Checkpoint 156-585 Exam Dumps & Practice Test Questions
Question No 1:
You need to perform a kernel debug session over an extended time because the issue happens only once or twice weekly. You want to add timestamps to the debug output and save it to a file without exceeding the available 10 GB disk space.
Which command syntax achieves this correctly?
A fw ctl kdebug -T -f -m 10 -s 1000000 -o debugfilename
B fw ctl kdebug -T -f -m 10 -s 1000000 > debugfilename
C fw ctl kdebug -T -m 10 -s 1000000 -o debugfilename
D fw ctl debug -T -f -m 10 -s 1000000 -o debugfilename
Answer: A
Explanation:
When performing kernel debugging in an environment where issues happen infrequently, it’s important to capture detailed logs including timestamps and manage storage carefully to avoid filling up disk space. The tool used here, fw ctl kdebug, provides options for controlling the debug output with several flags.
The -T option enables timestamps on debug entries, which is essential to correlate events over a long period. Without timestamps, it would be very difficult to identify when particular issues occurred during extended debugging.
The -f option is used to enable continuous writing of debug output to a file rather than just printing to the console. This is necessary to save debug data persistently.
The -m option defines the maximum number of megabytes to use for the debug buffer. Setting this to 10 means that the debug logs will only use up to 10 MB at a time in the buffer before cycling, helping to control disk usage indirectly by limiting how much data is buffered.
The -s option controls the size of the individual debug records or the sampling rate; in this case, 1,000,000 might be specifying the size or rate to help manage how much data is collected.
The -o option specifies the output filename, ensuring the debug data is saved in a controlled location.
Option A includes all these necessary parameters, enabling timestamps, writing continuously to a file, limiting the buffer size, specifying record size, and defining the output filename.
Option B attempts to redirect the output to a file using shell redirection (>), but this method is less efficient for kernel debugging because it lacks control over buffering and file management provided by the tool’s options.
Option C omits the -f flag, which means the debug data might not be continuously written to a file, potentially losing information.
Option D uses the incorrect command fw ctl debug instead of fw ctl kdebug, which means the debugging command itself is wrong and would not work for kernel debug logging.
In conclusion, option A is the correct syntax to enable timestamped kernel debugging, manage the buffer size, and save the output to a file without risking running out of disk space.
Question No 2:
After configuring the IPS Bypass Under Load feature with additional kernel parameters ids_tolerance_no_stress=15 and ids_tolerance_stress=15 using the “fw ctl set” command, you notice that after a reboot these parameters revert to their default values.
What steps must you take to apply these changes immediately and ensure they persist after reboot?
A Set these parameters again with “fw ctl set” and edit appropriate parameters in $FWDIR/boot/modules/fwkern.conf
B Use script $FWDIR/bin/IpsSetBypass.sh to set these parameters
C Set these parameters again with “fw ctl set” and save configuration with “save config”
D Edit appropriate parameters in $FWDIR/boot/modules/fwkern.conf
Answer: A
Explanation:
When configuring kernel parameters on Check Point firewalls, commands like “fw ctl set” apply settings immediately in the running kernel, but these changes are not persistent through reboots by default. The system loads default kernel parameters from configuration files during startup, so unless changes are saved in those files, the system will revert to defaults on reboot.
In this case, the parameters ids_tolerance_no_stress=15 and ids_tolerance_stress=15 were set using “fw ctl set.” This command applies the values immediately, allowing the IPS Bypass Under Load feature to function as expected. However, after a reboot, these parameters returned to their default values because the configuration files that load kernel parameters during startup were not modified.
To make the changes both immediate and permanent, you need to do two things. First, apply the settings immediately with “fw ctl set” so the current kernel uses the new values without requiring a reboot. Second, edit the file $FWDIR/boot/modules/fwkern.conf, which contains the kernel parameters that load on system startup. By updating this file with the new parameter values, you ensure the settings persist after a reboot.
Option B is incorrect because the IpsSetBypass.sh script is not used for setting kernel parameters related to IPS Bypass Under Load and does not replace manual configuration through fw ctl set and config file edits.
Option C is incorrect because simply saving the firewall configuration using “save config” does not affect kernel module parameters, which are controlled separately via the kernel configuration files.
Option D is only partially correct because while editing fwkern.conf is necessary for persistence, it will not apply the changes immediately. You still need to run “fw ctl set” to apply them without rebooting.
Therefore, the correct approach is to run “fw ctl set” to apply changes right away and edit $FWDIR/boot/modules/fwkern.conf to make the configuration permanent.
Question No 3:
Which Check Point command is used to display status and statistics for different Check Point products and applications?
A cpstat
B CPstat
C CPview
D fwstat
Answer: A
Explanation:
The command used in Check Point environments to display status and statistics information about various products and applications is cpstat. This tool provides detailed information on the performance and operational state of Check Point components, such as firewalls, VPNs, and other security modules. By running cpstat, administrators can monitor different aspects like traffic counters, connection states, resource usage, and error counts. This helps in troubleshooting and ensuring that Check Point products are functioning as expected.
Option B, CPstat, is incorrect because command names in Unix/Linux are case-sensitive. The correct command is lowercase cpstat. Using the uppercase form will typically result in a "command not found" error or unexpected behavior.
Option C, CPview, is a different tool within the Check Point ecosystem. It provides a graphical or interactive overview of system status, including CPU usage, memory consumption, and network activity, but it is more of a monitoring dashboard rather than a command-line statistics utility focused specifically on product status and detailed statistics.
Option D, fwstat, is specific to firewall statistics, mostly related to packet filtering and firewall operation counters. While it is useful for firewall-specific diagnostics, it does not cover the full range of Check Point products and applications like cpstat does.
In summary, cpstat is the primary command for gathering detailed status and statistical information across multiple Check Point products and applications, making it the preferred choice for administrators looking to diagnose and monitor system health and performance. It provides a comprehensive view in a command-line format that can be easily integrated into scripts or used for real-time troubleshooting.
Question No 4:
If you are running R80.XX on an open server and notice high CPU usage across 12 cores, what is the correct method to enable Hyperthreading to increase core availability and improve performance?
A Hyperthreading is not supported on open servers, only on Check Point Appliances.
B Simply enable Hyperthreading in the server BIOS and reboot the system.
C Enable Hyperthreading in the server BIOS, boot the system, then activate it in cpconfig.
D Use the clish command to run "set HAT on".
Answer: C
Explanation:
When operating Check Point’s R80.XX software on an open server, high CPU utilization may indicate the need for additional processing resources. Hyperthreading (often abbreviated as HT) is a technology that allows a single physical CPU core to behave like two logical cores, effectively doubling the number of processing threads available to the operating system. This can improve system performance, especially in environments that are CPU-bound.
However, simply enabling Hyperthreading is not always automatic or straightforward in Check Point environments on open servers. The correct procedure requires multiple steps. First, you need to enable Hyperthreading within the server’s BIOS settings. This allows the hardware to expose the additional logical cores to the operating system. But enabling it at the hardware level alone is insufficient for Check Point’s software to recognize and make use of these cores effectively.
After enabling Hyperthreading in the BIOS and rebooting the server, you must also enable Hyperthreading within the Check Point software environment. This is typically done via the cpconfig utility, which provides configuration options for Check Point services and features. Activating Hyperthreading through cpconfig ensures that the software correctly utilizes the additional logical cores.
Option A is incorrect because Hyperthreading is supported on open servers running Check Point software, not just on dedicated appliances.
Option B is partially correct but incomplete; BIOS enabling alone is not enough because Check Point software requires additional configuration.
Option D is incorrect because there is no clish command called "set HAT on" for enabling Hyperthreading in Check Point environments.
Thus, the comprehensive and correct approach is outlined in C: enable Hyperthreading in the BIOS, reboot the system, and then activate it using cpconfig. This ensures both hardware and software layers are properly configured to benefit from Hyperthreading and improved performance.
Question No 5:
A customer is using Check Point appliances configured by third-party administrators. Their current security policy includes various enabled IPS protections and a feature called Bypass Under Load, which is set to disable IPS inspections if CPU and memory usage exceed 80%. However, the customer notices that IPS protections are not functioning at all, regardless of the CPU and memory usage.
What could explain this behavior?
A The kernel parameter ids_assume_stress is set to 0
B The kernel parameter ids_assume_stress is set to 1
C The kernel parameter ids_tolerance_no_stress is set to 10
D The kernel parameter ids_tolerance_stress is set to 10
Answer: B
Explanation:
In this scenario, the customer’s Check Point appliances have IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) protections enabled, alongside a feature called Bypass Under Load. This feature is intended to protect system performance by disabling IPS inspections when system resources—CPU and memory—exceed a certain threshold, here set at 80%. The expected behavior is that IPS protections function normally under typical conditions but temporarily disable when the system is under high load to prevent further strain.
However, the customer observes that IPS protections are not active at all, even when CPU and memory usage are below the threshold. This situation points to a configuration or kernel parameter causing the IPS system to assume that the appliance is always under stress, leading it to disable protections prematurely.
The key kernel parameter involved is ids_assume_stress. When ids_assume_stress is set to 1, the appliance assumes it is always under load stress, effectively forcing the IPS system to bypass inspections regardless of the actual CPU or memory usage. This would explain why IPS protections are not functioning even when resource usage is normal. Conversely, setting this parameter to 0 would mean the system only bypasses IPS when actual load thresholds are exceeded.
Options C and D, related to tolerance values, define thresholds or counts related to stress detection but do not directly force the IPS system to bypass inspections continuously. Instead, these parameters fine-tune the sensitivity to stress conditions. Therefore, they do not explain the IPS always being bypassed.
Option A (ids_assume_stress = 0) would mean the system respects load thresholds correctly, making it unlikely to cause IPS bypass all the time.
In conclusion, the probable cause for IPS protections being disabled regardless of load is that the kernel parameter ids_assume_stress is set to 1, causing the system to behave as if under continuous high load and bypass IPS inspections permanently.
Question No 6:
What is the advantage of using the command "vpn debug trunc" compared to "vpn debug on"?
A “vpn debug trunc” clears the ike.elg and vpnd.elg log files and adds timestamps when starting the IKE and VPN debug.
B “vpn debug trunc” shortens the debug capture so the output is smaller and contains less data.
C “vpn debug trunc” produces a detailed and verbose debug output.
D There is no significant difference between the two commands.
Answer: A
Explanation:
In the context of VPN troubleshooting, debugging commands are essential tools for capturing detailed information about the VPN and IKE (Internet Key Exchange) processes. Two common debug commands are “vpn debug on” and “vpn debug trunc.” While both commands enable debugging for VPN connections, their behavior and output management differ.
The command “vpn debug on” activates the debug mode but does not manage the existing debug log files or timestamps. It simply starts logging debug information as it happens, appending to any existing logs without clearing them. This means that over time, the log files (ike.elg and vpnd.elg) can grow large and potentially include older irrelevant information, making it harder to isolate the current issue.
On the other hand, “vpn debug trunc” is more efficient in terms of log file management. When this command is run, it first purges or truncates the existing ike.elg and vpnd.elg log files. This clears any previously collected debug data, ensuring that the logs only contain information relevant to the new debugging session. Additionally, “vpn debug trunc” adds timestamps to each entry, which helps in tracking when specific events occurred during the debug process, making it easier to analyze the sequence of actions.
Options B and C are incorrect because “vpn debug trunc” does not simply shorten the capture size or provide more verbose output. Instead, it manages the log files by truncating them and adding timestamps.
Option D is also incorrect because there is a clear advantage to “vpn debug trunc” over “vpn debug on” in terms of log management and clarity.
In summary, the key benefit of “vpn debug trunc” is that it clears previous logs and adds timestamps to new debug entries, facilitating easier troubleshooting and more focused log analysis.
Question No 7:
In Security Management High Availability, when the primary and secondary management servers running the same R80.x version enter a ‘Collision’ state, how can this issue be resolved?
A. The administrator must manually synchronize the servers using SmartConsole
B. The Collision state does not occur in R80.x because synchronization happens automatically after every publish
C. Reset the Secure Internal Communication (SIC) on the secondary management server
D. Execute ‘fw send synch force’ on the primary server and ‘fw get sync quiet’ on the secondary server
Answer: D
Explanation:
In Security Management High Availability (HA) environments using R80.x, the primary and secondary management servers work together to provide redundancy and continuous availability. These servers synchronize their states, configuration, and policy information to ensure seamless failover if one server becomes unavailable. However, sometimes a state known as ‘Collision’ may occur, indicating a conflict or mismatch between the primary and secondary servers’ synchronization status.
A ‘Collision’ state typically means that both servers believe they are primary or there is an inconsistency in the data being synchronized. This situation requires administrative intervention to restore synchronization and ensure the HA environment functions correctly.
Option A suggests manual synchronization through SmartConsole, but this is not the recommended or sufficient method to resolve a collision. SmartConsole mainly facilitates configuration management but does not handle low-level sync conflicts that cause collision states.
Option B incorrectly states that collision states do not occur in R80.x due to automatic synchronization on every publish. While R80.x does improve automatic sync mechanisms, collisions can still happen under certain conditions, such as network interruptions or configuration mismatches.
Option C suggests resetting the Secure Internal Communication (SIC) on the secondary server. Although resetting SIC might resolve certain connectivity or trust issues between management servers, it is not the direct approach to resolving a collision state caused by sync conflicts.
Option D is the correct solution. The command ‘fw send synch force’ is run on the primary server to force synchronization and send the current state and configuration data to the secondary server. On the secondary server, ‘fw get sync quiet’ accepts the incoming sync data without raising alerts or interruptions, allowing the two servers to realign their states and resolve the collision.
By forcing synchronization from the primary and accepting it quietly on the secondary, any conflicting states are overridden and corrected, restoring normal HA operation. This approach is a standard and effective method for resolving collision states in R80.x Security Management HA setups.
Question No 8:
When kernel debugging with “fw ctl debug” generates a very large output file that is hard to open and analyze with normal text editors, what is the best way to handle this?
A. Continue using “fw ctl debug” with a 1024KB buffer size
B. Split the debug output into smaller files using “fw ctl debug -f -o “filename” -m 25 -s “1024”
C. Lower the debug buffer size to 1024KB and run multiple debug sessions
D. Use the Check Point InfoView tool to analyze the debug output
Answer: B
Explanation:
When performing kernel debugging using the “fw ctl debug” command, it often results in extremely large log files. These files can become cumbersome to open and analyze with standard text editors because of their size, which impacts performance and readability. Therefore, managing this output efficiently is crucial for effective troubleshooting.
Option A suggests continuing with the default buffer size of 1024KB, but this does not address the issue of the large file size; it only limits how much data is stored in memory at one time. It does not provide a way to break the output into manageable chunks for analysis. Option C recommends reducing the buffer size and running multiple debug sessions, which might fragment the data but still does not offer an organized way to handle large outputs or improve readability.
Option D points to using the Check Point InfoView utility, which is designed for log analysis and monitoring but is not specifically tailored to handle or parse kernel debug files generated by “fw ctl debug.” While InfoView is useful for event logs and security monitoring, it is not an optimal tool for raw kernel debug outputs.
The best solution is described in option B, which involves splitting the debug output into smaller, more manageable files using the “-f” flag to enable file splitting, “-o” to specify the filename prefix, “-m 25” to set the maximum number of files to create, and “-s 1024” to define the buffer size. This approach allows the large debug output to be divided into several smaller files, making it easier to open, search, and analyze with standard text editors or other tools without running into performance issues. By managing the debug output in smaller portions, troubleshooting becomes more organized and efficient.
Thus, the most practical and effective method to handle large debug files from “fw ctl debug” is to split the output into smaller files using the provided options, making option B the correct choice.
Question No 9:
What is the best method to efficiently view large fw monitor capture files and apply filters to the data?
A. wireshark
B. CLISH
C. CLI
D. snoop
Answer: A
Explanation:
When dealing with large fw monitor captures, the most effective way to analyze and filter the data is by using a dedicated network protocol analyzer such as Wireshark. Wireshark is designed to handle extensive capture files, offering powerful filtering capabilities that allow users to focus on specific traffic patterns, protocols, or packet details. It provides a graphical interface that simplifies the process of inspecting complex network traffic by visually organizing packet data and offering detailed packet breakdowns.
Large fw monitor captures can be very difficult to analyze using command-line tools because they generate massive amounts of data, making it challenging to sift through relevant information. Wireshark's ability to apply display filters means users can quickly isolate specific types of traffic, such as filtering by IP addresses, ports, protocols, or even packet content, without needing to manually search through the entire capture.
Option B, CLISH, refers to a limited shell environment used mainly for basic command execution on network devices and does not provide advanced capture viewing or filtering capabilities. Option C, CLI, or command-line interface, while powerful for many network tasks, is not the most efficient method for viewing and filtering large packet capture files since it typically lacks the advanced filtering and visualization tools that Wireshark offers. Option D, snoop, is a packet capture tool used mainly on Solaris systems. While snoop can capture and display network traffic, it does not provide the extensive filtering and user-friendly interface that Wireshark delivers.
Overall, Wireshark remains the tool of choice when analyzing large firewall monitor captures due to its robust filtering options, detailed protocol analysis, and ease of use when dealing with voluminous packet data. This makes it significantly more efficient than other options for processing and interpreting fw monitor capture files.
Question No 10:
What is the primary function of SIM?
A. Accelerating packets
B. Handing off from the firewall kernel to the SecureXL kernel
C. Connecting OPSEC to SecureXL
D. Managing hardware communication with the accelerator
Answer: D
Explanation:
SIM, which stands for Security Interface Module, primarily handles the communication between the system's hardware and the accelerator components. In security appliances or systems designed to boost throughput and performance, hardware accelerators are specialized processors or modules that offload intensive tasks such as encryption, decryption, or packet inspection from the main CPU. SIM acts as the interface that facilitates this interaction, ensuring that commands and data are efficiently passed between the software layers and the hardware acceleration units.
Option A, accelerating packets, describes a broader concept of speeding up packet processing, but SIM specifically focuses on managing hardware communication rather than directly accelerating packets by itself. Option B refers to the transition from the firewall kernel to the SecureXL kernel, which is part of the software architecture managing firewall acceleration, but this handoff is not managed by SIM. Option C involves OPSEC (Open Platform for Security), a protocol used for communication between management and security components, connecting to SecureXL for optimization; again, this is separate from SIM’s hardware communication role.
Thus, the core responsibility of SIM lies in ensuring effective hardware communication to the accelerator, which is crucial for high-performance security operations. By managing this communication channel, SIM allows the system to leverage hardware acceleration capabilities to enhance throughput, reduce latency, and offload intensive processing tasks from the main CPU, leading to improved overall system efficiency.
