PCSFE Exam Dumps - Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE)

Deployment of the NSX Distributed Firewall (DFW) must be configured in an NSX environment to ensure proper operation of a VM-Series firewall in order to secure east-west traffic. East-west traffic is the traffic that flows between applications or workloads within a network or a cloud environment. NSX environment is a private cloud environment that provides software-defined networking (SDN) and security for heterogeneous endpoints and workloads across multiple hypervisors, containers, bare metal servers, or clouds. NSX DFW is a feature that provides distributed stateful firewalling at the hypervisor level for every virtual machine (VM) in an NSX environment. Deployment of the NSX DFW must be configured in an NSX environment to ensure proper operation of a VM-Series firewall in order to secure east-west traffic by enabling features such as service insertion, policy redirection, service chaining, orchestration, monitoring, logging, and automation for VM-Series firewalls and Panorama on NSX environment. VMware Information Sources, User-ID agent on a Windows domain server, and device groups within VMware Services Manager do not need to be configured in an NSX environment to ensure proper operation of a VM-Series firewall in order to secure east-west traffic, as those are not required or relevant components for NSX integration. References: [Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE)], [Deploy the VM-Series Firewall on VMware NSX-T], [What is VMware NSX-T?], [What is NSX Distributed Firewall?]

Tags allow a VM-Series firewall to adapt Security policy rules dynamically in a virtual environment. Tags are labels or identifiers that can be assigned to virtual machines (VMs), containers, or other resources in a virtual environment. Tags can be used to group resources based on various criteria, such as application, function, location, owner, or security posture. A VM-Series firewall can leverage tags to populate Dynamic Address Groups and update Security policies accordingly, without requiring manual changes. Tags do not enable machine learning (ML), integrate with security information and event management (SIEM) solutions, or provide adaptive reporting, but they are related features that can enhance security and visibility. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Tagging Overview], [Dynamic Address Groups Overview]

The two deployment modes of VM-Series firewalls that are supported across NSX-T are:

• Bootstrap
• Service Cluster

NSX-T is a software-defined network (SDN) solution that provides network virtualization, automation, and security for cloud-native applications. Bootstrap is a method of deploying and configuring VM-Series firewalls in NSX-T using a bootstrap package that contains the initial setup information, such as licenses, certificates, software updates, and configuration files. Service Cluster is a mode of deploying VM-Series firewalls in NSX-T as a group of firewalls that act as a single logical firewall to provide scalability and high availability. Prism Central, Host-based, and Service Insertion are not deployment modes of VM-Series firewalls in NSX-T, but they are related concepts that can be used for other purposes. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Deploy the VM-Series Firewall on NSX-T], [Bootstrap the VM-Series Firewall for NSX-T], [Deploy the VM-Series Firewall as a Service Cluster on NSX-T]

Threat Prevention and WildFire are the two subscriptions that provide protection against malware and lateral movement in a private data center. Threat Prevention blocks known threats using antivirus, anti-spyware, and vulnerability protection. WildFire analyzes unknown files and links in a cloud-based sandbox and generates signatures for new threats. Intelligent Traffic Offload is a feature that reduces the load on the firewall by offloading traffic that does not need inspection. SD-WAN is a feature that optimizes the performance and availability of WAN connections. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Threat Prevention Datasheet], [WildFire Datasheet], [Intelligent Traffic Offload], [SD-WAN]

Containers are uniquely suitable for runtime security based on allow lists because containers have only a few defined processes that should ever be executed. Developers can specify the processes that are allowed to run in a container using a Dockerfile, but this does not guarantee that only those processes will run at runtime. Therefore, using an allow list approach can prevent any unauthorized or malicious processes from running in a container2. References: Container Security

Palo Alto Networks recommends two configuration options for outbound high availability (HA) design in Amazon Web Services using a VM-Series firewall: transit gateway and Security VPC, and traditional active-passive HA. Transit gateway and Security VPC allows you to use a single transit gateway to route traffic between multiple VPCs and the internet, while using a Security VPC to host the VM-Series firewalls. Traditional active-passive HA allows you to use two VM-Series firewalls in an HA pair, where one firewall is active and handles all traffic, while the other firewall is passive and takes over in case of a failure. References: [VM-Series Deployment Guide for AWS Outbound VPC]

Using the management interface as the HA1 backup link helps avoid split brain in active-passive high availability (HA) pair deployment. High availability (HA) is a feature that provides redundancy and failover protection for firewalls in case of hardware or software failure. Active-passive HA is a mode of HA that consists of two firewalls in a pair, where one firewall is active and handles all traffic, while the other firewall is passive and acts as a 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. Using the management interface as the HA1 backup link helps avoid split brain in active-passive HA pair deployment. The HA1 interface is used for exchanging HA state information and configuration synchronization between the firewalls. Using the management interface as the HA1 backup link provides redundancy and failover protection for the HA1 interface, ensuring that the firewalls can maintain their HA communication and avoid split brain. Using a standard traffic interface as the HA2 backup, enabling preemption on both firewalls in the HA pair, or using a standard traffic interface as the HA3 link do not help avoid split brain in active-passive HA pair deployment, but they are related features that can enhance performance and reliability. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [High Availability Overview], [Configure HA Backup Links], [Configure Heartbeat Backup]

Microsegmentation is a technology that allows for granular control of east-west traffic in a software-defined network. Microsegmentation divides the network into smaller segments or zones based on application or workload characteristics, and applies security policies to each segment. This reduces the attack surface and prevents unauthorized access or lateral movement within the network. Routing, MAC Access Control List, and Virtualization are not technologies that provide microsegmentation, but they are related concepts that can be used in conjunction with microsegmentation. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Microsegmentation with Palo Alto Networks], [Microsegmentation for Dummies]

CN-Series firewall is the Palo Alto Networks firewall that provides network security when deploying a microservices-based application. A microservices-based application is an application that consists of multiple independent and loosely coupled services that communicate with each other through APIs. A microservices-based application requires network security that can protect the inter-service communication from cyberattacks and enforce granular security policies based on application or workload characteristics. CN-Series firewall is a containerized firewall that integrates with Kubernetes and provides visibility and control over container traffic. CN-Series firewall can provide network security when deploying a microservices-based application by inspecting and enforcing security policies on traffic between containers within a pod, across pods, or across namespaces in a Kubernetes cluster. PA-Series, VM-Series, and HA-Series are not Palo Alto Networks firewalls that provide network security when deploying a microservices-based application, but they are related solutions that can be deployed on different platforms or environments. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [CN-Series Datasheet], [CN-Series Concepts], [What is a Microservices Architecture?]

Cloud next-generation firewall is the Palo Alto Networks software firewall that protects Amazon Web Services (AWS) deployments with network security delivered as a managed cloud service. Cloud next-generation firewall is a cloud-native solution that provides comprehensive security and visibility across AWS environments, including VPCs, regions, accounts, and workloads. Cloud next-generation firewall is deployed and managed by Palo Alto Networks as a service, eliminating the need for customers to provision, configure, or maintain any infrastructure or software. VM-Series, CN-Series, and Ion-Series are not Palo Alto Networks software firewalls that protect AWS deployments with network security delivered as a managed cloud service, but they are related solutions that can be deployed on AWS or other platforms. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Cloud Next-Generation Firewall Datasheet], [VM-Series Datasheet], [CN-Series Datasheet], [Ion-Series Datasheet]

Traffic is directed to a Palo Alto Networks firewall integrated with Cisco ACI through a policy-based redirect. Cisco ACI is a software-defined network (SDN) solution that provides network automation, orchestration, and visibility. A policy-based redirect is a mechanism that allows Cisco ACI to redirect traffic from one endpoint group (EPG) to another EPG through a service device, such as a Palo Alto Networks firewall. The firewall can then inspect and enforce security policies on the redirected traffic before sending it back to Cisco ACI. Traffic is not directed to a Palo Alto Networks firewall integrated with Cisco ACI by using contracts between endpoint groups that send traffic to the firewall using a shared policy, through a virtual machine (VM) monitor domain, or by creating an access policy, as those are not valid methods for traffic redirection in Cisco ACI. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Deploy the VM-Series Firewall on Cisco ACI], [Cisco ACI Policy-Based Redirect]

CN-Series firewalls are licensed by data-plane vCPU. Data-plane vCPU is the number of virtual CPUs assigned to the data plane of the CN-Series firewall instance. The data plane is the part of the CN-Series firewall that processes network traffic and applies security policies. CN-Series firewalls are licensed by data-plane vCPU, which determines the performance and capacity of the CN-Series firewall instance, such as throughput, sessions, policies, rules, and features. CN-Series firewalls are not licensed by service-plane vCPU, management-plane vCPU, or control-plane vCPU, as those are not factors that affect the licensing cost or consumption of CN-Series firewalls. References: [Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE)], [CN-Series Licensing], [CN-Series System Requirements], [CN-Series Architecture]

CN-Series high availability (HA) pair is the best solution for securing an EKS environment. EKS is a managed service that allows users to run Kubernetes clusters on AWS. CN-Series is a containerized firewall that integrates with Kubernetes and provides visibility and control over container traffic. CN-Series HA pair consists of two CN-Series firewalls deployed in active-passive mode to provide redundancy and failover protection. VM-Series single host, PA-Series using load sharing, and API orchestration are not optimal solutions for securing an EKS environment, as they do not offer the same level of integration, scalability, and automation as CN-Series. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [CN-Series Deployment Guide for AWS EKS], [CN-Series Datasheet]

To deploy a VM-Series firewall on NSX, you need to enable communication between Panorama and the NSX Manager. This allows Panorama to receive information about the virtual machines and services in the NSX environment. You also need to register the VM-Series firewall as a service on the NSX Manager. This allows NSX to redirect traffic to the VM-Series firewall for inspection3. References: VM-Series Deployment Guide for VMware NSX