Question 31 - PCSFE discussion

The two design options that address split brain when configuring high availability (HA) are:

Adding a backup HA1 interface

Using the heartbeat backup

Split brain is a condition that occurs when both firewalls in an HA pair assume the active role and start processing traffic independently, resulting in traffic duplication, policy inconsistency, or session disruption. Split brain can be caused by network failures, device failures, or configuration errors that prevent the firewalls from communicating their HA status and synchronizing their configurations and sessions. Adding a backup HA1 interface is a design option that addresses split brain when configuring HA. The HA1 interface is used for exchanging HA state information and configuration synchronization between the firewalls. Adding a backup HA1 interface provides redundancy and failover protection for the HA1 interface, ensuring that the firewalls can maintain their HA communication and avoid split brain. Using the heartbeat backup is a design option that addresses split brain when configuring HA. The heartbeat backup is a mechanism that allows the firewalls to send additional heartbeat messages through an alternate path, such as a management interface or a data interface, to verify the health of the peer firewall. Using the heartbeat backup prevents split brain caused by network failures or device failures that affect the primary HA interfaces. Bundling multiple interfaces in an aggregated interface group and assigning HA2, and sending heartbeats across the HA2 interfaces are not design options that address split brain when configuring HA, but they are related features that can enhance performance and reliability. Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [High Availability Overview], [Configure HA Backup Links], [Configure Heartbeat Backup]