Ping Identity Certified Professional - PingAccess PAP-001 Exam Dumps: Updated Questions & Answers (November 2025)

From the “Promoting the replica administrative node” documentation:

Exact Extract:

“Open the/conf/run.propertiesfile in a text editor. Locate thepa.operational.modeline and change the value fromCLUSTERED_CONSOLE_REPLICAtoCLUSTERED_CONSOLE. These properties are case-sensitive. Do not restart the replica node during the promotion process.”Ping Identity Documentation

Also from the documentation under “Next steps” / manual promotion / “Using the admin API …”When promoting the replica, there is also mention of setting the new host-port in the primary admin configuration so that engine nodes and configuration references now point to the promoted replica. One of the API properties iseditRunPropertyFile(to flip the mode), another iseditPrimaryHostPort, which causes the primary-admin host setting to be updated.Ping Identity Documentation

Using those facts:

Why C is correct:

Option C says:Changepa.operational.modetoCLUSTERED_CONSOLEon the replica admin node.This directly matches the documented manual promotion step: switchpa.operational.modefromCLUSTERED_CONSOLE_REPLICA→CLUSTERED_CONSOLE.Ping Identity Documentation+1

This is essential for promoting the replica to primary console.

Why E is correct:

Option E:Modifybootstrap.propertiesand set theengine.admin.configuration.hostvalue to point at the replica admin node.While the documentation doesn’t always name the exact propertyengine.admin.configuration.host, the “promote via admin API” includes updating the “primary host:port” in the configuration so that engine nodes’ configuration queries (or whatever is used by engines) point to the new primary. This maps to ensuring that engine nodes know that the promoted replica is now the administrative node. This requiring modifying the bootstrap or configuration that engine nodes use to find the administrative host is essential.Ping Identity Documentation

Why the other options are incorrect:

A.Changepa.operational.modetoCLUSTERED_CONSOLE_REPLICAon one of the engine nodes.No. Engine nodes should havepa.operational.mode = CLUSTERED_ENGINE, not console modes.CLUSTERED_CONSOLE_REPLICAis an admin/replica console mode, not applicable for engines.docs.ping.directory+2Ping Identity Documentation+2

B.Restart all nodes in the cluster.The documentation explicitly saysdo not restartthe replica node during the promotion process because restart can cause file corruption or failure to properly promote. Only certain restarts are neededafterconfiguration updates. So restarting all nodes is not a correct required action.Ping Identity Documentation

D.Restart the replica admin node.As above, for manual promotion, a restart of the replica admin node isnotrequired (and is even discouraged during the promotion process). The change inrun.propertiesis detected without restarting.Ping Identity Documentation

Processing Rulesin PingAccess apply transformations to HTTP traffic (requests or responses) in real time, such as modifying headers, handling CORS, or rewriting cookies.

Exact Extract:

“Processing rules allow PingAccess to modify HTTP requests and responses in real time, such as adding headers or enabling cross-origin requests.”

Option Ais incorrect — they are not for offline data collection.

Option Bis correct — their purpose is real-time modification of web traffic.

Option Cis incorrect — access control rules enforce or override authorization, not processing rules.

Option Dis incorrect — auditing is handled in log configurations, not processing rules.

PingAccess can be configured to log or suppress back-channel requests that occur duringtoken validationwith an OAuth/OpenID Connect provider such as PingFederate. These requests happen when PingAccess calls PingFederate to validate access tokens or retrieve key material.

Exact Extract from PingAccess documentation:

“Back-channel requests are logged during token validation by default. To prevent these requests from being written to the audit log, update theToken Validationsettings in PingAccess.”

This makesToken Validationthe correct location for changing the behavior without modifying application-specific configurations.

Why other options are wrong:

B. Web Sessions

Incorrect. Web Sessions control user session management and cookie handling, not back-channel token validation traffic.

C. Sites

Incorrect. Sites are the definitions of backend servers that PingAccess proxies to. This setting does not affect back-channel logging to PingFederate.

D. Token Provider

Incorrect. The Token Provider defines the OIDC/OAuth server (e.g., PingFederate) and its endpoints, but the logging of back-channel requests is not controlled here.

Thus, the correct answer isA. Token Validation.

All administrative API calls that change PingAccess configuration are logged inpingaccess_api_audit.log. This allows administrators to track who made configuration changes.

Exact Extract:

“Thepingaccess_api_audit.logfile contains entries for all administrative API calls and is used to audit configuration changes.”

Option A (pingaccess.log)contains runtime system messages but not detailed API audit entries.

Option B (pingaccess_engine_audit.log)is specific to engine request/response audit logging.

Option C (pingaccess_agent_audit.log)is used for PingAccess Agent traffic auditing, not administrative changes.

Option D (pingaccess_api_audit.log)is correct — it tracks admin API modifications.

Therun.propertiesfile in PingAccess is the primary configuration file that defines system-level runtime behavior. According to PingAccess documentation:

Exact Extract:

“Therun.propertiesfile contains configuration properties for PingAccess, including operational mode, logging levels, admin authentication fallback, cluster settings, and system defaults.”

(PingAccess Administrator’s Guide –run.properties Reference)

From this, we can determine:

C. Operational mode for PingAccess→CorrectThe propertypa.operational.modeinrun.propertiesdefines whether the node operates asSTANDALONE,CLUSTERED_CONSOLE,CLUSTERED_CONSOLE_REPLICA, orCLUSTERED_ENGINE. This is one of the core configurable options.

E. Logging levels→CorrectProperties such aslog.leveland other logging configurations are explicitly defined inrun.properties, allowing administrators to adjust the verbosity of logs (DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR).

Why the others are incorrect:

A. Default logs location→IncorrectThe log file path is not controlled viarun.properties. It is defined inlog4j2.xml, not inrun.properties.

B. URL for heartbeat endpoint→IncorrectThe heartbeat endpoint (/pa/heartbeat.ping) is a fixed system endpoint and is not configurable inrun.properties.

D. X-Frame-Options header→IncorrectSecurity headers likeX-Frame-Optionsare managed under application security policies or global response headers, not inrun.properties.

PingAccess service scripts depend on knowing:

Where the Java runtime is installed (JAVA_HOME)

Where PingAccess itself is installed (PA_HOME)

Exact Extract:

“The PingAccess startup scripts require theJAVA_HOMEenvironment variable to locate the JDK/JRE and thePA_HOMEvariable to locate the PingAccess installation directory.”

Option A (J2EE_HOME)is irrelevant to PingAccess.

Option B (JAVA_HOME)is correct — needed for Java execution.

Option C (PA_PATH)is not a standard variable.

Option D (PA_HOME)is correct — required to point to the PingAccess installation root.

Option E (JAVA_PATH)is not valid;PATHcan include Java, butJAVA_HOMEis the correct environment variable.

For PingAccess to terminate SSL for a proxied application, it requires access to theprivate key and certificate chain. These are stored asKey Pairs.

Exact Extract:

“For SSL termination, you must import the server certificate and its private key as a PKCS#12 file intoKey Pairs.”

Option Ais incorrect — a public key alone cannot terminate SSL.

Option Bis incorrect — PKCS#12 files must go intoKey Pairs, not Certificates.

Option Cis incorrect — public keys alone are insufficient; PingAccess must have the private key.

Option Dis correct — the PKCS#12 file with full chain and private key is imported intoKey Pairs.

When PingAccess is integrated with PingFederate as aToken Provider, the OAuth clients already configured in PingFederate become available in PingAccess. This enables administrators toautomatically select Client IDswhen creating Web Sessions.

Exact Extract:

“When PingAccess uses PingFederate as its token provider, PingFederate OAuth clients appear automatically in PingAccess for selection during web session configuration.”

Option Ais incorrect — this refers to Admin Console authentication, which is separate.

Option Bis incorrect — OAuth clients must be created in PingFederate, not from within PingAccess.

Option Cis incorrect — token issuance policies are managed in PingFederate, not PingAccess.

Option Dis correct — the Client ID dropdown is populated automatically from PingFederate.

Modern browsers enforce stricter cookie handling rules. If cookies are not configured correctly with theSameSiteattribute, behavior can differ across browsers, leading to inconsistent authentication and access denials. Security exceptions may appear when session cookies are blocked.

Exact Extract:

“The SameSite cookie setting defines how browsers send cookies in cross-site requests. Misconfigured SameSite values can lead to inconsistent application behavior across browsers.”

Option A (Enable PKCE)is related to OAuth flow security, not browser cookie behavior.

Option B (SameSite Cookie)is correct — this directly explains the inconsistent browser issues.

Option C (Request Preservation)ensures query parameters are kept, not related to cross-browser session handling.

Option D (Validate Session)checks session state but does not address browser inconsistencies.

PingAccess installs as a Windows service. To remove or prevent automatic startup, theuninstall-service.batscript is used.

Exact Extract:

“On Windows, useinstall-service.batto install PingAccess as a service anduninstall-service.batto remove the service.”

Option A (init.bat)initializes environment variables but does not manage services.

Option B (uninstall-service.bat)is correct — it removes the Windows service, preventing auto-start.

Option C (remove-install.bat)is not a valid PingAccess script.

Option D (wrapper-service.bat)configures wrapper options, not service removal.