Checkpoint 156-315.81 - Check Point Certified Security Expert R81.20

Wire Mode is a VPN-1 NGX feature that enables VPN connections to successfully fail over, bypassing Security Gateway enforcement. This improves performance and reduces downtime. Based on a trusted source and destination, Wire Mode uses internal interfaces and VPN Communities to maintain a private and secure VPN session, without employing Stateful Inspection. Since Stateful Inspection no longer takes place, dynamic-routing protocols that do not survive state verification in non-Wire Mode configurations can now be deployed. The VPN connection is no different from any other connections along a dedicated wire, thus the meaning of "Wire Mode".

References: VPN Administration Guide

On a Security Gateway with CoreXL enabled, the Firewall kernel is replicated multiple times. Each replicated copy, or instance, runs on one processing core. These instances handle traffic concurrently, and each instance is a complete and independent inspection kernel. When CoreXL is enabled, all the kernel instances in the Security Gateway process traffic through the same interfaces and apply the same security policy.

References:

It is recommended to enable Detect-Only for Troubleshooting on the profile during the initial installation of IPS. This option overrides any protections that are set to Prevent so that they will not block any traffic.

During this time you can analyze the alerts that IPS generates to see how IPS will handle network traffic, while avoiding any impact on the flow of traffic.

References:

The Check Point TE appliance in Recommended Mode includes 2(OS) images. One image is used for running the appliance, and the other image is used for backup and recovery purposes. The images are not chosen by the administrator during installation, nor based on the license or the latest version. References: [Check Point R81 Threat Emulation Administration Guide]

 According to the Check Point R81 training course, the medium path is available only when CoreXL is enabled. CoreXL is a performance-enhancing technology that allows multiple CPU cores to process traffic simultaneously. The medium path handles packets that require deeper inspection or content awareness, such as IPS, Anti-Virus, or URL Filtering. The other paths are either available regardless of CoreXL or not valid terms. References: Certified Security Expert (CCSE) R81.20 Course Overview

 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.

 The order of NAT priorities is determined by the type of NAT rule that is applied to the traffic. There are three types of NAT rules in Check Point: static NAT, IP pool NAT, and hide NAT12.

Static NAT: This type of NAT rule maps a single IP address to another single IP address. It is usually used to allow external hosts to access internal servers or devices. Static NAT has the highest priority among the NAT rules, and it is applied before the security policy is enforced12.

IP pool NAT: This type of NAT rule maps a range of IP addresses to another range of IP addresses. It is usually used to balance the load among multiple servers or devices. IP pool NAT has the second highest priority among the NAT rules, and it is applied after the security policy is enforced12.

Hide NAT: This type of NAT rule hides a group of IP addresses behind a single IP address or an interface. It is usually used to allow internal hosts to access external resources. Hide NAT has the lowest priority among the NAT rules, and it is applied after the security policy is enforced12.

Therefore, the order of NAT priorities is: static NAT, IP pool NAT, hide NAT.

References: 1: Check Point R81 Security Administration Guide - Check Point Software, page 209 2: Check Point R81 Security Engineering Guide - Check Point Software, page 163

The port that the CPM process runs on is TCP 19009. 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. CPM listens on TCP port 19009 for incoming connections from SmartConsole clients. The other ports are either used by other processes or not related to CPM. 

 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. 

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.

 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

A star community is a VPN topology where one or more satellites connect to a center gateway. The center gateway can be a Security Gateway or a Security Management Server. The VPN routing option determines how the traffic is routed between the satellites and the center, and between the satellites themselves. There are three VPN routing options available in a star community12:

To center only: The satellites can only communicate with the center gateway, and not with each other or with any other VPN targets. This option is useful for remote access clients that only need to access resources on the center gateway.

To center, or through the center to other satellites, to Internet and other VPN targets: The satellites can communicate with the center gateway, and also with other satellites, Internet hosts, and other VPN targets through the center gateway. This option is useful for branch offices that need to access resources on the center gateway, as well as on other branch offices, Internet hosts, and other VPN targets.

To center and to other satellites through center: The satellites can communicate with the center gateway, and also with other satellites through the center gateway. However, they cannot communicate with Internet hosts or other VPN targets. This option is useful for branch offices that need to access resources on the center gateway and on other branch offices, but not on Internet hosts or other VPN targets.

Therefore, the options A (To satellites through center only) and D (To center only) are not valid VPN routing options in a star community.

References: 1: Remote Access VPN R81.20 Administration Guide - Check Point Software, page 13 2: Gaia R81.20 Administration Guide - Check Point Software, page 1030

The correct statement about Security Gateway and Security Management Server failover in Check Point R81.X in terms of Check Point Redundancy driven solution is: Security Gateway failover is an automatic procedure but Security Management Server failover is a manual procedure. Security Gateway failover is a feature that allows a cluster of Security Gateways to provide high availability and load balancing for network traffic. If one Security Gateway fails or becomes unreachable, another Security Gateway in the cluster automatically takes over its role and handles the traffic without interrupting the service. Security Management Server failover is a feature that allows a backup Security Management Server to take over the role of the primary Security Management Server in case of failure or disaster. However, this feature requires manual intervention to activate the backup server and restore the database from a backup file.