Palo Alto Networks PCSFE Practice Test - Questions Answers

Heartbeat polling and link monitoring are two mechanisms that can trigger an HA failover event. Heartbeat polling is a method of verifying the health of the peer firewall by sending periodic heartbeat messages. If the heartbeat messages are not received within a specified interval, the firewall assumes that the peer is down and initiates a failover. Link monitoring is a method of verifying the connectivity of the interfaces on the firewall by sending link state packets. If the link state packets are not received on a specified number of interfaces, the firewall assumes that the network is down and initiates a failover. Ping monitoring and session polling are not HA mechanisms, but they are used for path monitoring and session synchronization respectively. Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [High Availability Overview], [Configure HA Link Monitoring], [Configure HA Path Monitoring], [Configure Session Synchronization]

Microsegmentation is a technology that allows for granular control of east-west traffic in a softwaredefined 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. Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Microsegmentation with Palo Alto Networks], [Microsegmentation for Dummies]

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. CNSeries 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. Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [CN-Series Deployment Guide for AWS EKS], [CN-Series Datasheet]

Containers are the elements that a CN-Series firewall can secure traffic between. Containers are isolated units of software that run on a shared operating system and have their own resources, dependencies, and configuration. A CN-Series firewall can inspect and enforce security policies on traffic between containers within a pod, across pods, or across namespaces in a Kubernetes cluster. Host containers, source applications, and IPods are not valid elements that a CN-Series firewall can secure traffic between. Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [CN-Series Concepts], [What is a Container?]

DNS Security is the feature that provides real-time analysis using machine learning (ML) to defend against new and unknown threats. DNS Security leverages a cloud-based service that applies predictive analytics, advanced ML, and automation to block malicious domains and stop attacks in progress. Advanced URL Filtering (AURLF), Cortex Data Lake, and Panorama VM-Series plugin are not features that provide real-time analysis using ML, but they are related solutions that can enhance security and visibility. Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [DNS Security Datasheet], [Advanced URL Filtering Datasheet], [Cortex Data Lake Datasheet], [Panorama VM-Series Plugin]

VM-Series firewalls can provide application-level security for a web-server instance on Amazon Web Services (AWS). VM-Series firewalls are virtualized versions of the Palo Alto Networks nextgeneration firewall that can be deployed on various cloud platforms, including AWS. VM-Series firewalls can protect web servers from cyberattacks by applying granular security policies based on application, user, content, and threat information. Hardware firewalls, Terraform templates, and security groups are not solutions that can provide application-level security for a web-server instance on AWS, but they are related concepts that can be used in conjunction with VM-Series firewalls.

Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [VM-Series on AWS], [VM-Series Datasheet], [Terraform for VM-Series on AWS], [Security Groups for Your VPC]

The two statements that apply to the VM-Series plugin are:

It can be upgraded independently of PAN-OS.

It enables management of cloud-specific interactions between VM-Series firewalls and supported public cloud platforms.

The VM-Series plugin is a software component that extends the functionality of the PAN-OS operating system to support cloud-specific features and APIs. The VM-Series plugin can be upgraded independently of PAN-OS to provide faster access to new cloud capabilities and integrations. The VM-Series plugin enables management of cloud-specific interactions between VM-Series firewalls and supported public cloud platforms, such as AWS, Azure, GCP, Alibaba Cloud, and Oracle Cloud. These interactions include bootstrapping, licensing, scaling, high availability, load balancing, and tagging. The VM-Series plugin cannot manage capabilities common to both VM-Series firewalls and hardware firewalls, as those are handled by PAN-OS. The VM-Series plugin cannot manage Panorama plugins, as those are separate software components that extend the functionality of the Panorama management server to support cloud-specific features and APIs. Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [VM-Series Plugin Overview], [VM-Series Plugin Release Notes]

Software next-generation firewall (NGFW) credits can be used to provision migrating NGFWs from hardware to VMs. Software NGFW credits are a flexible licensing model that allows customers to purchase and consume software NGFWs as needed, without having to specify the platform or deployment model upfront. Customers can use software NGFW credits to migrate their existing hardware NGFWs to VM-Series firewalls on any supported cloud or virtualization platform, or to deploy new VM-Series firewalls as their needs grow. Software NGFW credits cannot be used to provision remote browser isolation, virtual Panorama appliances, or enablement of DNS security, as those are separate solutions that require different licenses or subscriptions. Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Software NGFW Credits Datasheet], [Software NGFW Credits FAQ]

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. Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Deploy the VM-Series Firewall on Cisco ACI], [Cisco ACI Policy-Based Redirect]