Checkpoint 156-587 Check Point Certified Troubleshooting Expert - R81.20 (CCTE) Exam Practice Test

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 PDP process is the Identity server, which is a component of the Identity Awareness blade on the Security Gateway. The PDP process is responsible for collecting and managing identity information from various sources, such as Active Directory, Identity Agents, Captive Portal, Terminal Servers, and RADIUS. The PDP process also communicates with the PEP process, which is the Policy Enforcement Point, to enforce identity-based policies on the traffic passing throughthe Security Gateway1. The other options, such as Log Sifter, Captive Portal Service, andUserAuth Database, are either not related to Identity Awareness or not processes, but rather files or services. References: 1: sk93046: Identity Awareness - How to Configure

cpsemd is the process responsible for logging into the SmartEvent GUI. Therefore, you need to check the status of this process and debug it, if necessary. Usually, the issue withthe cpsemd process is that it is crashing, or not coming up. What causes this process to crash or not come up is that the PostgreSQL database is down. Therefore, in order to run the cpsemd process successfully, you need to run the PostgreSQL database successfully.

The process responsible for log indexing and text searching is solr, which is a child process of cpm. The solr process is responsible for indexing the logs and providing the search engine for SmartLog and SmartConsole. The solr process is started by the cpm process and can be monitored by the command cpwd_admin list. The solr process uses the PostgreSQL database to store the indexed data and the Lucene library to perform the text search. The solr process can be affected by various factors, such as the size and number of log files, the hardware resources, the network connectivity, and the configuration settings. If the solr process is not running correctly, the administrator may experience issues with log indexing and text searching, such as slow performance, missing logs, or incorrect results. 

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: &solutionid=sk97638 :

The Application Database on a Check Point Security Gateway stores information about applications and categories used by the Application Control and URL Filtering blades. This database is maintained in specific files on the Gateway.

Option A: Incorrect. api_db.C and api_custom_db.C are not standard files related to the Application Database. These names may be confused with API-related configurations.

Option B: Incorrect. apcl_db.C and apd_custom_db.C are not recognized as Application Database files. These names do not align with Check Point’s file naming conventions.

Option C: Correct. The Application Database is stored in application_db.C (the main database) and application_custom_db.C (custom application definitions). These files are located in the $FWDIR/conf directory on the Security Gateway.

Option D: Incorrect. appi_db.C and appi_custom_db.C are close but incorrect. The correct prefix is application_, not appi_.

 The fw ctl zdebug command is a powerful tool that can be used to collect debug messages from the kernel, clean the buffer, and automatically allocate a 1MB buffer. However, it cannot be used to debug additional modules, such as SecureXL, CoreXL, or VPN. For those modules, other commands or tools are needed, such as fwaccel dbg, fw ctl affinity, or vpn debug.

The Check Point process responsible for Mobile VPN connections, particularly those associated with the Mobile Access Software Blade (which includes SSL VPN and clientless access), is cvpnd (Connectra VPN Daemon).

Exact Extracts and Supporting Information:

Check Point CLI Reference Guide (for cvpnd_admin):

"cvpnd_admin. Description. Changes the behavior of the Mobile Access cvpnd process."

This command utility directly interacts with cvpnd for Mobile Access functionalities.  

Check Point Daemon Lists (e.g., from "tech :: stuff - Checkpoint Daemons and Processes Explained" or similar CCTE R81.20 documentation):

Under the "Mobile Access Blade" section, CVPND is typically listed as:"CVPND - Connectra VPN Daemon. Main daemon for the Mobile Access Software Blade."  

It's also often noted that the cpwd_admin list command (Check Point WatchDog) shows this process as "CVPND".  

Commands like cvpnstart and cvpnstop are used to manage this daemon.  

Exam Preparation Materials (e.g., ExamTopics for 156-586):

A question directly asking "Which process is responsible for Mobile VPN connections?" with options including cvpnd, vpnk, fwk, and vpnd, typically indicates cvpnd as the correct answer.

Explanation of other options:

B. fwk: This is a general suffix often related to firewall worker processes or kernel modules, not a specific high-level daemon for Mobile VPN.

C. vpnd: This is the main VPN daemon, primarily responsible for site-to-site IPsec VPNs and some traditional IPsec remote access clients. While it handles VPN functions, cvpnd is specialized for Mobile Access.  

D. vpnk: This refers to VPN kernel-level operations and modules (e.g., handling the actual encryption/decryption of traffic processed by IPsec SAs). It is not the user-space daemon that manages Mobile VPN sessions and policies.

Therefore, cvpnd is the specific process dedicated to managing Mobile VPN connections within the Check Point architecture.

Reference (based on official Check Point documentation naming and functionality):

Check Point R81.20 CLI Reference Guide (details for cvpnd_admin).

Check Point R81.20 Administration Guides (sections discussing Mobile Access architecture and daemons).

Commonly known Check Point process lists available in CCTE study materials.

In Check Point Gaia, you can enable core dumping through the command line interface (clish) using the following command:

set core-dump enable

This command activates the core dump mechanism, allowing the system to generate core dump files when user processes crash. Remember to save the configuration after enabling core dumps with the command:

save config

Why other options are incorrect:

B. set core-dump total:This command is used to set the total disk space limit for core dump files, not to enable core dumping itself.

C. set user-dump enable:There is no such command in Gaia clish for enabling core dumps.

D. set core-dump per_process:This command sets the maximum number of core dump files allowed per process, but it doesn't enable core dumping.

Check Point Troubleshooting References:

Check Point R81.20 Security Administration Guide:This guide provides comprehensive information about Gaia clish commands, including those related to system configuration and troubleshooting.

Check Point sk92764:This knowledge base article specifically addresses core dump management in Gaia, explaining how to enable and configure core dumps.

Enabling core dumps is a crucial step in troubleshooting process crashes as it provides valuable information for analysis and debugging.

The input that is suitable for debugging HTTPS inspection issues is fw debug tls on TDERROR_ALL_ALL=5. This input will enable the TLS debug mode and set the debug level to 5, which is the highest level of verbosity. The fw debug command is used to control the debug features of the firewall modules, such as TLS, CPTLS, HTTP, etc. The tls option will enable the debug mode for the TLS module, which is responsible for handling the HTTPS inspection feature. The TDERROR_ALL_ALL environment variable will set the debug level to 5, which will generate the most detailed and comprehensive debug output. The debug output will be written to the $FWDIR/log/tls.elg file, whichcan be collected and analyzed with the TLSView tool1 to see the details of the HTTPS inspection process, such as certificate validation, SSL/TLS negotiation, encryption/decryption, etc. The other options are incorrect because:

fw ctl debug -m fw + conn drop cptls will enable the kernel debug mode for the firewall module, with the flags conn, drop, and cptls. The kernel debug mode will generate the kdebug.txt file in the $FWDIR/log directory, which contains information about the firewall traffic processing in the kernel. The kernel debug mode is useful for troubleshooting issues related to policy, NAT, routing, and inspection, but not for issues related to HTTPS inspection, which is handled by the TLS module in the user space2.

vpn debug cptls on will enable the IKE debug mode for the CPTLS module, which is a component of the VPN module. The IKE debug mode will generate the ike.elg and ikev2.xmll files in the $FWDIR/log directory, which contain information about the IKE negotiation, authentication, and key exchange between the VPN peers. The CPTLS module is responsible for handling the SSL/TLS encryption/decryption for the VPN traffic, but not for the HTTPS inspection traffic3.

fw diag debug tls enable is not a valid command and will not enable the TLS debug mode. The fw diag command is used to control the diagnostic features of the firewall, such as packet capture, core dump, etc. The debug option is not a valid option for the fw diag command, and the tls option is not a valid option for the debug option. References:

How to use the TLSView tool

How to debug the Firewall kernel (fw) module

How to debug VPN issues on Quantum Spark (SMB) Appliances

[fw diag - Check Point CLI Reference Card]

When a Security Gateway performs a URL lookup and the URL is not found in the local caches, a request for online categorization is necessary. This process involves the Resource Advisor Daemon (RAD), which has components in both kernel space and user space.

Based on descriptions of the URL Filtering categorization process (often cited in CCTE R81.20 materials):

A client (internal component, potentially the URLF Kernel Client or a similar kernel module handling the traffic) initiates a URL lookup.

The URL is first checked against kernel caches.

If the URL is not found in the kernel cache (a cache miss), the RAD kernel component is notified.

The client component then typically sends an asynchronous request to the RAD kernel component.

The RAD Kernel Space component is then responsible for forwarding this request to the RAD User Space module.

The RAD User Space module handles the actual online categorization, often by querying the URLF Online Service (Check Point's cloud-based categorization service).

The result is then returned, and the kernel cache is updated.

The question asks where the sync-request (or a request requiring immediate online lookup) is forwarded from. In this flow, the RAD Kernel Space acts as the intermediary that forwards the request from the initial kernel-level lookup mechanism to the user-space RAD process for further handling.

Supporting Information (derived from CCTE R81.20 related materials/discussions):

The typical flow for URL categorization when an online lookup is needed involves these steps:

"The kernel cache notifies the RAD kernel of hits and misses."

"The client sends an a-sync request back to RAD if the URL was not found." (This request goes to the RAD Kernel Space).

"The a-sync request is forwarded to the RAD User space via the RAD kernel for online categorization."

This indicates that the RAD Kernel (RAD Kernel Space) is the component that forwards the request to the RAD User Space.

Therefore, if a sync-request (a request needing immediate online lookup) is required, it is forwarded from the RAD Kernel Space to the RAD User Space.

Reference Context (based on CCTE R81.20 materials and general Check Point URL Filtering architecture):

Discussions and explanations related to Check Point Certified Troubleshooting Expert (CCTE) R81.20 curriculum often detail this RAD architecture. For example, study materials might state: "RAD has a kernel module that looks up the kernel cache, notifies client about hits and misses and forwards a-sync requests to RAD user space module which is responsible for online categorization." The 1 "RAD kernel module" corresponds to the RAD Kernel Space, and it is this component that performs the forwarding action to the RAD User Space.(Exact page numbers like "CCTE R81.20, p338/339" have been referenced in public CCTE exam discussions pointing to this flow)

 Dynamic log distribution is a feature that allows the Security Gateway to distribute logs between the active Log Servers, instead of sending a copy of every log to each Log Server. This feature was introduced in Check Point R81.10 version, and it requires boththe Management and the Gateways to be at least on version R81.10 for this to be supported12. With dynamic log distribution, the Gateway can optimize the disk space usage and network bandwidth consumption of the Log Servers, and also improve theperformance and reliability of the logging system3. References: Dynamic logs distribution - Check Point CheckMates1, (CCTE) - Check Point Software2, SmartLog and SmartEvent R81.10 Administration Guide3

1: 2: 3:

A core dump file is essentially a snapshot of the process's memory at the time of the crash. This snapshot includes crucial information that can help diagnose the cause of the crash. Here's why all the options are relevant:

i. Program Counter:This register stores the address of the next instruction the CPU was supposed to execute. It pinpoints exactly where in the code the crash occurred.

ii. Stack Pointer:This register points to the top of the call stack, which shows the sequence of function calls that led to the crash. This helps trace the program's execution flow before the crash.

iii. Memory management information:This includes details about the process's memory allocations, which can reveal issues like memory leaks or invalid memory access attempts.

iv. Other Processor and OS flags/information:This encompasses various registers and system information that provide context about the state of the processor and operating system at the time of the crash.

By analyzing this information within the core dump, you can often identify the root cause of the crash, such as a segmentation fault, null pointer dereference, or stack overflow.

Check Point Troubleshooting References:

While core dumps are a general concept in operating systems, Check Point's documentation touches upon them in the context of troubleshooting specific processes like fwd (firewall) or cpd (Check Point daemon). The fw ctl zdebug command, for example, can be used to trigger a core dump of the fwd process for debugging purposes.

 The CPD process controls logging on the Security Management Server or the Log Server. It is responsible for receiving logs from the Security Gateways, storing them in the log files, and forwarding them to the SmartLog and SmartEvent servers. It also handles the communication with the SmartConsole clients and the CPM process. The CPD process runs on the Security Management Server or the Log Server as part of the Management High Availability module.

 Identity Awareness is a feature that enables the Security Gateway to identify users and groups behind IP addresses, and apply security policies based on their identity12. Identity Awareness uses different methods to acquire identities, such as AD Query, Identity Collector, and Browser-Based Authentication12. To debug Identity Awareness issues, you need to use the command pdp debug on the gateway, where pdp stands for Policy Decision Point, the component that handles the identity acquisition and enforcement13. The command pdp debug has different flags for different identity sources, such as adlog for AD Query, ic for Identity Collector, and nac for Browser-Based Authentication13. The flag extended enables more detailed debug output13. Therefore, the correct command to debug the problem of users not being able to browse internet sites with Identity Awareness using AD Query, Identity Collector, and Browser-Based Authentication is pdp debug nac extended on the gateway13. The other options are incorrect because they either use the wrong command (ad debug instead of pdp debug), the wrong flag (ad query instead of nac), or the wrong location (on the management instead of on the gateway). References:

1: CCTE Courseware, Module 9: Advanced Identity Awareness Troubleshooting, Slide 4

2: Check Point R81 Identity Awareness Administration Guide, Chapter 1: Introduction to Identity Awareness, Page 7

3: Check Point R81 Identity Awareness Administration Guide, Chapter 5: Troubleshooting Identity Awareness, Page 49