Palo Alto Networks PCSFE Practice Test - Questions Answers, Page 2

The two elements of the Palo Alto Networks platform architecture that enable security orchestration in a software-defined network (SDN) are:

Full set of APIs enabling programmatic control of policy and configuration

Dynamic Address Groups to adapt Security policies dynamically

The Palo Alto Networks platform architecture consists of four key elements: natively integrated security technologies, full set of APIs, cloud-delivered services, and centralized management. The full set of APIs enables programmatic control of policy and configuration across the platform, allowing for automation and integration with SDN controllers and orchestration tools. Dynamic Address Groups are objects that represent groups of IP addresses based on criteria such as tags, regions, interfaces, or user-defined attributes. Dynamic Address Groups allow Security policies to adapt dynamically to changes in the network topology or workload characteristics without requiring manual updates. VXLAN support for network-layer abstraction and NVGRE support for advanced VLAN integration are not elements of the Palo Alto Networks platform architecture, but they are features that support SDN deployments. Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Palo Alto Networks Platform Architecture], [API Overview], [Dynamic Address Groups Overview]

Security profiles are the components that scan for threats in allowed traffic. Security profiles are sets of rules or settings that define how the firewall will inspect and handle traffic based on various threat prevention technologies, such as antivirus, anti-spyware, vulnerability protection, URL filtering, file blocking, data filtering, and WildFire analysis. Security profiles can be applied to Security policy rules to enforce granular protection against known and unknown threats in allowed traffic. Intelligent Traffic Offload, TLS decryption, and NAT are not components that scan for threats in allowed traffic, but they are related features that can enhance security and performance. Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Security Profiles Overview], [Threat Prevention Datasheet]

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. Reference: 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]

The partition can be accomplished without editing the IP addresses or the default gateways of any of the guest VMs by creating a new virtual switch and using the VM-Series firewall to separate virtual switches using virtual wire mode. Then move the guests that require more security into the new virtual switch. A virtual switch is a software-based switch that connects virtual machines (VMs) in a VMware ESXi environment. A virtual wire is a deployment mode of the VM-Series firewall that allows it to act as a bump in the wire between two network segments, without requiring an IP address or routing configuration. By creating a new virtual switch and using the VM-Series firewall to separate virtual switches using virtual wire mode, the customer can isolate the group of VMs that require more security from the rest of the network, and apply security policies to the traffic passing through the firewall. The partition cannot be accomplished without editing the IP addresses or the default gateways of any of the guest VMs by editing the IP address of all of the affected VMs, creating a Layer 3 interface in the same subnet as the VMs and then configuring proxy Address Resolution Protocol (ARP), or sending the VLAN out of the virtual environment into a hardware Palo Alto Networks firewall in Layer 3 mode. Use the same IP address as the old default gateway, then delete it, as those methods would require changing the network configuration of the guest VMs or introducing additional complexity and latency. Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Deploying Virtual Switches], [Virtual Wire Deployment], [Deploying Virtual Wire on VMware ESXi]

A Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) must be configured to use a Layer 3 underlay network in order to secure traffic in a Cisco ACI environment. A Layer 3 underlay network is a physical network that provides IP connectivity between devices, such as routers, switches, and firewalls. A Palo Alto Networks NGFW must use a Layer 3 underlay network to communicate with the Cisco ACI fabric and receive traffic redirection from the Cisco ACI policy-based redirect mechanism. A Palo Alto Networks NGFW does not need to be deployed as a member of a device cluster, receive all forwarding lookups from the network controller, or be identified as a default gateway in order to secure traffic in a Cisco ACI environment, as those are not valid requirements or options for firewall integration with Cisco ACI. Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Deploy the VM-Series Firewall on Cisco ACI], [Cisco ACI Underlay Network]

Dynamic address group is the component that allows the flexibility to add network resources but does not require making changes to existing policies and rules. Dynamic address group is an object that represents a group of IP addresses based on criteria such as tags, regions, interfaces, or userdefined attributes. Dynamic address group allows Security policies to adapt dynamically to changes in the network topology or workload characteristics without requiring manual updates. Content-ID, External dynamic list, and App-ID are not components that allow the flexibility to add network resources but do not require making changes to existing policies and rules, but they are related features that can enhance security and visibility. Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Dynamic Address Groups Overview], [Content-ID Overview], [External Dynamic Lists Overview], [App-ID Overview]

Dynamic Address Group is the PAN-OS feature that allows for automated updates to address objects when VM-Series firewalls are setup as part of an NSX deployment. NSX is a software-defined network (SDN) solution that provides network virtualization, automation, and security for cloud-native applications. Dynamic Address Group is an object that represents a group of IP addresses based on criteria such as tags, regions, interfaces, or user-defined attributes. Dynamic Address Group allows Security policies to adapt dynamically to changes in the network topology or workload characteristics without requiring manual updates. When VM-Series firewalls are setup as part of an NSX deployment, they can leverage the NSX tags assigned to virtual machines (VMs) or containers by the NSX manager or controller to populate Dynamic Address Groups and update Security policies accordingly. Boundary automation, Hypervisor integration, and Bootstrapping are not PAN-OS features that allow for automated updates to address objects when VM-Series firewalls are setup as part of an NSX deployment, but they are related concepts that can be used for other purposes.

Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Dynamic Address Groups Overview], [Deploy the VM-Series Firewall on VMware NSX]

The two factors that lead to improved return on investment for prospects interested in Palo Alto Networks virtualized next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) are:

Decreased likelihood of data breach

Reduced time to deploy

Palo Alto Networks virtualized NGFWs are virtualized versions of the Palo Alto Networks nextgeneration firewall that can be deployed on various cloud or virtualization platforms. Palo Alto Networks virtualized NGFWs provide comprehensive security and visibility across hybrid and multicloud environments, protecting applications and data from cyberattacks. By using Palo Alto Networks virtualized NGFWs, prospects can decrease the likelihood of data breach by applying granular security policies based on application, user, content, and threat information, and by leveraging cloud-delivered services such as Threat Prevention, WildFire, URL Filtering, DNS Security, and Cortex Data Lake. By using Palo Alto Networks virtualized NGFWs, prospects can also reduce the time to deploy by taking advantage of automation and orchestration tools such as Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation, ARM templates, and Panorama plugins that simplify and accelerate the deployment and configuration of firewalls across different cloud platforms. Reduced operational expenditures and reduced insurance premiums are not factors that lead to improved return on investment for prospects interested in Palo Alto Networks virtualized NGFWs, but they may be potential benefits or outcomes of using them. Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [VM-Series Datasheet], [CN-Series Datasheet], [Cloud Security Solutions]

Auto scaling templates for VM-Series firewalls enable deployment of a single auto scaling group (ASG) of VM-Series firewalls to secure inbound traffic from the internet to Amazon Web Services (AWS) application workloads. An ASG is a collection of EC2 instances that share similar characteristics and can be scaled up or down automatically based on demand or predefined conditions. Auto scaling templates for VM-Series firewalls are preconfigured templates that provide the necessary resources and configuration to deploy and manage VM-Series firewalls in an ASG on AWS. Auto scaling templates for VM-Series firewalls can be used to secure inbound traffic from the internet to AWS application workloads by placing the ASG of VM-Series firewalls behind an AWS Application Load Balancer (ALB) or a Gateway Load Balancer (GWLB) that distributes the traffic across the firewalls. The firewalls can then inspect and enforce security policies on the inbound traffic before sending it to the application workloads. Auto scaling templates for HA-Series, CN-Series, and IPA-Series firewalls do not enable deployment of a single ASG of VM-Series firewalls to secure inbound traffic from the internet to AWS application workloads, as those are different types of firewalls that have different deployment models and use cases. Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Auto Scaling the VM-Series Firewall on AWS], [VM-Series Datasheet], [HA-Series Datasheet], [CN-Series Datasheet], [IPA-Series Datasheet]