mismatch in OSPF area ID types (e.g., normal vs. stub)
B.Incorrect OSPF hello or dead timer intervals
C.An MTU mismatch between the OSPF neighbors
D.Authentication type or password mismatch
AnswerC

An MTU mismatch prevents the routers from agreeing on database descriptions, leaving them stuck in EXSTART/EXCHANGE.

Why this answer

Being stuck in EXSTART/EXCHANGE state in OSPF typically points to a mismatch in Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) sizes across the link or interface configuration errors.

5
MCQhard

A network security engineer observes that TCP sessions are being terminated prematurely during periods of inactivity. The default application timeout is not meeting the business requirement for a custom database application. Where should the engineer modify the session timeout for this specific application?

A.Network > Interfaces > Advanced > TCP Timeout
B.Objects > Applications > [Application Name], modifying TCP timeout settings
C.Policies > Security > Timeout Profile
D.Device > Setup > Management > Session Settings
AnswerB

Customizing the timeout directly on the Application object changes how long idle sessions are retained for that specific traffic type.

Why this answer

Application timeouts can be customized under Objects > Applications by creating or editing an application override, or by modifying timeout settings in Device > Setup > Session.

6
Multi-Selectmedium

Which THREE of the following are valid routing protocols supported natively within a PAN-OS Virtual Router? (Choose three)

Select 3 answers
A.RIP
B.EIGRP
C.OSPFv2
D.BGP
E.IS-IS
AnswersA, C, D

Routing Information Protocol (RIP) is supported in PAN-OS.

Why this answer

PAN-OS virtual routers support BGP, OSPF (v2/v3), and RIP for dynamic routing.

7
Multi-Selecthard

An administrator is troubleshooting asymmetric routing issues where packets arrive out of order or fail stateful checks. Which TWO features or settings in PAN-OS can assist in handling or mitigating asymmetric routing challenges? (Choose two)

Select 2 answers
A.Configuring a secondary DHCP scope
B.Disabling strict TCP handshake validation
C.Enabling Strict RPF (Reverse Path Forwarding)
D.Enforcing BGP Route Reflection
E.Asymmetric Path Bypass
AnswersB, E

Disabling strict TCP validation helps prevent the firewall from dropping packets that arrive out of normal sequence due to routing asymmetries.

Why this answer

Asymmetric routing can be addressed using Asymmetric Path Bypass or by modifying strict TCP enforcement settings.

8
Multi-Selecthard

An administrator is troubleshooting packet drops on a Palo Alto Networks firewall and wants to inspect dropped packets or hardware counters using CLI diagnostic tools. Which TWO commands can be used to review packet drop information? (Choose two)

Select 2 answers
A.debug session drop-history
B.show counter global filter packet-drop yes
C.show ip route drop-packets
D.show interface drop-counters all
E.show counter global filter delta yes
AnswersB, E

This command filters global counters to display active packet drops.

Why this answer

Administrators can check global packet drops using 'show counter global' and examine specific forwarding drops via hardware counter diagnostics.

9
MCQhard

A network administrator notices that asymmetric routing is occurring on a multi-path firewall deployment, causing valid TCP sessions to be dropped by the firewall. Which feature should the administrator enable to resolve this issue?

A.Loose-rpf verification under Network > Network Profiles > Zone Protection
B.TCP Extended Session Timeout in the timeout settings
C.Strict TCP Handshake validation in the Zone Protection Profile
D.Asymmetric Path Bypass under Device > Setup > Session
AnswerD

Enabling asymmetric path bypass allows the firewall to accept unexpected SYN-ACK or established packets without dropping them due to strict stateful inspection.

Why this answer

Asymmetric path bypass allows the firewall to handle packets where the return path traverses a different firewall or interface, preventing drop actions on valid out-of-order or asymmetrical streams.

10
MCQhard

An administrator is troubleshooting a packet flow issue where traffic arriving on a Layer 3 interface is being dropped. The administrator runs the command 'show counter global filter packet-drop yes' and notices an increment in counters related to 'Discard due to zone mismatch'. What does this counter typically indicate?

A.The security rule destination zone does not match the source zone.
B.The NAT policy is translating the packet to an unassigned IP address.
C.The Virtual Router has two default routes pointing to different interfaces.
D.The packet arrived on an interface belonging to a different zone than what is expected by the routing table or existing session state.
AnswerD

A zone mismatch drop occurs when traffic hits an interface whose zone association contradicts the forwarding path or session table lookup.

Why this answer

A 'zone mismatch' drop indicates that the packet's incoming interface does not belong to the security zone expected by the session or route lookup.

11
MCQmedium

A network engineer needs to configure a redundant path for outbound traffic using static routes with different metrics (administrative distances). If the primary route has a metric of 10, what metric should be assigned to the backup static route to ensure it is only used when the primary route fails?

A.A metric lower than 10 (e.g., 5)
B.A metric of 0
C.A metric higher than 10 (e.g., 20)
D.The exact same metric of 10 to enable equal-cost multi-path (ECMP)
AnswerC

A higher metric (administrative distance) makes the backup route less preferred, ensuring it is installed in the routing table only when the primary route is removed.

Why this answer

To configure a backup static route (floating static route), the metric/preference value must be higher than the primary route.

12
Multi-Selecthard

An administrator is troubleshooting a complex routing issue where traffic is not taking the expected static route. Which TWO commands can the administrator use to inspect the routing table and test route lookup for a specific destination IP address? (Choose two)

Select 2 answers
A.test routing fib_lookup ip [IP Address]
B.debug routing table dump
C.show routing route
D.show ip route summary
E.show network interface routes
AnswersA, C

This operational command simulates a Forwarding Information Base (FIB) lookup for a specific destination IP address.

Why this answer

To check routing tables and test route lookups in PAN-OS, administrators use 'show routing route' and 'test routing fib_lookup'.

13
MCQmedium

An administrator configures a Virtual Wire (VWire) interface pair on a Palo Alto Networks firewall. Traffic passing between the two VWire interfaces is intermittently failing. Upon checking, the administrator realizes VLAN tags are being stripped or not matched properly. What setting should be checked in the VWire object configuration?

A.VLAN tagging and subinterface bindings on the Virtual Wire object
B.DHCP relay agent configuration
C.Virtual Router next-hop IP addresses
D.NAT Destination translation rules
AnswerA

Virtual Wire subinterfaces must be properly configured to match tagged frames traversing the transparent wire.

Why this answer

Virtual Wire objects support VLAN normalization or VLAN tagging options, and subinterfaces or VWire tags must match expected frame tags.

14
MCQmedium

An engineer is configuring a new Layer 3 interface on a Palo Alto Networks firewall and needs to ensure that the interface responds to ICMP echo requests for diagnostic purposes. Where must the administrator enable this setting?

A.A Security Policy rule with an application of 'ping'
B.An Interface Management Profile assigned to the interface
C.A Zone Protection Profile applied to the egress zone
D.The Device > Setup > Management tab
AnswerB

An Interface Management Profile controls which management services, such as ping (ICMP), are permitted on a specific interface.

Why this answer

Management Profile (or Interface Management Profile) allows administrators to permit or deny specific management traffic like ping, SSH, or HTTPS on specific interfaces.

15
MCQeasy

An administrator needs to configure a static route on a Palo Alto Networks firewall so that traffic destined for a remote subnet (192.168.10.0/24) reaches its next-hop router (10.0.0.1). Which menu path must the administrator navigate to configure this?

A.Device > Setup > Operations > Routing
B.Network > Interfaces > Ethernet > Static Route
C.Network > Virtual Routers > [Virtual Router Name] > Static Routes
D.Policies > Routing > Static
AnswerC

Static routes are managed directly inside the configuration of the specific Virtual Router.

Why this answer

Static routes are configured under Network > Virtual Routers, selecting the specific virtual router instance, and then adding a static route entry.

16
MCQeasy

An administrator is configuring a new Layer 2 subinterface on a Palo Alto Networks firewall and needs to associate it with an existing VLAN ID. Where is the VLAN tag specified for a Layer 2 subinterface?

A.In the Tag field of the Layer 2 interface configuration
B.Within the DHCP Server IP pool configuration
C.In the Virtual Router general settings
D.Inside the Zone Protection Profile assigned to the interface
AnswerA

The Tag field specifies the 802.1Q VLAN ID for the Layer 2 interface.

Why this answer

When configuring a Layer 2 subinterface or interface in PAN-OS, the tag/VLAN ID is defined directly within the interface configuration settings.

17
Multi-Selecthard

An administrator is analyzing firewall packet flow and session behavior. Which THREE criteria are evaluated by the Palo Alto Networks firewall to uniquely identify and create a session? (Choose three)

Select 3 answers
A.Destination IP address
B.Virtual Router Metric value
C.IP Protocol number
D.Source IP address
E.MAC address of the egress switch
AnswersA, C, D

Destination IP is a fundamental component of the session 5-tuple.

Why this answer

Palo Alto Networks firewalls create sessions based on session 5-tuple parameters: Source IP, Destination IP, Source Port, Destination Port, and Protocol.

18
Multi-Selecteasy

Which TWO protocols are commonly used for device management and administrative access on a Palo Alto Networks firewall management plane? (Choose two)

Select 2 answers
A.FTP
B.Telnet
C.SSH
D.HTTP
E.HTTPS
AnswersC, E

SSH is used for secure CLI management access.

Why this answer

SSH and HTTPS are standard secure protocols used for CLI and GUI management access.

19
Multi-Selectmedium

An administrator needs to configure static routing on a PAN-OS Virtual Router. Which THREE parameters are required when defining a static route entry? (Choose three)

Select 3 answers
A.BGP Autonomous System Number
B.OSPF Area ID
C.Next-hop (IP address or interface)
D.Destination subnet (IP prefix)
E.Route Name
AnswersC, D, E

The next-hop specifies where the firewall should forward matching traffic.

Why this answer

A static route requires a destination subnet, a next-hop specification (IP address or interface), and a route name/destination identifier.

20
MCQmedium

An administrator is setting up a Site-to-Site IPsec VPN tunnel on a Palo Alto Networks firewall. The VPN tunnel comes up, but traffic from the local subnet cannot reach the remote subnet. Upon checking the IPsec SA status, the phase 2 security associations are active. What is the most likely cause of the traffic failure?

A.A mismatch in Proxy IDs between the local and remote peers
B.Lifetime expiration in Phase 1 negotiation
C.DHCP relay configuration on the tunnel interface
D.Phase 1 Encryption algorithm mismatch (e.g., AES-256 vs AES-128)
AnswerA

If Proxy IDs (subnet selectors) do not match on both ends of an IKEv1 IPsec tunnel, traffic matching the local policy will be dropped by the crypto engine.

Why this answer

IPsec Phase 2 SAs being active means the tunnel is established, but if traffic fails, proxy IDs (or IKEv2 selectors) might not match, or security rules/routing are misconfigured.

21
MCQhard

A network security analyst is troubleshooting intermittent packet drops on a high-speed trunk interface connected to a core switch. The interface is configured as Layer 3 with 1 Gbps speed and full duplex. The switch port is also set to 1 Gbps full duplex. However, FCS (Frame Check Sequence) errors are incrementing rapidly. What is the most probable cause?

A.An incorrect Zone Protection Profile flooding threshold
B.Physical layer issues such as damaged cabling, bad SFP transceivers, or electromagnetic interference
C.A mismatch in Virtual Router metric values
D.Incorrect TCP MSS adjustment on the Layer 3 interface
AnswerB

FCS errors are generated when frames arrive corrupted at the physical layer, pointing to faulty cabling, connectors, or SFPs.

Why this answer

Incrementing FCS errors and CRC errors on an Ethernet interface typically indicate physical layer issues such as bad cabling, duplex mismatches (though both set to full), or physical media degradation.

22
MCQeasy

An administrator is troubleshooting a connectivity issue between a host and a server across a Palo Alto Networks firewall. The administrator needs to verify whether the firewall is dropping the packets due to a security rule denial. Which CLI command should the administrator use to monitor packet drops in real time?

A.show system resources
B.show session all
C.show counter global filter packet-drop yes
D.show interface all
AnswerC

This command correctly filters global counters to display only those related to packet drops.

Why this answer

The command 'show counter global filter packet-drop yes' allows administrators to view global packet drop counters in real time, which is essential for troubleshooting traffic drops on the firewall.

23
MCQmedium

A network engineer configures Equal-Cost Multi-Path (ECMP) routing on a Palo Alto Networks virtual router with two paths to the same destination. By default, how does PAN-OS select which path to use for a given session?

A.Round-robin packet by packet
B.Based on a hash of session parameters (IP addresses, ports, and protocol)
C.Random selection for every individual packet
D.Based on the lowest interface latency measured by ICMP probes
AnswerB

ECMP path selection in PAN-OS hashes session 5-tuple parameters to ensure packets belonging to the same session always traverse the same path while balancing sessions across links.

Why this answer

By default, PAN-OS uses a hash algorithm based on session characteristics (such as source IP, destination IP, source port, destination port, and protocol) to distribute ECMP traffic.

24
MCQeasy

An administrator needs to test DNS resolution from the Palo Alto Networks firewall command line interface (CLI) to ensure the management plane can reach external name servers. Which command should be used?

A.test dns-server [hostname]
B.nslookup target [hostname]
C.ping host [hostname]
D.show dns-cache
AnswerC

The 'ping host' command resolves the hostname via DNS and initiates ICMP echo requests.

Why this answer

The 'ping host' or operational command utility allows testing connectivity and DNS resolution from the firewall.

25
MCQhard

An administrator configures Dynamic NAT on a Palo Alto Networks firewall using a pool of public IP addresses. After implementation, some internal clients intermittently fail to establish outbound connections. Upon reviewing traffic logs, the administrator notes that the NAT translation pool has exhausted all available ports for a specific source IP. Which feature should be enabled or adjusted to prevent this port exhaustion?

A.Change the NAT type from Source NAT to Static Destination NAT.
B.Enable Universal NAT without port mapping.
C.Disable stateful inspection on the security rule.
D.Add additional public IP addresses to the NAT translation pool or enable DIPP block allocation.
AnswerD

Expanding the NAT pool or utilizing DIPP block allocation ensures more ports are available or efficiently distributed.

Why this answer

Port exhaustion in dynamic IP and port NAT can be mitigated by adding more IP addresses to the NAT pool, enabling destination IP translation, or adjusting port allocation settings.

26
Multi-Selecteasy

An administrator is configuring a new Layer 3 interface on a Palo Alto Networks firewall. Which TWO parameters must be defined for the interface to function correctly in a routed network? (Choose two)

Select 2 answers
A.IP Address
B.Security Zone
C.DHCP Server Scope
D.MAC Address Override
E.Virtual Wire Pair Identifier
AnswersA, B

A Layer 3 interface requires at least one IP address to route traffic.

Why this answer

A Layer 3 interface requires an IP address and a Security Zone association to participate in routing and security inspection.

27
MCQmedium

An administrator has configured BGP on a Palo Alto Networks virtual router, but the BGP peers are stuck in the 'Idle' state. What is the most likely configuration error causing this status?

A.An incorrect peer AS number or incorrect peer IP address configuration
B.An AS-path loop detection trigger
C.MD5 authentication password mismatch during OPEN message exchange
D.BGP route reflection timer expiration
AnswerA

Incorrect peer IP addresses or configuration errors prevent the TCP connection from initiating, keeping BGP in the Idle state.

Why this answer

A BGP peer stuck in 'Idle' often indicates that the peer IP address is incorrect, the peering interface is down, or routing to the peer cannot be established.

28
Multi-Selectmedium

An administrator is configuring OSPF on a Palo Alto Networks virtual router. Which THREE parameters must match between OSPF routers for an adjacency to form successfully? (Choose three)

Select 3 answers
A.Process ID
B.Hello and Dead timer intervals
C.Router ID
D.Authentication type and password
E.Area ID
AnswersB, D, E

Hello and dead timers must match exactly for neighbors to maintain adjacency.

Why this answer

OSPF neighbors must have matching Area ID, Hello/Dead intervals, and authentication parameters (if enabled) to form an adjacency.

29
MCQeasy

An administrator needs to verify the MAC address associated with a specific IP address on the local network segment using the firewall CLI. Which command should be executed?

A.show mac-table all
B.show interface ip
C.show arp all
D.show routing route
AnswerC

The 'show arp' command displays the current ARP table entries on the firewall.

Why this answer

The 'show arp' command displays the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) table, mapping IP addresses to MAC addresses.

30
MCQhard

An administrator is troubleshooting a scenario where BGP routes learned from a peer are not being installed in the Virtual Router's routing table. Upon checking the BGP routing table ('show routing protocol bgp rib-in'), the routes are visible, but they are marked as not best. What is the most common reason for a learned BGP route not to be selected as the best path?

A.The firewall's management plane CPU is exceeding 90% utilization.
B.The next-hop IP address advertised by the BGP peer is unreachable in the routing table.
C.The BGP peer is configured in a different autonomous system.
D.The Virtual Router does not have OSPF enabled.
AnswerB

If the next-hop IP address cannot be resolved in the routing table (recursive lookup failure), BGP marks the route as invalid or not best.

Why this answer

BGP route selection depends on attributes like weight, local preference, AS-path length, origin, and MED. If a route is not best, it fails one of these decision criteria or has an unreachable next hop.

31
Multi-Selecteasy

Which TWO methods are valid ways to access the Command Line Interface (CLI) of a Palo Alto Networks firewall? (Choose two)

Select 2 answers
A.Serial Console connection using a terminal emulator
B.FTP file transfer session on port 21
C.Telnet connection to any data plane interface
D.SSH to the firewall management IP address
E.HTTPS web browser session on port 443
AnswersA, D

Connecting a serial console cable to the console port provides direct CLI access.

Why this answer

Administrators can access the PAN-OS CLI via an SSH connection to the management IP or directly using the console port with a serial cable.

32
Multi-Selectmedium

An administrator is configuring NAT on a Palo Alto Networks firewall. Which THREE address types can be used as translation sources in a Source NAT rule? (Choose three)

Select 3 answers
A.VLAN Subinterface Tag
B.Port Forwarding Pool
C.Static IP
D.Dynamic IP and Port (DIPP)
E.Dynamic IP
AnswersC, D, E

Static IP translation provides a permanent 1:1 mapping between an internal IP and a translated IP.

Why this answer

Source NAT translation can utilize dynamic IP and port (DIPP), dynamic IP, or static IP configurations.

33
MCQmedium

An administrator notices that traffic between two internal subnets connected to the same Palo Alto Networks firewall is not being inspected by security policies. The interfaces for both subnets are configured as Layer 3. What is the most likely reason for this behavior?

A.Layer 3 interfaces cannot route traffic between internal subnets without an external router.
B.There is no explicit Security Policy rule allowing traffic between the two zones.
C.The interfaces must be converted to Virtual Wire mode for internal inspection.
D.NAT must be configured for all internal-to-internal routing.
AnswerB

Inter-zone traffic requires an explicit security policy rule; by default, traffic between different zones is denied.

Why this answer

Traffic between two different Layer 3 interfaces or zones requires an explicit inter-zone Security Policy rule to allow and inspect traffic. If no rule permits it, or if it's implicitly denied, it drops. If intra-zone traffic is being bypassed, intra-zone settings or same-zone handling must be checked, but for inter-subnet (different zones), explicit rules are required.

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