A. Use the Scheduled Config Push to schedule Commit to Panorama and also Push to Devices.

Explanation:
Panorama provides a Scheduled Config Push feature.

With it, you can:
Commit to Panorama (save changes to Panorama’s running config), and
Push to Devices (send the committed Panorama config down to managed firewalls).
You can schedule both actions to happen automatically at a specified time (e.g., end of day).
That exactly matches the requirement: ensure all Panorama configuration is committed and pushed to devices at a certain time.

❌ Why the other options are wrong:
B. Scheduled Config Push + API call
Overcomplicates it. Panorama already supports scheduled commit and push natively—no API scripting needed.
C. Scheduled Config Export + API call
Config Export only saves/exports the config to a file; it doesn’t commit or push to devices. Wrong feature.
D. Scheduled Config Export to commit and push
Same issue—Config Export is about saving, not applying configs.

📖 Reference:
Palo Alto TechDocs – Schedule a Config Push

B. The route with the lowest administrative distance

Explanation:
When multiple static routes exist for the same destination on a Palo Alto Networks firewall, the firewall uses Administrative Distance (AD) to determine which route takes precedence. The route with the lowest AD is considered more trustworthy and is installed in the Routing Information Base (RIB) and Forwarding Information Base (FIB).
Static routes typically have a default AD of 10
Dynamic protocols like OSPF or BGP have higher ADs (e.g., OSPF internal = 30, BGP external = 20)
If two static routes exist, the one with the lower AD will be preferred—even if both have the same destination and prefix length
This mechanism ensures predictable routing behavior and allows administrators to configure backup routes by assigning them a higher AD, so they’re only used if the primary route fails.

❌ Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:
A. The first route installed
→ Route installation order is irrelevant. AD is the deciding factor.
C. Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD)
→ BFD is used for route health monitoring, not for route selection. It can remove a route if the peer fails, but it doesn’t determine priority.
D. The route with the highest administrative distance
→ Opposite of correct. Higher AD means lower priority.

📚 Reference:
Static Route Overview – Palo Alto Networks
Route Preference Logic – Palo Alto Knowledge Base

D. A master device with Group Mapping configured must be set in the device group where the Security rules are configured.

Explanation:
To allow an administrator to select users and groups from Active Directory (AD) when building security rules in a Panorama Device Group, the Group Mapping configuration must be a part of a Master Device within that Device Group.

1.Master Device:
In a Panorama Device Group, a "Master Device" is the firewall that serves as the source of configuration for shared settings, including User-ID and Group Mapping. By designating a firewall as the master, Panorama pulls the user and group information that the firewall has learned from Active Directory.
2.Group Mapping:
This is the specific configuration that tells the Palo Alto Networks firewall how to connect to Active Directory (via LDAP) to pull user group information. The firewall queries AD and creates a mapping of users to their group memberships. This is the crucial step that makes AD groups available for use in security policies.
By making one of the firewalls a master device and ensuring it has a correctly configured Group Mapping, Panorama can then retrieve the user and group information from that device. This information becomes visible in Panorama's user and group selectors, allowing the administrator to build rules using AD groups for any firewall in that device group.

Why the other options are incorrect:
A. A User-ID Certificate profile must be configured on Panorama:
A certificate profile is used for authenticating with various services, but it is not the mechanism for pulling user and group mappings from a directory server. That is the job of Group Mapping.
B. The Security rules must be targeted to a firewall in the device group and have Group Mapping configured:
While Group Mapping must be configured, it is not configured on the security rules themselves. It is a separate configuration on the firewall, and its information is then made available to Panorama.
C. User-ID Redistribution must be configured on Panorama to ensure that all firewalls have the same mappings:
User-ID Redistribution is used to share user-to-IP address mappings among firewalls. This is different from Group Mapping, which is about mapping usernames to group memberships. While both are related to User-ID, Redistribution itself doesn't make the AD groups selectable in Panorama's rule-building interface.

D. Option D

Explanation:

Scenario Recap
Panorama is being used to manage policies and templates.
The administrator is creating a policy, but the zone dropdown does not include the required zone.
This usually means Panorama does not have zone information available — and that happens when a firewall is not properly linked to both the device group (policies) and the template (zones/interfaces).

Breakdown
Diagram & Panorama Settings
Shows Panorama managing multiple firewalls.
Timeout and commit synchronization settings.
Security Policy Rule
When creating rules, zone selection should appear.
But the required zone is not listed → root issue.
Objects / Zones Configuration
Shows configured security zones.
These zones must come from a firewall that belongs to both device group + template.
Panorama Settings – Share Options
Shows “Share Unused Address and Service Objects with Devices” setting.
This only impacts unused objects sync, not zone availability.

✅ Correct Answer
The missing zones issue is because no firewall is yet added to both the device group and template.

👉 The correct choice is:
D. Add a firewall to both the device group and the template

❌ Why not the others?
A. Specify master device
→ helps Panorama know which device’s zones/VRs to use if multiple firewalls exist, but if the firewall isn’t in both DG + template, it won’t even show.
B. Share unused objects
→ unrelated to zones.
C. Reference template
→ allows object reference from another template, but still requires a firewall in both DG + template.

A. Add SSL and web-browsing applications to the same rule.

Explanation:
In PAN-OS, every application has a set of dependencies and implicit uses. For GlobalProtect, the application:

Depends on SSL
→ must be explicitly allowed in the same rule
Implicitly uses web-browsing
→ does not require explicit allowance, but including it avoids misclassification delays during App-ID identification

To ensure full functionality and proper App-ID resolution, both SSL and web-browsing should be added to the same rule. This guarantees that the firewall can correctly identify and allow GlobalProtect traffic without delay or drop.

❌ Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:
B. Add web-browsing application to the same rule
→ Misses the required SSL dependency. GlobalProtect won’t work without SSL explicitly allowed.
C. Add SSL application to the same rule
→ Misses the implicit web-browsing usage. While technically functional, it may delay App-ID resolution.
D. SSL and web-browsing must both be explicitly allowed
→ Misleading. Only SSL is a dependency; web-browsing is implicitly used and doesn’t require explicit allowance unless you want to optimize App-ID recognition.

Reference:
Palo Alto Networks – What is Application Dependency
PCNSE Dependency Resolution Guide

B. Panorama Collector Group with Log Redundancy ensures that no logs are lost if a server fails inside the Collector Group.

Explanation:

1.Panorama Logging Options
Firewalls can send logs to Panorama for centralized logging.
To prevent log loss, Panorama supports Collector Groups — multiple Panorama log collectors working together.

2.Log Redundancy
If Log Redundancy is enabled on a Collector Group:
Each log is written to two collectors within the group.
If one collector fails, the other still has the log, ensuring no log loss.

3.Why Not the Other Options?
A. Panorama HA automatically ensures no log loss ❌
HA ensures management plane redundancy, but does not replicate logs between peers unless log redundancy is configured in a collector group.
C. Panorama HA with Log Redundancy ❌
Misleading: log redundancy is a collector group feature, not HA itself.
D. Panorama Collector Group automatically ensures no log loss ❌
Incorrect — redundancy is not automatic, you must explicitly enable Log Redundancy in the collector group.

Reference (Official Docs):
Palo Alto Networks — Collector Groups
🔗 Panorama Admin Guide – Collector Groups
“To prevent log loss, enable Log Redundancy in a Collector Group so that each log is forwarded to two log collectors in the group.”

D. Configure vwire interfaces for segment X on the firewall

Explanation:
The best option for gaining visibility and applying security rules to Segment X, which is routed through a backbone switch, without changing IP addressing or causing service interruptions, is to use Virtual Wire (vwire) interfaces.
Virtual Wire mode allows the firewall to be inserted transparently between two Layer 2 or Layer 3 devices. It does not require IP addressing changes, routing updates, or reconfiguration of the existing network. Traffic flows through the firewall as if it were a physical wire, while still allowing full inspection, logging, and enforcement of security policies.

This makes vwire ideal for:
Inline deployments with minimal disruption
Environments where IP changes are not permitted
Applying security policies to routed traffic without redesigning the network

❌ Why Other Options Are Incorrect:
A. Configure a Layer 3 interface for segment X on the firewall This requires IP addressing and routing changes, which violates the requirement for no IP changes and minimal service interruption.
B. Configure the TAP interface for segment X on the firewall TAP mode provides visibility only, without the ability to enforce security policies. It’s passive and cannot block or shape traffic.
C. Configure a new vsys for segment X on the firewall Virtual systems (vsys) are used for multi-tenancy, not for traffic visibility or enforcement. They don’t solve the routing or inline inspection requirement.

References:
Vcedump PCNSE Question 71
ITExamSolutions: Segment Visibility with Minimal Disruption