SD-WAN-Engineer Practice Question: A network engineer is investigating a performance issue in a Prisma SD-WAN environment…
A network engineer is investigating a performance issue in a Prisma SD-WAN environment where an ION device is showing high jitter on a business-critical VoIP call. The engineer has verified that the WAN link quality is good and that no policies are misconfigured. The engineer suspects that the issue might be due to the ION device's handling of the traffic. Which of the following should the engineer check next to determine if the ION device is correctly marking and prioritizing the VoIP traffic?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is focusing on routing or interface errors when the symptom is jitter, which is more indicative of queuing and QoS issues rather than path selection or physical errors.
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 ION device's QoS configuration, specifically the mapping of VoIP traffic to the correct queue.
High jitter on VoIP traffic, despite good WAN link quality, often points to QoS misconfiguration. The ION device's QoS settings determine how VoIP packets are classified, marked, and queued. If they are not placed in a low-latency queue, jitter can occur. Therefore, checking the QoS configuration is the most direct next step to ensure proper prioritization.
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 ION device's CPU utilization to see if it is overloaded.
Why it's wrong here
High CPU utilization could introduce processing delays and jitter, but if the device is not reporting high CPU, it is less likely. Moreover, if CPU were the issue, it would likely affect all traffic, not just VoIP. The engineer should first verify QoS configuration, as that is a more direct cause of jitter for real-time traffic. CPU utilization is a secondary check after QoS.
- ✗
The ION device's interface statistics for errors and discards on the VoIP VLAN.
Why it's wrong here
Interface errors and discards can cause packet loss, which might affect VoIP quality, but they would typically show up as packet loss rather than jitter. Since the WAN link quality is good, it is less likely that interface errors are the cause. Jitter is often due to variable delay, which can be caused by improper queuing. Checking interface statistics is a good general practice but not the most specific next step for jitter issues.
- ✓
The ION device's QoS configuration, specifically the mapping of VoIP traffic to the correct queue.
Why this is correct
QoS configuration on the ION device determines how traffic is classified and prioritized. If VoIP traffic is not being marked or mapped to the appropriate queue, it may not receive the necessary priority, leading to jitter even if the WAN link is good. Checking the QoS configuration ensures that the traffic is correctly identified and placed in a low-latency queue, which is crucial for real-time applications like VoIP.
- ✗
The ION device's routing table to ensure the VoIP traffic is taking the correct path.
Why it's wrong here
While routing is important, the engineer has already verified that the WAN link quality is good, implying that the path is likely acceptable. High jitter on VoIP is more commonly related to QoS misconfiguration than routing, especially if the link itself is performing well. Routing issues would typically cause packet loss or increased latency, not necessarily jitter. Therefore, checking QoS is a more targeted next step.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Security Systems Architect · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Palo Alto Networks exam blueprint
This SD-WAN-Engineer 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 SD-WAN-Engineer exam.