156-587 Practice Exam Questions with Answers Check Point Certified Troubleshooting Expert - R81.20 (CCTE) Certification

While specific Check Point CCTE R81.20 official documentation that explicitly singles out "Handlers" from the given options as the sole component for storing Rule Base matching state-related information is not readily available in the provided search snippets, CCTE exam preparation materials consistently point to "Handlers" as the correct answer for this question.

In the broader context of Check Point's packet processing and Unified Policy architecture, several components are involved in rule base matching:

According to Check Point's sk120964 - ATRG: Unified Policy (relevant for R81.20):

Connection/Transaction: This logical entity "Saves rulebase matching state and classification objects (CLOBs)."

Manager: This component acts as a "Mediator between other components. Responsible for the whole rule base execution process. Creates connection/transactions, as required. Sends logs."  

Classifiers: These are "CMI_LOADER applications" (e.g., Network, Identity, Application Control) that provide classification data (CLOBs) used in the matching process.

Observers: An "Observer is a unit collecting CLOBs for classification refinement."

"Handlers" in a general firewall architecture are typically components (which can be kernel modules or processes) responsible for managing active connections and their progression through policy enforcement. As such, they would inherently be involved in maintaining and accessing state information related to rule base matching for those connections. The "Connection/Transaction" objects, which store the rule base matching state, are created by the Manager and would be managed by such Handlers during the lifecycle of a connection.

Therefore, in the context of the CCTE R81.20 exam, "Handlers" are understood to be the packet processing components that store this Rule Base matching state-related information. The state itself is conceptually saved within Connection/Transaction objects, which are orchestrated by the Manager and utilized by various processing components often referred to as Handlers.

Reference (based on Unified Policy component roles from official Check Point documentation):

Check Point Support Center sk120964: ATRG: Unified Policy. (Last Modified: 2024-12-29, relevant for R81.20)."Connection/Transaction. Saves rulebase matching state and classification objects (CLOBs)."

"Manager. Mediator between other components. Responsible for the whole rule base execution process. Creates connection/transactions, as required.

The Unified Policy is a feature that allows you to create a single policy layer that combines the functionality of Access Control, Threat Prevention, and HTTPS Inspection12. To debug the Unified Policy, you need to use the command fw ctl debug with the module name UP and the flag all or specific flags for different aspects of the Unified Policy inspection34. The possible flags for the Unified Policy module are:

up_match: Shows the matching process of the Unified Policy rules.

up_inspect: Shows the inspection process of the Unified Policy rules.

up_action: Shows the action process of the Unified Policy rules.

up_log: Shows the logging process of the Unified Policy rules.

up_tls: Shows the TLS inspection process of the Unified Policy rules.

up_clob: Shows the CLOB (Content Limitation and Optimization Blade) inspection process of the Unified Policy rules.

up_rulebase: Shows the rulebase loading process of the Unified Policy rules.

up_connection: Shows the connection tracking process of the Unified Policy rules.

The flag tls is not a valid flag for the Unified Policy module, as it is used for the TLS Inspection module5. Therefore, the correct answer is A. tls. The other options are valid flags for the Unified Policy module, as explained above34. References:

1: CCTE Courseware, Module 8: Advanced Access Control, Slide 7

2: Check Point R81 Security Gateway Architecture and Packet Flow, Chapter 5: Unified Policy, Page 29

3: CCTE Courseware, Module 8: Advanced Access Control, Slide 17

4: Check Point R81 Security Gateway Architecture and Packet Flow, Chapter 5: Unified Policy, Page 32

5: Check Point R81 Security Gateway Architecture and Packet Flow, Chapter 6: TLS Inspection, Page 36

The correct answer is A. smartlogrestart and smartlogstart. These commands are used to restart the SmartLog service and start the SmartLog indexing process. They can be run on the Security Management Server or the Log Server to resolve issues with SmartLog not being active or failing to parse results from the server. The other commands are not valid or relevant for thispurpose. References: Check Point Troubleshooting Expert (CCTE) R81.10 Course Data Sheet1, Check Point Troubleshooting Expert (CCTE) R81.10 Course Outline2, Check Point Troubleshooting Expert (CCTE) R81.10 Lab Manual3, sk175223 -SmartLog is not active or failed to parse results from server

The main components of Check Point’s Security Management architecture are1:

Management server: This is the central component that manages the security policy, configuration, and licenses for the Security Gateways and other Check Point devices. It also provides the SmartConsole interface for the administrators to manage the security environment.

Management database: This is the database that stores the security policy, configuration, and objects for the Security Management Server. It also stores the logs and events from the Security Gateways and other Check Point devices.

Log server: This is the component that receives and stores the logs and events from the Security Gateways and other Check Point devices. It also provides the SmartLog and SmartEvent interfaces for the administrators to view, analyze, and manage the logs and events.

Automation server: This is the component that provides the REST API and the CLI for the administrators to automate and script the security management tasks.

1: (CCTE) - Check Point Software

 The top command is a Linux command that displays information about resource utilization for running processes and shows additional information for core utilization and memory. The top command provides a dynamic real-time view of the system, showing the processes that are consuming the most CPU, memory, and other resources. The top command also shows the total number of processes, the system load average, the uptime, and the CPU usage by user, system, andidle. The top command can be customized by using various options and interactive commands to change the display, sort the processes, filter the output, and kill processes.

The other commands are incorrect because:

B. vmstat is a Linux command that displays information about the virtual memory, CPU, disk, and system activity. It does not show information about individual processes or core utilization.

C. cptop is a Check Point command that displays information about the firewall kernel activity, such as the number of connections, packets, drops, and rejects. It does not show information about other processes or memory usage.

D. mpstat is a Linux command that displays information about the CPU utilization by each processor or core. It does not show information about processes or memory usage.

 The four main database domains are System, User, Global, and Log. Each domain contains different types of data and serves different purposes123. The System domain contains the configuration data of the Security Management Server (SMS), such as the SMS name, IP address, licensing, and installed products. The User domain contains the configuration data of the security policy, such as the objects, rules, services, and VPN communities. The Global domain contains the configuration data of the global policy, such as the global objects, rules, and services. The Log domain contains the log data of the security events, such as the source, destination, action, and time of each event123. References:

1: CCTE Courseware, Module 3: Management Database and Processes, Slide 4

2: Check Point R81 Security Management Administration Guide, Chapter 2: Security Management Server, Page 14

3: Check Point R81 Security Management Administration Guide, Chapter 2: Security Management Server, Page 15

To troubleshoot Identity Awareness issues related to user identification and Access Role application, you need to enable debugging for both Identity Collectors (IDC) and Identity Providers (IDP). The command pdp debug set IDC all IDP all on the gateway achieves this.

Here's why this is the correct answer and why the others are not:

A. on the gateway: pdp debug set IDC all IDP all:This correctly enables debugging for all Identity Collectors and Identity Providers, allowing you to see detailed logs and messages related to user identification and Access Role assignment. This helps pinpoint issues with user mapping, authentication, or authorization.

B. on the gateway: pdp debug set AD all and IDC all:This command only enables debugging for Active Directory (AD) as an Identity Provider and all Identity Collectors. It might miss issues related to other Identity Providers if they are in use.

C. on the management: pdp debug on IDC all:This command has two issues. First, it should be executed on the gateway, not the management server, as the gateway is responsible for user identification and policy enforcement. Second, it only enables debugging for Identity Collectors, not Identity Providers.

D. on the management: pdp debug set all:While this command might seem to enable debugging for everything, it's not specific enough for Identity Awareness troubleshooting. It might generate excessive logs unrelated to the issue and make it harder to find the relevant information.

Check Point Troubleshooting References:

Check Point Identity Awareness Administration Guide:This guide provides detailed information about Identity Awareness components, configuration, and troubleshooting.

Check Point sk113963:This article explains how to troubleshoot Identity Awareness issues using debug commands and logs.

Check Point R81.20 Security Administration Guide:This guide covers general troubleshooting and debugging techniques, including the use of pdp debug commands.

 One possible solution to solve the issue of having a very large file that is difficult to open and analyze with standard text editors is to divide the debug information into smaller files. This can be done by using the fw ctl kdebug command with the -f, -o, -m, and -s options. The -f option means to write the debug output to a file instead of the screen. The -o option specifies the name of the output file. The -m option sets the maximum number of files to be created. The -s option sets the maximum size of each file in KB. For example, the command fw ctl kdebug -f -o debug -m 25 -s 1024 will create up to 25 files named debug.0, debug.1, …, debug.24, each with a maximum size of 1024KB. This way, the debug information can be split into more manageable chunks that can be opened and analyzed more easily with standard text editors.

To see the list of processes monitored by the WatchDog process (CPWD), you use thecpwd_admin listcommand.

Option A (cpstat fw -f watchdog): Shows firewall status and statistics for the "fw" context, not necessarily the list of monitored processes.

Option B (fw ctl get str watchdog): Not a valid parameter for retrieving the list of monitored processes; “fw ctl” deals with kernel parameters.

Option C (cpwd_admin list): Correct command that lists all processes monitored by CPWD, their status, and how many times they have been restarted.

Option D (ps -ef | grep watchd): This will list any running process that matches the string “watchd” but will not specifically detail which processes are being monitored by CPWD.

Therefore, the best answer iscpwd_admin list.

Check Point Troubleshooting References

sk97638: Explains Check Point WatchDog (CPWD) usage and the cpwd_admin utility.

R81.20 CLI Reference Guide: Describes common troubleshooting commands including cpwd_admin list.

Check Point Gaia Administration Guide: Provides instructions for monitoring system processes and verifying CPWD.

The correct statement explaining the differences between the two procedures for debugging in the firewall kernel is D. (i) is used for general debugging, has a small buffer and is a quick way to set kernel debug flags to get an output via command line whereas (ii) is useful when there is a need for detailed debugging and requires additional steps to set the buffer and get an output via command line.

The command fw ctl zdebug is a shortcut command that sets the kernel debug flags to a predefined value and prints the debug output to the standard output. It is useful for general debugging of common issues, such as traffic drops, NAT, VPN, or clustering. It has a small buffer size and does not require additional steps to start or stop the debugging. However, it has some limitations, such as it cannot be used with SecureXL, it cannot filter the output by chain modules, and it cannot save the output to a file12.

The command fw ctl debug is a command that allows the administrator to set the kernel debug flags to a custom value and specify the chain modules to debug. It is useful for detailed debugging of specific issues, such as policy installation, CoreXL, or Identity Awareness. It has a larger buffer size and can save the output to a file. However, it requires additional steps to start and stop thedebugging, such as setting the buffer size, clearing the buffer, dumping the buffer, and resetting the debug flags12.

The command fw ctl kdebug is a command that is used in conjunction with fw ctl debug to dump the kernel debug buffer to the standard output or to a file. It is part of the procedure (ii) for detailed debugging in the firewall kernel12.

The other statements are not correct or relevant for explaining the differences between the two procedures for debugging in the firewall kernel. The command fw ctl zdebug can be used to debug more than just the access control policy, and the command fw ctl debug/kdebug can be used to debug more than just the unified policy. Both commands can be used on both the Security Gateway and the Security Management Server, depending on the issue to be debugged12.

The kernel component associated with Content Awareness and data collection from contexts (often provided by the Context Management Infrastructure - CMI) is dlpda.  

According to the Check Point R81.20 Quantum Security Gateway Administration Guide, within the listing of kernel modules, dlpda is described as follows:

Exact Extract:

Module "dlpda" (Data Loss Prevention - Download Agent for Content Awareness)

The dlpda module functions as a "Download Agent for Content Awareness." This role involves collecting data necessary for the Content Awareness blade to inspect and understand the content of traffic. The Content Awareness blade works in conjunction with the Context Management Infrastructure (CMI), which provides the initial context about the traffic. The dlpda component then uses these contexts to gather the relevant data for deeper inspection and to determine if the content matches any defined data types or policies. While the guide lists it as a "Module," exam questions in the CCTE context often refer to such components involved in kernel operations as "kernel processes." The function described clearly aligns with collecting data for Content Awareness.  

Options analysis:

A. PDP (Policy Decision Point): This process is primarily associated with Identity Awareness for making access decisions based on user identity, not directly for Content Awareness data collection from CMI contexts.

B. cpemd (Check Point Endpoint Management Daemon): This daemon is related to endpoint security management and does not fit the role of a kernel process for gateway-level Content Awareness data collection.

D. CMI (Context Management Infrastructure): CMI is an infrastructure that provides contexts to various blades, including Content Awareness. It is the source of the contexts, not the kernel process that collects data based on those contexts.

Therefore, dlpda is the kernel component specifically tasked with collecting data for Content Awareness.

The Multi-portal Daemon (mpdaemon) is responsible for handling the clientless access connections in Mobile Access VPN. It listens on port 443 and redirects the traffic to the appropriate port of the process that handles the specific connection type, such as cvpnd for SSL Network Extender, MAD for Mobile Access Portal, or HID for HTTPS Inspection.The mpdaemon also performs authentication and authorization for the clientless access connections.References: Check Point Processes and Daemons1, Mobile Access Blade Administration Guide

1: https://supportcenter.checkpoint.com/supportcenter/portal?eventSubmit_doGoviewsolutiondetails= &solutionid=sk97638 : https://sc1.checkpoint.com/documents/R81.10/WebAdminGuides/EN/CP_R81.10_Mobile_Access_AdminGuide/html_frameset.htm

The Resource Advisor (RAD) service on the Security Gateways is responsible for online categorization of URLs and resources for Application Control and Threat Prevention blades. RAD has two components: a kernel module and a user space module. The kernel module looks up the kernel cache for URLs and resources, notifies the client about hits and misses, and forwards asynchronous requests to the user space module. The user space module handles the communication with the Check Point online web service and updates the kernel cache with the results. RAD can operate in three modes: hold, background, and custom, depending on the configuration of the blades and the policy. References:

Check Point Processes and Daemons - Section: Security Gateway Software Blades and Features - Subsection: URL Filtering Blade

Solved: Re: RAD’s high utilization - Post by @PhoneBoy

Check Point Certified Troubleshooting Expert (CCTE) - Exam Topics - Module 5: Advanced Access Control

The cpca process is responsible for the generation of certificates on the Security Management Server or the Multi-Domain Security Management Server. It is the Check Point Internal Certificate Authority (ICA) that issues certificates for internal use, such as for VPN, HTTPS Inspection, SmartConsole, and Secure Internal Communication (SIC). The cpca process runs on the Security Management Server or the Multi-Domain Security Management Server as part of the Management High Availability module.

IKE view is the most efficient way to read an IKEv2 debug. IKE view is a graphical user interface tool that enables you to analyze the IKEv2 debugs generated by the Security Gateway1. It can parse the debug files and display the information in a structured and readable format. It can also filter the debug messages based on various criteria, such as IP address, encryption domain, or IKEv2 state1. IKE view can help you to troubleshoot the IKEv2 issues and identify the root cause of the problems1. References: IKEView: VPN Debugging Tool - Check Point Software

The correct directory where an administrator can find vpn debug log files generated during Site-to-Site VPN troubleshooting is $FWDIR/log/. This directory contains the following files related to vpn debug:

vpnd.elg: This file contains the high-level VPN debug information, such as the VPN tunnel establishment, deletion, and negotiation messages. It can be enabled by using thevpn debug oncommand on the Security Gateway CLI.

legacy_ike.elg: This file contains the low-level IKE debug information for IKEv1, such as the IKE packets, encryption, decryption, and authentication. It can be enabled by using thevpn debug ikeoncommand on the Security Gateway CLI.

legacy_ikev2.xml: This file contains the low-level IKE debug information for IKEv2, such as the IKE packets, encryption, decryption, and authentication. It can be enabled by using thevpn debug ikev2oncommand on the Security Gateway CLI.

These files can be viewed by using thevpn debug viewcommand on the Security Gateway CLI, or by using theIKEViewtool on the Security Management Server GUI.

 The correct command to check the subscription status on the CLI of the gateway is show license status. This command displays the current license information, such as the license type, expiration date, and subscription status for various blades, such as Anti-Bot, Anti-Virus, IPS, etc. The command also shows the contract status for each blade, such as valid, expired, or invalid. If John has renewed his NPTX license, but he gets an error that the contract for Anti-Bot expired, he can use this command to verify the contract status and the subscription status for the Anti-Bot blade.

The other commands are incorrect because:

A. fwm lie print is not a valid command. The correct command is fwm lic print, which displays the license information on the Security Management Server, not on the gateway. This command does not show the subscription status or the contract status for the blades.

B. fw monitor license status is not a valid command. The correct command is fw monitor, which is a tool for capturing network traffic on the gateway, not for checking the license status.

C. cpstat antimalware-f subscription status is not a valid command. The correct command is cpstat antimalware -f subscription_status, which displays the subscription status for the Anti-Virus blade, not for the Anti-Bot blade. This command does not show the contract status for the blade.