Paloalto Networks Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Consultant PCNSC Exam Dumps: Updated Questions & Answers (October 2025)

Security Engineer- Determines the security, logging, reporting requirements and manages the policy.

System Administrator- Manages the software distribution method for the Cortex XDR Client.

Security Operations Analyst- Manages the alerts and responds to threats identified on the network or endpoints.

Network Engineer- Manages the routing, switching, and general device interconnectivity.

When planning a deployment involving Firewall, Panorama, and Cortex XDR, each stakeholder plays a specific role:

Security Engineer- This role involves defining and managing security policies, logging configurations, and reporting requirements to ensure compliance and optimal security posture. They are responsible for the overall security configuration and implementation.

To start using Device-ID to obtain policy rule recommendations, the customer needs to purchase:

A.a Cortex Data Lake license

The Cortex Data Lake is a cloud-based logging service that aggregates data from all Palo Alto Networks products and services. Device-ID uses this data to provide insights and recommendations for policy rules based on the identities of devices on the network.

References:

Palo Alto Networks - Cortex Data Lake: https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cortex-data-lake

Palo Alto Networks - Device-ID Overview: https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-0/pan-os-admin/policy/use-device-id-to-enforce-policy

To load only address objects from a PAN-OS saved configuration file into a VM-300 firewall that is in production, the administrator must follow these three steps:

C.Enter the configuration mode from the CLI: This step is necessary to prepare the firewall to accept the new configuration.

D.Use the load config partial command: This command allows the administrator to load only specific parts of the configuration, such as address objects, from a saved configuration file without overwriting the entire configuration. The command syntax typically looks like this:load config partial from mode merge exclude everything but address objects.

E.Import named configuration snapshot through the web interface: This involves importing the configuration snapshot that contains the address objects through the web interface, but only after ensuring that the specific address objects are targeted and not the entire configuration.

References:

Palo Alto Networks - PAN-OS CLI Quick Start: https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-0/pan-os-cli-quick-start

Palo Alto Networks - How to Use the Partial Configuration Load Feature: https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com

To match the App-ID adoption task with its order in the process, follow these steps:

Perform a like-for-like (Layer 3/4) migration from the legacy firewall to the Palo Alto Networks NGFW.

This is the initial step to ensure that the Palo Alto Networks NGFW is in place and functioning with the existing security policies.

Capture, retain, and verify that all traffic has been logged for a period of time.

This step involves enabling logging and monitoring traffic to understand the application usage and to ensure that all traffic is being logged.

Clone the legacy rules and add application information to the intended application-based rules.

This step involves creating copies of the existing rules and enhancing them with application-specific information using App-ID.

Verify that no traffic is hitting the legacy rules.

After creating application-based rules, ensure that traffic is now hitting these new rules instead of the legacy rules. This indicates that the transition to App-ID based policies is successful.

Remove the legacy rules.

Once it is confirmed that no traffic is hitting the legacy rules and the new App-ID based rules are effectively managing the traffic, the legacy rules can be safely removed.

Order in Process:

Perform a like-for-like (Layer 3/4) migration from the legacy firewall to the Palo Alto Networks NGFW.

Capture, retain, and verify that all traffic has been logged for a period of time.

Clone the legacy rules and add application information to the intended application-based rules.

Verify that no traffic is hitting the legacy rules.

Remove the legacy rules.

References:

Palo Alto Networks - App-ID Best Practices: https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/best-practices

Palo Alto Networks - Migration from Legacy Firewalls: https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/migration

In Panorama, security rules are evaluated in a specific order to determine which rule applies to the traffic. The correct evaluation order is as follows:

Shared pre-rules(evaluated first)

Device group pre-rules(evaluated second)

Local firewall rules(evaluated third)

Device group post-rules(evaluated fourth)

Shared post-rules(evaluated fifth)

This order ensures that the most generic rules (shared across all devices) are evaluated first, followed by more specific rules at the device group and local firewall levels, and then the post-rules.

References:

Palo Alto Networks - Panorama Admin Guide: https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/panorama/10-0/panorama-admin/policy/policy-precedence-and-evaluation-order

Palo Alto Networks - Security Policy Evaluation: https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com

When SSL Forward Proxy decryption is enabled, and clients using Chrome need to see browser warnings for websites with invalid certificates, the following options will satisfy the requirement:

A.Create a Decryption Profile with the Block sessions with expired certificates option enabled: This option ensures that sessions with expired certificates are blocked, which will present a warning to the user.

B.Create a self-signed Forward Untrust enabled certificate: This certificate will be used for websites with invalid or untrusted certificates, prompting the browser to display a warning.

These configurations ensure that users are properly warned when accessing sites with invalid certificates, allowing them to decide whether to proceed.

References:

Palo Alto Networks - SSL Decryption Best Practices: https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/best-practices

Palo Alto Networks - Configuring SSL Forward Proxy: https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com