Score Higher on Verified XDR-Engineer | Palo Alto Networks XDR Engineer Exam Questions with Answers

In a high availability (HA) environment, theBroker VMin Cortex XDR acts as a local proxy to facilitate agent communications, content caching, and installer distribution, reducing dependency on direct cloud connections. To ensureagent installer availabilityandefficient content cachingacross failovers, the Broker VM must be configured to handle agent requests consistently, even if one VM fails. This requires proper SSL certificate management and load balancing to distribute traffic across multiple Broker VMs.

Correct Answer Analysis (B):The engineer shouldupload the signed SSL server certificate and keyto each Broker VM to secure communications and ensure trust between agents and the Broker VMs. Additionally, deploying aload balancerin front of the Broker VMs allows traffic to be distributed across multiple VMs, ensuring availability and performance consistency during failovers. The load balancer uses the configured Broker VM FQDN to route agent requests, and the signed SSL certificate ensures secure, uninterrupted communication. This setup supports content caching and installer distribution by maintaining a stable connection point for agents.

Why not the other options?

A. Use shared SSL certificates and keys for all Broker VMs and configure a single IP address for failover: While shared SSL certificates can be used, configuring a single IP address for failover (e.g., via VRRP or a floating IP) is less flexible than a load balancer and may not efficiently handle content caching or installer distribution across multiple VMs. Load balancers are preferred for HA setups in Cortex XDR.

C. Deploy a load balancer and configure SSL termination at the load balancer: SSL termination at the load balancer means the load balancer decrypts traffic before forwarding it to the Broker VMs, requiring unencrypted communication between the load balancer and VMs. This is not recommended for Cortex XDR, as Broker VMs require end-to-end SSL encryption for security, and SSL termination complicates certificate management.

D. Enable synchronized session persistence across Broker VMs and use a self-signed certificate and key: Self-signed certificates are not recommended for production HA environments, as they can cause trust issues with agents and require manual configuration. Synchronized session persistence is not a standard feature for Broker VMs and is unnecessary for content caching or installer availability.

Exact Extract or Reference:

TheCortex XDR Documentation Portaldescribes Broker VM HA configuration: “For high availability, deploy multiple Broker VMs behind a load balancer and upload a signed SSL server certificate and key to each VM to secure agent communications” (paraphrased from the Broker VM Deployment section). TheEDU-260: Cortex XDR Prevention and Deploymentcourse covers Broker VM setup, stating that “a load balancer with signed SSL certificates ensures agent installer availability and content caching in HA environments” (paraphrased from course materials). ThePalo Alto Networks Certified XDR Engineer datasheetincludes “planning and installation” as a key exam topic, encompassing Broker VM deployment for HA.

TheXDR Collectorin Cortex XDR is a lightweight tool for collecting logs and events from servers and endpoints, including Windows and Linux systems, and forwarding them to the Cortex XDR cloud for analysis. To simplify configuration, Cortex XDR provides built-in templates for various log collection methods. The question asks for a configuration profile option with a built-in template that can be applied to both Windows and Linux systems.

Correct Answer Analysis (A):Filebeatis a versatile log shipper supported by Cortex XDR’s XDR Collector, with built-in templates for collecting logs from files on both Windows and Linux systems. Filebeat can be configured to collect logs from various sources (e.g., application logs, system logs) and is platform-agnostic, making it suitable for heterogeneous environments. Cortex XDR provides preconfigured Filebeat templates to streamline setup for common log types, ensuring compatibility across operating systems.

Why not the other options?

B. HTTP Collector template: The HTTP Collector template is used for ingestingdata via HTTP/HTTPS APIs, which is not specific to Windows or Linux systems and is not a platform-based log collection method. It is also less commonly used for system-level log collection compared to Filebeat.

C. XDR Collector settings: While “XDR Collector settings” refers to the general configuration of the XDR Collector, it is not a specific template. The XDR Collector uses templates like Filebeat or Winlogbeat for actual log collection, so this option is too vague.

D. Winlogbeat: Winlogbeat is a log shipper specifically designed for collecting Windows Event Logs. It is not supported on Linux systems, making it unsuitable for both platforms.

Exact Extract or Reference:

TheCortex XDR Documentation Portaldescribes XDR Collector templates: “Filebeat templates are provided for collecting logs from files on both Windows and Linux systems, enabling flexible log ingestion across platforms” (paraphrased from the Data Ingestion section). TheEDU-260: Cortex XDR Prevention and Deploymentcourse covers XDR Collector configuration, stating that “Filebeat is a cross-platform solution for log collection, supported by built-in templates for Windows and Linux” (paraphrased from course materials). ThePalo Alto Networks Certified XDR Engineer datasheetincludes “data ingestion and integration” as a key exam topic, encompassing XDR Collector templates.

Cortex XDR agents on Windows include multiple components (e.g., for exploit protection, malware scanning, or behavioral analysis) that can be individually enabled or disabled for troubleshooting purposes, such as isolating compatibility issues. Thecytool.exeutility, located in the Cortex XDR installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Palo Alto Networks\Traps\), is used to manage agent components and settings. The runtime stop command specifically disables a component without uninstalling the agent.

Correct Answer Analysis (B):The command"C:\Program Files\Palo Alto Networks\Traps\cytool.exe" runtime stopis used to turn off a specific Cortex XDR agent component on a Windows machine. For example, cytool.exe runtime stop protection would disable the protection component, allowing troubleshooting for compatibility issues while keeping other components active.

Why not the other options?

A. "C:\Program Files\Palo Alto Networks\Traps\xdr.exe" stop: The xdr.exe binary is not used for managing components; it is part of the agent’s corefunctionality. The correct utility is cytool.exe.

C. "C:\Program Files\Palo Alto Networks\Traps\xdr.exe" -s stop: Similarly, xdr.exe is not the correct tool, and -s stop is not a valid command syntax for component management.

D. "C:\Program Files\Palo Alto Networks\Traps\cytool.exe" occp: The occp command is not a valid cytool.exe option. The correct command for stopping a component is runtime stop.

Exact Extract or Reference:

TheCortex XDR Documentation Portalexplains component management: “To disable a Cortex XDR agent component on Windows, use the command cytool.exe runtime stop from the installation directory” (paraphrased from the Troubleshooting section). TheEDU-260: Cortex XDR Prevention and Deploymentcourse covers agent troubleshooting, stating that “cytool.exe runtime stop is used to turn off specific components for compatibility testing” (paraphrased from course materials). ThePalo Alto Networks Certified XDR Engineer datasheetincludes “maintenance and troubleshooting” as a key exam topic, encompassing agent component management.