156-315.81 Checkpoint Check Point Certified Security Expert R81.20 Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

 In the Firewall chain mode FFF refers to all packets. Firewall chain mode is a feature that allows administrators to define how packets are processed by different firewall kernel modules in inbound and outbound directions. FFF is one of the predefined chain modes that applies all firewall kernel modules (Firewall, VPN, IPS, etc.) to all packets, regardless of their state or connection. This mode provides maximum security, but also consumes more CPU resources. 

 The most ideal Synchronization Status for Security Management Server High Availability deployment is Synchronized. Security Management Server High Availability deployment is a feature that allows two or more Security Management Servers to provide redundancy and load balancing for managing security policies and logs. Synchronization Status is a parameter that indicates how up-to-date the databases of the Security Management Servers are with each other. Synchronization Status can have one of the following values: Synchronized, Lagging, Never been synchronized, or Collision. Synchronized means that the databases of all Security Management Servers are identical and have no conflicts. This is the most ideal status as it ensures consistency and reliability of security management. Lagging means that one or more Security Management Servers have not received all the updates from other Security Management Servers, and their databases are outdated. Never been synchronized means that one or more Security Management Servers have never synchronized their databases with other Security Management Servers, and their databases are independent. Collision means that one or more Security Management Servers have received conflicting updates from other Security Management Servers, and their databases have discrepancies. 

The cloud-based SandBlast Mobile application that is used to register new devices and users is Check Point Gateway. Check Point Gateway is a web portal that allows administrators to enroll devices and users into the SandBlast Mobile service, which is a cloud-based solution that protects mobile devices from advanced threats. Check Point Gateway also allows administrators to configure policies, monitor device status, and generate reports for SandBlast Mobile. 

ThreatCloud is a collaboration platform for all the Check Point customers to share information about malicious and benign files that all of the customers can benefit from as it makes emulation of known files unnecessary. ThreatCloud is a cloud-based service that collects and analyzes threat intelligence from multiple sources, such as Check Point products, third-party vendors, open sources, and customers. ThreatCloud provides real-time updates and feeds to Check Point products, such as SandBlast, which is a solution that detects and prevents zero-day attacks by emulating files in a sandbox environment. By integrating with ThreatCloud, a Threat Emulation appliance can benefit from the shared information about malicious and benign files, and avoid emulating files that are already known to be safe or harmful. This can improve the performance and efficiency of the Threat Emulation appliance. The other options are either incorrect or not relevant to ThreatCloud or Threat Emulation. 

The NAT rules that are prioritized first are Manual/Pre-Automatic NAT. NAT stands for Network Address Translation, and it is a feature that allows Security Gateways to modify the source or destination IP addresses or ports of packets that pass through them. NAT rules are the rules that define how NAT is applied to traffic that matches certain criteria. There are three types of NAT rules: Manual/Pre-Automatic NAT, Automatic NAT, and Manual/Post-Automatic NAT. Manual/Pre-Automatic NAT rules are the rules that are manually created by administrators and placed before the automatic NAT rules in the rulebase. These rules have the highest priority and are processed first by the Security Gateway. Automatic NAT rules are the rules that are automatically generated by the Security Gateway based on the NAT properties of network objects. These rules have the second highest priority and are processed after the manual/pre-automatic NAT rules. Manual/Post-Automatic NAT rules are the rules that are manually created by administrators and placed after the automatic NAT rules in the rulebase. These rules have the lowest priority and are processed last by the Security Gateway. 

One of the major features in R81 SmartConsole is concurrent administration. This feature allows multiple administrators to work on the same Security Policy simultaneously, without blocking each other or creating conflicts. Concurrent administration improves the efficiency and productivity of security management operations1.

However, not all of the options given are possible considering that AdminA, AdminB and AdminC are editing the same Security Policy. The correct answer is B. AdminA and AdminB are editing the same rule at the same time. This is not possible because concurrent administration uses a locking mechanism to prevent multiple administrators from modifying the same rule or object at the same time. When an administrator clicks on a rule or an object, it becomes locked and a lock icon appears next to it. The lock icon shows the name of the administrator who is working on that rule or object, and prevents other administrators from editing it until it is unlocked12.

Therefore, the other options are possible considering that AdminA, AdminB and AdminC are editing the same Security Policy. Option A is possible because a lock icon shows that a rule or an object is locked and will be available when the administrator who locked it finishes working on it or logs out of SmartConsole12. Option C is possible because a lock icon next to a rule informs that any administrator is working on this particular rule, and hovering over the lock icon will show the name of that administrator12. Option D is possible because AdminA, AdminB and AdminC are editing three different rules at the same time, which does not create any conflicts or blockages12.

According to the Check Point R81 training course, the Proxy ARP feature for Manual NAT in R81.20 requires the configuration of the local.arp file on the Security Gateway. This file contains the mapping of IP addresses to MAC addresses for NATed hosts. The other options are either incorrect or irrelevant. References: Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81.20 Course Overview

 To ensure that VMAC mode is enabled, the CLI command that should be run on all cluster members is fw ctl get int fwha_vmac_global_param_enabled; result of command should return value 1. VMAC mode is a feature that allows ClusterXL to use virtual MAC addresses for cluster interfaces, instead of physical MAC addresses. This improves the failover performance and compatibility of ClusterXL with switches and routers. To check if VMAC mode is enabled, the command fw ctl get int fwha_vmac_global_param_enabled can be used, which returns 1 if VMAC mode is enabled, and 0 if VMAC mode is disabled. 

With SecureXL enabled, accelerated packets will pass through the following: Network Interface Card and the Acceleration Device. SecureXL is a technology that accelerates network traffic processing by offloading intensive operations from the Firewall kernel to a dedicated SecureXL device. Accelerated packets are packets that match certain criteria and can be handled by SecureXL without involving the Firewall kernel. These packets bypass the OSI Network Layer, OS IP Stack, and Check Point Firewall Kernel, and are processed directly by the Network Interface Card and the Acceleration Device. The other options are either incorrect or describe non-accelerated packets. 

The process that handles connection from SmartConsole R81 is cpm. Cpm stands for Check Point Management, and it is the main process that runs on the Security Management Server and interacts with SmartConsole clients. Cpm is responsible for managing policies, objects, logs, tasks, and other management functions. The other processes are either obsolete or irrelevant for SmartConsole connection.

 The command that would be used to set the network interfaces’ affinity in Manual mode is sim affinity -s. Sim affinity is a command that allows administrators to view and modify the CPU core affinity of network interfaces and SecureXL instances. Core affinity is a feature that binds network interfaces and SecureXL instances to specific CPU cores, which improves the performance and load balancing of the Security Gateway. Sim affinity -s sets the network interfaces’ affinity in Manual mode, which means that administrators can manually assign network interfaces to CPU cores. The other options are either invalid or perform different functions. 

According to the Check Point website, Capsule Connect and Capsule Workspace both offer secured connection for remote users who are using their mobile devices. However, there are differences between the two. For credential protection, Connect uses One-time Password login support and has no SSO support, whereas Workspace offers both One-Time Password and certain SSO login support. The other statements are either false or partially true. References: Capsule Connect and Capsule Workspace

The responsibility of SOLR process on R81.20 management server is to generate indexes of data written to the database. SOLR is an open source search platform that provides fast and scalable indexing and querying capabilities. SOLR is used by the R81.20 management server to index data such as logs, objects, policies, tasks, and events, and to enable quick and efficient searches on this data by SmartConsole and SmartView applications. 

According to the Check Point website, you can use the pre_upgrade_verifier tool to verify if your management server is ready to upgrade to R81.20. This tool checks the compatibility of your current configuration and database with the target version, and provides a detailed report of any issues or warnings. The other tools are either used for exporting or importing databases, or not valid tools. References: Upgrade Verification Service

 Application Control is the software blade that provides Application Security and identity control. It allows administrators to define granular policies based on users or groups to identify, block or limit the usage of web applications and widgets. Application Control also integrates with Identity Awareness to provide user-level visibility and control. References: Training & Certification | Check Point Software, Check Point Resource Library

The command to show SecureXL status is fwaccel stat. This command displays information about SecureXL acceleration, such as the number of accelerated and non-accelerated connections, the reason for non-acceleration, and the SecureXL device name and mode. The other commands are either invalid or show different statistics.

 The number of cores that can be used in a Cluster for Firewall-kernel on the new device with 4 cores is 4. Cluster is a feature that allows two or more Security Gateways to provide high availability and load balancing for network traffic. Firewall-kernel is a component of the Security Gateway that performs packet inspection according to security policies. The number of cores that can be used for Firewall-kernel in a Cluster depends on the number of cores available on each device in the Cluster. The Cluster will use the lowest common denominator of cores among all devices in the Cluster for Firewall-kernel. Therefore, if one device has 2 cores and another device has 4 cores, the Cluster will use 2 cores for Firewall-kernel on each device. However, if both devices have 4 cores, the Cluster will use 4 cores for Firewall-kernel on each device.

 UserCheck is a communication tool used to inform a user about a website or application they are trying to access. UserCheck allows administrators to interact with users in real time, informing them of the security policy and the actions they need to take. UserCheck can also enable users to self-remediate incidents or request exceptions from the administrator. References: Training & Certification | Check Point Software, Check Point Resource Library

 The deployment of Check Point API does not have the purpose of creating a customized GUI Client for manipulating the objects database. The Check Point API is a web service that allows external applications to interact with the Check Point management server using standard methods such as HTTP(S) requests and JSON objects. The Check Point API can be used to execute an automated script to perform common tasks, create products that use and enhance the Check Point solution, and integrate Check Point products with 3rd party solutions. However, creating a customized GUI Client for manipulating the objects database is not a supported or intended use case of the Check Point API. 

The best suggestion for Pamela to make sure she successfully captures entire traffic in context of Firewall and problematic traffic is: Pamela should check SecureXL status on DMZ Security gateway and if it’s turned ON. She should turn OFF SecureXL before using fw monitor to avoid misleading traffic captures. SecureXL is a technology that accelerates network traffic processing by offloading intensive operations from the Firewall kernel to a dedicated SecureXL device. However, this also means that some traffic might not be seen by fw monitor, which is a tool that captures packets at different inspection points in the Firewall kernel. Therefore, to ensure that fw monitor captures all traffic, SecureXL should be turned OFF before using fw monitor. The other suggestions are either incorrect or less effective in capturing traffic. 

The command that would show the API server status is api status. API stands for Application Programming Interface, and it is a web service that allows external applications to interact with the Check Point management server using standard methods such as HTTP(S) requests and JSON objects. API status is a command that shows the current status of the API server, such as whether it is enabled or disabled, running or stopped, listening on which port, using which certificate, etc. The other commands are either invalid or perform different functions. 

According to the Check Point Resource Library, the minimum amount of RAM needed for a Threat Prevention Appliance is 4 GB. This applies to both physical and virtual appliances. The other options are either incorrect or irrelevant. References: Check Point Resource Library

Tom’s changes will have been stored on the Management when he reconnects and he will not lose any of his work.

This is because SmartConsole has a feature called Concurrent Administration, which allows multiple administrators to work on the same Security Policy simultaneously, without blocking each other or creating conflicts. Concurrent Administration uses a locking mechanism to prevent multiple administrators from modifying the same rule or object at the same time. When an administrator clicks on a rule or an object, it becomes locked and a lock icon appears next to it. The lock icon shows the name of the administrator who is working on that rule or object, and prevents other administrators from editing it until it is unlocked12.

Concurrent Administration also has a feature called Session Persistence, which preserves the changes made by an administrator in case of a network failure or a SmartConsole crash. When an administrator reconnects to the Management Server after a network failure or a SmartConsole crash, they can resume their work from where they left off, without losing any changes. The changes are stored locally on the administrator’s machine until they are published to the Management Server13.

Therefore, if Tom has connected to the R81 Management Server remotely using SmartConsole and is in the process of making some Rule Base changes, when he suddenly loses connectivity, his changes will not be lost. They will be stored locally on his machine and he can resume his work when he reconnects to the Management Server.

The file that gives you a list of all security servers in use, including port number, is $FWDIR/conf/fwauthd.conf. Security servers are processes that handle application-level protocols such as HTTP, FTP, SMTP, etc., and perform security checks on them. Fwauthd.conf is a configuration file that defines which security servers are enabled, which ports they listen on, and which inspection points they are attached to. 

 For packets that do not pass Firewall Kernel Inspection and are rejected by the rule definition, packets are dropped with logs and without sending a negative acknowledgment. Firewall Kernel Inspection is the process of applying security policies and rules to network traffic by the Firewall kernel module. If a packet does not match any rule or matches a rule with an action of Drop or Reject, the packet is dropped by the Firewall kernel module. The difference between Drop and Reject is that Drop silently discards the packet without informing the sender, while Reject discards the packet and sends a negative acknowledgment (such as an ICMP message) to the sender. However, both Drop and Reject actions generate logs that record the details of the dropped packets, such as source, destination, protocol, port, rule number, etc. The other options are either incorrect or describe different scenarios.

The option that is NOT an option to calculate the traffic direction is Outgoing. Traffic direction is a parameter that determines how traffic is classified as internal or external based on its source and destination. Traffic direction can be calculated using three options: Incoming, Internal, or External. Incoming means that traffic is classified as internal if its destination is one of the Security Gateway’s interfaces, and external otherwise. Internal means that traffic is classified as internal if its source or destination belongs to one of the internal networks defined in the topology, and external otherwise. External means that traffic is classified as internal if both its source and destination belong to one of the internal networks defined in the topology, and external otherwise. Outgoing is not a valid option to calculate traffic direction. 

Gateway API is NOT an example of a Check Point API. Check Point API is a general term that refers to various application programming interfaces (APIs) that allow external applications to interact with Check Point products and services using standard methods such as HTTP(S) requests and JSON objects. There are several types of Check Point APIs, such as Management API, Threat Prevention API, OPSEC SDK, etc. Management API is an API that allows external applications to configure, manage, and monitor Check Point management server using web services. Threat Prevention API is an API that allows external applications to send files or URLs to Check Point Threat Prevention products for scanning and analysis using web services. OPSEC SDK is an API that allows external applications to integrate with Check Point OPSEC products using C/C++ libraries and protocols. Gateway API is not a valid or existing type of Check Point API.

The path to monitor the compliance status of the Check Point R81.20 based management is Logs & Monitor > New Tab > Open compliance View. Compliance View is a feature that allows administrators to monitor and assess the compliance level of their Check Point products and security policies based on best practices and industry standards. Compliance View provides a dashboard that shows the overall compliance status, compliance score, compliance trends, compliance issues, compliance reports, and compliance blades for different security aspects, such as data protection, threat prevention, identity awareness, etc. To access Compliance View in R81.20 SmartConsole, administrators need to go to Logs & Monitor > New Tab > Open compliance View. The other options are either incorrect or not available in R81.20.

According to the Check Point website, INSPECT Engine is the technology that extracts detailed information from packets and stores that information in state tables. INSPECT Engine is the core of Check Point’s Stateful Inspection technology, which enables Security Gateways to inspect traffic at multiple layers and enforce security policies. The other technologies are either not related or not specific enough. References: INSPECT Engine