Free Palo Alto Networks Cybersecurity-Apprentice Actual Exam Questions - Question 9 Discussion

Question No. 9
A network administrator notices that devices within the same subnet (192.168.10.0/24) are unable to
communicate directly with each other and instead route their traffic through the default gateway. What is
the most likely explanation for this behavior?
Select one option, then reveal solution.
US
AV
Ali V.
2026-02-09

D, because a wrong mask can make devices think they’re on different networks.

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AV
Ali V.
2026-01-27

B/D? If the switch is Layer 3, it might route all traffic through gateway; misconfigured mask also fits.

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AE
Adeel E.
2026-01-26

It’s B because if the switch is routing at Layer 3, it could prevent direct Layer 2 communication and force all traffic through the gateway, even within the same subnet. This isn’t typical but fits the problem description.

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AU
Adeel U.
2026-01-22

B imo, if the switch was doing Layer 3 routing, it might force traffic through the gateway instead of switching locally. That would explain why devices don’t talk directly within the subnet.

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CG
Carlos G.
2026-01-15

That’s a weird one, but I’m going with D since if the subnet mask is off, devices might think others aren’t local. Makes sense why they'd send traffic to the gateway then.

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