PSE-SoftwareFirewall Palo Alto Networks Systems Engineer (PSE): Software Firewall Professional Questions and Answers

The VM-Series firewalls support various dynamic routing protocols to ensure efficient and resilient network traffic management. Among these, OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) and BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) are supported. OSPF is used for intra-domain routing, while BGP is essential for inter-domain routing, allowing VM-Series to participate in complex and scalable network topologies.

References:

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Deployment Guide: VM-Series Deployment Guide

Palo Alto Networks Administrator’s Guide: Routing Protocols

Creating a New Virtual Switch:

By creating a new virtual switch, you can segment the network within the ESXi environment. The VM-Series firewall can then be used to provide security controls between these virtual switches using virtual wire mode.

The Cloud NGFW by Palo Alto Networks is a managed cloud service designed to provide advanced network security capabilities within AWS deployments. This service leverages Palo Alto Networks’ technology to deliver scalable and comprehensive security without the need for users to manage the infrastructure themselves. It is ideal for organizations looking to integrate robust security within their cloud environments efficiently.

References:

Palo Alto Networks Cloud NGFW for AWS: Cloud NGFW for AWS

AWS Marketplace:Cloud NGFW for AWS

User IP mappings:

Panorama can push user-to-IP mapping information to the NSX manager, enabling dynamic security policy enforcement based on user identity.

For deploying VM-Series firewalls in high availability (HA), it is crucial to ensure that both firewalls in the HA pair have identical licenses and subscriptions to ensure feature parity and uninterrupted service during failover. Additionally, both firewalls must be deployed on the same type of hypervisor to ensure compatibility and proper synchronization of state and configurations between the active and passive units.

References:

Palo Alto Networks High Availability Guide: HA Requirements

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Deployment Guide: High Availability

Registering an Authorization Code:

An orchestration system can automate the registration of authorization codes, which is a critical step in licensing the VM-Series firewall. This process involves submitting the code to Palo Alto Networks to activate the license.

Prospects interested in Palo Alto Networks virtualized next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) can achieve improved return on investment (ROI) through the following factors:

Reduced operational expenditures: Virtualized NGFWs reduce the need for physical hardware, lowering the costs associated with purchasing, maintaining, and managing hardware appliances. This also includes savings on power, cooling, and physical space requirements.

CN-Series devices obtain a VM-Series authorization key from Panorama. Panorama is the centralized management platform for Palo Alto Networks firewalls, including CN-Series and VM-Series. It provides the necessary authorization keys and other configurations to ensure proper deployment and operation of the firewalls.

References:

Palo Alto Networks Panorama Documentation: Panorama Overview

Palo Alto Networks CN-Series Setup Guide: CN-Series Setup

Using the Heartbeat Backup:

The heartbeat backup is a mechanism that helps to prevent split-brain scenarios in a high availability (HA) configuration by providing an additional path for heartbeatcommunication. This ensures that both firewalls in the HA pair are aware of each other's status.

VM-Series firewalls provide advanced application-level security for web-server instances on AWS. These virtual firewalls leverage Palo Alto Networks’ next-generation firewall capabilities to offer features like application identification, threat prevention, and URL filtering, ensuring comprehensive security for web applications hosted on AWS.

References:

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series on AWS: VM-Series on AWS

AWS Security Best Practices:AWS Security Best Practices

In AWS, VM-Series firewalls support only active-passive high availability (HA) configuration. This means that one firewall is active and processing traffic, while the other remains passive and takes over in the event of a failure. This design consideration ensures continuous availability and reliability of firewall services in the AWS environment.

References:

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Deployment Guide for AWS: VM-Series Deployment Guide

Palo Alto Networks HA Configuration Guide: HA Configuration

Transit Gateway and Security VPC:

Using a transit gateway in conjunction with a Security VPC is a recommended design for outbound high availability (HA) in AWS. This configuration ensures that traffic can be routed efficiently and securely through the VM-Series firewalls deployed in the Security VPC.

Within a Cisco ACI architecture, Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) are deployed using service graphs. Service graphs in Cisco ACI define the sequence of network services that traffic must pass through. By configuring service graphs, administrators can seamlessly integrate Palo Alto Networks firewalls into the fabric to inspect and secure traffic flows.

References:

Palo Alto Networks and Cisco ACI Integration Guide: Service Graphs Integration

Cisco ACI Service Graph Documentation: Service Graphs

To avoid split brain scenarios in an active-passive high availability (HA) pair deployment, the management interface can be used as the HA1 backup link. This ensures reliable communication between the HA pair and prevents both firewalls from assuming the active role simultaneously, which can happen if they lose connectivity with each other on the primary HA1 link.

References:

Palo Alto Networks High Availability Guide: HA Configuration

Best Practices for HA Configuration: Avoiding Split Brain

Advanced URL Filtering (AURLF) leverages machine learning (ML) to provide real-time analysis and defense against new and unknown threats:

Real-time analysis: AURLF uses ML models to analyze web traffic in real-time, identifying malicious URLs and preventing access to harmful content before it reaches the user.

Defending against new and unknown threats: The ML capabilities allow the system to detect and block previously unknown threats by analyzing patterns and behaviors associated with malicious URLs, ensuring a proactive security posture.

CN-Series for DevOps deployments:

The CN-Series firewall is specifically designed to secure containerized environments and is ideal for protecting extensive DevOps deployments. It integrates seamlessly with Kubernetes and other container orchestration platforms, providing the necessary security controls for DevOps processes.