PSE-SoftwareFirewall Paloalto Networks Palo Alto Networks Systems Engineer (PSE): Software Firewall Professional Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

The number of required flex credits for a VM-Series firewall primarily depends on the vCPU allocation. Flex credits are used to license VM-Series firewalls, and the number of credits required is determined by the number of virtual CPUs (vCPUs) allocated to the firewall. Higher vCPU allocations provide greater performance capabilities and thus require more flex credits.

References:

Palo Alto Networks Licensing Guide: VM-Series Licensing

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Datasheet: VM-Series Datasheet

For automating the deployment of VM-Series firewalls from NSX Manager, Panorama must be configured to recognize and communicate with both the NSX Manager and vCenter. This ensures that Panorama can manage the firewall policies and orchestration efficiently.

NAT (Network Address Translation) protects and hides an internal network in an outbound flow by translating internal private IP addresses to a public IP address. This process masks the internal IP addresses from external networks, providing security and privacy for the internal network. NAT is commonly used in outbound traffic to allow multiple devices on a local network to communicate with external networks while appearing as a single IP address.

References:

Palo Alto Networks NAT Configuration Guide: NAT Configuration

Palo Alto Networks Concepts: NAT

Full set of APIs enabling programmatic control of policy and configuration:

Palo Alto Networks provides a comprehensive set of APIs that allow for the automation and orchestration of security policies and configurations in an SDN environment.

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

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

When implementing active-active high availability (HA), a floating IP address must be configured to allow the HA pair to share a single IP address that may be used as the network's gateway IP address. This floating IP address ensures that either of the active-active firewalls can assume control of the traffic without interruption in case of a failover.

References:

Palo Alto Networks High Availability Guide: Active-Active HA Configuration

Palo Alto Networks HA Configuration: HA Configuration

Containers are typically designed to run a specific application or service, meaning they have a limited and well-defined set of processes. This makes it easier to implement and manage runtime security based on allow lists, as any deviation from the expected processes can be quickly identified and mitigated.

Reference: Security best practices for container environments emphasize the use of allow lists to enforce runtime security, leveraging the predictable nature of container processes.

Palo Alto Networks Container Security Guide

VM-Series Auto Scaling:

The VM-Series firewalls are designed to integrate with cloud environments like AWS and support auto-scaling. This allows for the deployment of a single auto-scaling group (ASG) of VM-Series firewalls to secure inbound traffic from the internet to AWS application workloads.

OpenShift:

The CN-Series firewall supports deployment in Red Hat OpenShift environments. OpenShift is a Kubernetes-based container platform that provides a comprehensive solution for container orchestration.

To integrate a Palo Alto Networks VM-Series firewall with Azure Orchestration, an API Key is required. The API Key is used to authenticate and authorize the firewall to interact with Azure services, enabling automated management and orchestration of security policies and configurations.

References:

Palo Alto Networks Integration with Azure: Azure Integration

Azure API Management:Azure API Key

Allow-list Security Model:

Prisma Cloud Compute provides runtime security by automatically creating an allow-list security model for each container and service. This model ensures that only expected and authorized behaviors are allowed, effectively preventing unauthorized activities.

For deploying VM-Series firewalls in an AWS environment, it is important to note that only active-passive HA is supported. This setup ensures that one firewall handles the traffic while the other remains in standby mode, ready to take over in case the active firewall fails. This limitation is essential to consider when planning for high availability and fault tolerance in AWS deployments.

References:

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

Palo Alto Networks HA Configuration Guide: HA Configuration

YAML File Structure:

The structure of a YAML file repository for managing configurations typically follows the order of Kubernetes/Deployment_Type/Environment. This hierarchy ensures that the configurations are organized logically, with Kubernetes-specific settings at the top level, followed by the type of deployment, and then the specific environment.

Visibility into application-level cluster traffic:

VM-Series firewalls and hardware firewalls that are external to the Kubernetes cluster lack the necessary visibility into the traffic and communications occurring at the application level within the cluster. This limitation impedes their ability to effectively protect containerized workloads.

For a customer deploying VM-Series firewalls in a private data center and concerned about protecting resources from malware and lateral movement, the following subscriptions are recommended:

Threat Prevention:This subscription provides comprehensive threat detection and prevention capabilities, including IPS, anti-virus, anti-spyware, and vulnerability protection.

WildFire:This advanced threat intelligence service analyzes suspicious files and identifies new malware, providing protection against zero-day exploits and threats.

References:

Palo Alto Networks Threat Prevention: Threat Prevention

Palo Alto Networks WildFire: WildFire

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.

TLS decryption is the feature that inspects encrypted outbound traffic. By decrypting TLS/SSL traffic, the firewall can inspect the content for threats and enforce security policies. This is crucial for preventing malware and other threats that might hide within encrypted traffic.

References:

Palo Alto Networks TLS Decryption Documentation: TLS Decryption

Palo Alto Networks Security Subscriptions: TLS Decryption