Paloalto Networks PCNSE Palo Alto Networks Certified Security Engineer (PCNSE) PAN-OS 11.0 Exam Practice Test

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-2/pan-os-admin/policy/use-address-object-to-represent-ip-addresses/address-objects

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/compatibility-matrix/supported-os-releases-by-model/palo-alto-networks-next-gen-firewalls

In the second image, VW ports mentioned are 1/5 and 1/7. Hence it can not be a part of any other routing. So if any traffic coming as ingress from 1/7, it has to go out via 1/5.

The egress interface for the traffic with ingress interface ethernet1/7, source 192.168.111.3, and destination 10.46.41.113 will be ethernet1/5. This is because the traffic will match the virtual wire with interfaces ethernet1/5 and ethernet1/7, which is configured to allow VLAN-tagged traffic with tags 10 and 201. The traffic will also match the security policy rule that allows traffic from zone Trust to zone Untrust, which are assigned to ethernet1/7 and ethernet1/5 respectively2. Therefore, the traffic will be forwarded to the same interface from which it was received, which is ethernet1/53.

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/11-0/pan-os-admin/virtual-systems/customize-service-routes-for-a-virtual-system/customize-service-routes-to-services-for-virtual-systems

A template is a set of configuration options that can be applied to one or more firewalls or virtual systems managed by Panorama. A template can include settings from the Device and Network tabs on the firewall web interface, such as login banner, SSL decryption exclusion, and dynamic updates4. These settings can be configured in a template named “Global” and included in all template stacks. A template stack is a group of templates that Panorama pushes to managed firewalls in an ordered hierarchy4. References: Manage Templates and Template Stacks, PCNSE Study Guide (page 50)

If some sites cannot be decrypted due to technical reasons, such as unsupported ciphers, and blocking them is not an option, then the engineer should add the sites to the SSL Decryption Exclusion list to exempt them from decryption. The SSL Decryption Exclusion list is a predefined list of sites that are not subject to SSL decryption by the firewall. The list includes sites that use certificate pinning, mutual authentication, or unsupported cipher suites. The engineer can also add custom sites to the list if they have a valid business reason or technical limitation for not decrypting them34. Adding the sites to the SSL Decryption Exclusion list will allow the traffic to pass through without being decrypted or blocked by the firewall. References: SSL Decryption Exclusion, Troubleshoot Unsupported Cipher Suites

• A and D are the best practice deployment modes for the firewall if the company wants to add threat prevention to the network without redesigning the network routing. This is because these modes allow the firewall to act as a transparent device that does not affect the existing network topology or routing1.
• A: VirtualWire mode allows the firewall to be inserted into any existing network segment without changing the IP addressing or routing of that segment2. The firewall inspects traffic between two interfaces that are configured as a pair, called a virtual wire. The firewall applies security policies to the traffic and forwards it to the same interface from which it was received2.
• D: Layer 2 mode allows the firewall to act as a switch that forwards traffic based on MAC addresses3. The firewall inspects traffic between interfaces that are configured as Layer 2 interfaces and belong to the same VLAN. The firewall applies security policies to the traffic and forwards it to the appropriate interface based on the MAC address table3.

Verified References:

• 1: https://www.garlandtechnology.com/blog/whats-your-palo-alto-ngfw-deployment-plan
• 2: https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-1/pan-os-admin/networking/configure-interfaces/virtual-wire.html
• 3: https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-1/pan-os-admin/networking/configure-interfaces/layer-2.html

In an active/active high availability (HA) firewall pair, when a firewall experiences a failure of a monitored path, it enters the “Tentative” state1. This state indicates that the firewall is synchronizing sessions and configurations from its peer due to a failure or a change in monitored objects such as a link or path. The firewall in this state is not fully functional but is working towards resuming normal operations by syncing with its peer. Therefore, the correct answer is B. Tentative.

Firewall Stuck in Initial (Leaving Suspended State) - Palo Alto Networks

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/compatibility-matrix/ipv6-support-by-feature/ipv6- support-by-feature-table

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-1/pan-os-networking-admin/nat/nat-configuration-examples/destination-nat-exampleone-to-one-mapping

When building Security rules in a Device Group that need to allow traffic to specific users and groups defined in Active Directory, it's essential to have user and group information available in Panorama to select these entities for the rules.

D. A master device with Group Mapping configured must be set in the device group where the Security rules are configured:

• The concept of a "master device" in Panorama refers to a specific firewall that is designated to provide certain settings or information, such as user and group mappings from Active Directory, to Panorama. This information can then be used across other firewalls within the same device group.
• By configuring Group Mapping on a master device, Panorama can leverage this information to populate user and group objects. These objects can then be used in Security rules within the device group, allowing for the creation of policies that are based on user identity and group membership, as defined in Active Directory.
• This setup ensures that Panorama has the necessary context to apply user- and group-based policies accurately across the managed firewalls, facilitating centralized management and consistency in policy enforcement.

For the transparent proxy method, the request contains the destination IP address of the web server and the proxy transparently intercepts the client request (either by being in-line or by traffic steering). There is no client configuration and Panorama is optional. Transparent proxy requires a loopback interface, User-ID configuration in the proxy zone, and specific Destination NAT (DNAT) rules. Transparent proxy does not support X-Authenticated Users (XAU) or Web Cache Communications Protocol (WCCP). https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/11-0/pan-os-new-features/networking-features/web-proxy

In Palo Alto Networks firewalls, the processing of NAT rules occurs in a top-down fashion, similar to security policies. To exclude a specific IP address from a broader source NAT rule, a more specific NAT rule must be placed above the broader rule.

C. Place a more specific NAT rule above the broader one:

• Create a source NAT rule (NAT-Rule-1) to translate the broader network range (10.0.0.0/23) with dynamic IP and port translation. This rule allows the majority of the subnet to access the internet through NAT.
• Create another NAT rule (NAT-Rule-2) with the source IP address in the original packet set specifically to the IP address that should not be translated (10.0.0.10/32). In this rule, set the source translation to none, indicating that this traffic should not be translated and thus not allowed to access the internet.
• Place NAT-Rule-2 above NAT-Rule-1 in the NAT policy list. This ensures that the more specific rule (NAT-Rule-2) is evaluated first. If traffic matches NAT-Rule-2, it will not be translated or allowed to the internet, effectively excluding the specific server from internet access.

This configuration leverages the principle of specificity and the order of operation in NAT policies to exclude a specific IP address from source NAT translation, thereby preventing it from accessing the internet.

To use PAN-OS multi-factor authentication (MFA) to secure access to critical assets, the enterprise should configure a Captive Portal authentication policy that uses an authentication sequence. An authentication sequence is a feature that allows the firewall to enforce multiple authentication methods (factors) for users who access sensitive services or applications. An authentication sequence can include up to four factors, such as login and password, Voice, SMS, Push, or One-time Password (OTP) authentication. The firewall can integrate with MFA vendors through RADIUS or vendor APIs to provide the additional factors12.

To configure an authentication sequence, the enterprise needs to create an authentication profile for each factor and then add them to the sequence in the desired order. The enterprise also needs to create a Captive Portal authentication policy that matches the traffic that requires MFA and applies the authentication sequence to it. The Captive Portal is a web page that the firewall displays to users who need to authenticate before accessing the network or the internet. The Captive Portal can be customized to include a welcome message, a login prompt, a disclaimer, a certificate download link, and a logout button34.

When a user tries to access a service or application that matches the Captive Portal authentication policy, the firewall redirects the user to the Captive Portal web form for the first factor. After the user successfully authenticates for the first factor, the firewall prompts the user for the second factor through RADIUS or vendor API integration. The firewall repeats this process until all factors in the sequence are completed or until one factor fails. If all factors are completed successfully, the firewall allows the user to access the service or application. If one factor fails, the firewall denies access and logs an event56.

Configuring a Captive Portal authentication policy that uses an authentication profile that references a RADIUS profile is not sufficient to use PAN-OS MFA. This option only provides one factor of authentication through RADIUS integration with an MFA vendor. To use multiple factors of authentication, an authentication sequence is required.

Creating an authentication profile and assigning another authentication factor to be used by a Captive Portal authentication policy is not correct to use PAN-OS MFA. This option does not specify how to create or apply an authentication sequence, which is necessary for enforcing multiple factors of authentication.

Using a Credential Phishing agent to detect, prevent, and mitigate credential phishing campaigns is not relevant to use PAN-OS MFA. This option is a feature of Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR™ that helps protect endpoints from credential theft by malicious actors. It does not provide any MFA functionality for accessing critical assets.

References: Authentication Sequence, Configure Multi-Factor Authentication, Configure an Authentication Portal, Create an Authentication Profile, Create an Authentication Sequence, Create a Captive Portal Authentication Policy, [Credential Phishing Agent]

• A, C, and D are the correct answers because they are the parts of a template that an engineer can configure in Panorama. A template is a collection of device and network settings that can be pushed to multiple firewalls from Panorama1. A template can contain settings such as2:

The Log Forwarding feature in Palo Alto Networks firewalls allows administrators to perform automated actions based on logs. One of the actions that can be configured is to tag an IP address, which can then be used in conjunction with Dynamic Address Groups (DAG) to enforce security policies. By tagging the destination IP addresses of unwanted traffic, an administrator can dynamically update policies to block traffic to those destinations.

This method is particularly useful for responding quickly to detected threats by creating and enforcing a policy that blocks traffic to tagged destinations without the need for manual intervention or policy changes.For a detailed explanation, the Palo Alto Networks' "PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide" provides information on log forwarding and automated actions.

The cause of the unsecured website warnings is that the forward trust certificate has not been signed by the self-signed root CA certificate. The forward trust certificate is used by the firewall to generate a copy of the server certificate for outbound SSL decryption (SSL Forward Proxy). The firewall signs the copy with the forward trust certificate and presents it to the client. The client then verifies the signature using the public key of the CA that issued the forward trust certificate. If the client does not trust the CA, it will display a warning message. Therefore, the forward trust certificate must be signed by a CA that is trusted by the client. In this case, the administrator has installed the self-signed root CA certificate in all client systems, so this CA should be used to sign the forward trust certificate. However, as shown in the screenshot, the forward trust certificate has a different issuer than the self-signed root CA certificate, which means it has not been signed by it. This causes the client to reject the signature and show a warning message. To fix this issue, the administrator should generate a new forward trust certificate and sign it with the self-signed root CA certificate12. References: Keys and Certificates for Decryption Policies, How to Configure SSL Decryption

https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/KCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000PP3ICAW

https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/KCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000ClG2CAK

The Exceptions settings allows you to change the response to a specific signature. For example, you can block all packets that match a signature, except for the selected one, which generates an alert. The Exception tab supports filtering functions.

If you not believed, then login the firewall go to Vulnerability > Exceptions and select "Show all signatures". From there you will see all threat information including specific actions.

More detail: https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/KCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000Cm4yCAC

'Implicitly Uses' has web-browsing listed. This means that if you allow facebook-posting, that it will also be allowing the web-browsing application implicitly.. In our case, we dont know which APP the question referes too but 'Implicitly means already uses HTTP.

For collecting User-ID user mapping information, the most reliable and commonly used source is directory services, with Microsoft Active Directory being the predominant choice in many organizational environments.

C. Microsoft Active Directory:

• Microsoft Active Directory is a directory service used for user authentication and authorization. It provides a comprehensive database of user accounts, groups, and other objects within an organization's network. Palo Alto Networks firewalls can integrate with Active Directory to obtain real-time user mapping information, which is crucial for implementing security policies based on user identity.
• The integration involves monitoring Active Directory domain controllers for security logs that contain user login events, IP address mappings, and other relevant information. This allows the firewall to accurately and dynamically map user identities to IP addresses, enhancing the granularity and effectiveness of security policies.
• Compared to other sources like Syslog Listener, Microsoft Exchange, or GlobalProtect, Active Directory offers direct and comprehensive insights into user activities and is therefore considered the most reliable source for User-ID user mapping in Palo Alto Networks environments.

https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/kCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000PMiD

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/9-1/pan-os-admin/firewall-administration/manage-firewall-administrators/administrative-authentication#:~:text=The%20administrative%20accounts%20are%20defined,attributes%20on%20the%20SAML%20server .

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-2/pan-os-admin/zone-protection-and-dos-protection/zone-defense/packet-buffer-protection

When implementing an application override in a Palo Alto Networks firewall, the primary goal is to explicitly define how specific traffic is identified and processed by the firewall, bypassing the regular App-ID process. This is particularly useful for traffic that might be misidentified by App-ID or for applications that require special handling for performance reasons.

To successfully implement application override, the following items must be configured:

B. Application override policy rule:This is a specialized policy rule that you create to specify the criteria for the traffic you want to override. In this rule, you define the source and destination zones, addresses, and ports. Instead of relying on the App-ID engine to identify the application, the firewall uses the criteria defined in the application override policy to classify the traffic.

C. Security policy rule:After defining an application override policy, you must also configure a security policy rule to allow the overridden traffic through the firewall. This rule specifies the action (allow, deny, drop, etc.) for the traffic that matches the application override policy. It's essential to ensure that the security policy rule matches the traffic defined in the application override policy to ensure that the intended traffic is allowed through the firewall.

For detailed guidance on configuring application override and the necessary security policies, refer to the official Palo Alto Networks documentation. This resource provides step-by-step instructions and best practices for effectively managing traffic using application overrides.

The compare option for a specific rule in the New App Viewer under Policy Optimizer allows an administrator to compare the applications configured in the rule with the applications seen from traffic matching the same rule. This helps the administrator to identify any new applications that are not explicitly defined in the rule, but are implicitly allowed by the firewall based on the dependencies of the configured applications. The compare option also shows the usage statistics and risk levels of the applications, and provides suggestions for optimizing the rule by adding, removing, or replacing applications12. References: New App Viewer (Policy Optimizer), PCNSE Study Guide (page 47)

Why use Security Policy Optimizer and what are the benefits?

When managing firewalls with Panorama, configurations can be pushed from Panorama templates to managed firewalls. However, there are scenarios where specific settings need to be overridden on the local firewall level due to unique requirements or exceptions.

B. The modification will not be visible in Panorama:

• When an override is made directly on the firewall, this change is not automatically reflected back in Panorama's templates or device groups. The local configuration on the firewall will take precedence over the Panorama pushed configuration for the overridden settings, but these local changes will not be visible in the Panorama interface. This means that while Panorama maintains central control and visibility over the bulk of the configuration, it does not have visibility into local overrides made directly on the firewalls.

This distinction is crucial for auditors and administrators to understand, as it impacts how configurations are managed and synchronized between Panorama and the individual firewalls. Local overrides provide flexibility but require careful management to ensure consistency and compliance with security policies.

The New App-ID characteristic enables the firewall to monitor new applications on the network, so that the engineer can better assess the security policy updates they might want to make. The New App-ID characteristic always matches to only the new App-IDs in the most recently installed content releases. When a new content release is installed, the New App-ID characteristic automatically begins to match only to the new App-IDs in that content release version. This way, the engineer can see how the newly-categorized applications might impact security policy enforcement and make any necessary adjustments. References: Monitor New App-IDs

https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/KCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000ClhzCAC

• D is the correct answer because the threat log type would provide information about traffic blocked by a Zone Protection profile. This is because Zone Protection profiles are used to protect the network from attacks, including common flood, reconnaissance attacks, and other packet-based attacks1. These attacks are classified as threats by the firewall and are logged in the threat log2. The threat log displays information such as the source and destination IP addresses, ports, zones, applications, threat types, actions, and severity of the threats2.

Verified References:

• 1: Zone protection profiles - Palo Alto Networks Knowledge Base
• 2: Threat Log Fields - Palo Alto Networks

The CLI command "show system state filter-pretty sys.sl.p8.phy" is used to display detailed physical layer information, which would include the physical media connected to a specific interface such as ethernet1/8. This command is designed to filter the output to show relevant physical layer information for the specified interface.For more information on Palo Alto Networks CLI commands and their outputs, refer to the "PAN-OS® CLI Reference Guide".

traffic log would list an application as “not-applicable” if the firewall denied the traffic before the application match could be performed. This can happen if the traffic matches a security rule that is set to deny based on any parameter other than the application, such as source, destination, port, service, etc1. In this case, the firewall does not inspect the application data and discards the traffic, resulting in a “not-applicable” entry in the application field of the traffic log1.

An authentication portal is a feature that can be used to identify guests and BYOD users, instruct them how to download and install the CA certificate, and clearly notify them that their traffic will be decrypted. An authentication portal is a web page that the firewall displays to users who need to authenticate before accessing the network or the internet. The authentication portal can be customized to include a welcome message, a login prompt, a disclaimer, a certificate download link, and a logout button. The authentication portal can also be configured to use different authentication methods, such as local database, RADIUS, LDAP, Kerberos, or SAML1. By using an authentication portal, the firewall can redirect BYOD users to a web page where they can learn about the decryption policy, download and install the CA certificate, and agree to the terms of use before accessing the network or the internet2.

An SSL decryption profile is not a feature that can be used to identify guests and BYOD users, instruct them how to download and install the CA certificate, and clearly notify them that their traffic will be decrypted. An SSL decryption profile is a set of options that define how the firewall handles SSL/TLS traffic that it decrypts. An SSL decryption profile can include settings such as certificate verification, unsupported protocol handling, session caching, session resumption, algorithm selection, etc3. An SSL decryption profile does not provide any user identification or notification functions.

An SSL decryption policy is not a feature that can be used to identify guests and BYOD users, instruct them how to download and install the CA certificate, and clearly notify them that their traffic will be decrypted. An SSL decryption policy is a set of rules that determine which traffic the firewall decrypts based on various criteria, such as source and destination zones, addresses, users, applications, services, etc. An SSL decryption policy can also specify which type of decryption to apply to the traffic, such as SSL Forward Proxy, SSL Inbound Inspection, or SSH Proxy4. An SSL decryption policy does not provide any user identification or notification functions.

Comfort pages are not a feature that can be used to identify guests and BYOD users, instruct them how to download and install the CA certificate, and clearly notify them that their traffic will be decrypted. Comfort pages are web pages that the firewall displays to users when it blocks or fails to decrypt certain traffic due to security policy or technical reasons. Comfort pages can include information such as the reason for blocking or failing to decrypt the traffic, the URL of the original site, the firewall serial number, etc5. Comfort pages do not provide any user identification or notification functions before decrypting the traffic.

References: Configure an Authentication Portal, Redirect Users Through an Authentication Portal, SSL Decryption Profile, Decryption Policy, Comfort Pages

How to Implement SSH Decryption on a Palo Alto Networks Device

One of the potential causes of a failed install when upgrading Panorama to PAN-OS is having outdated plugins. Plugins are software extensions that enable Panorama to interact with Palo Alto Networks cloud services and third-party services. Plugins have dependencies on specific PAN-OS versions, so they must be updated before or after upgrading Panorama, depending on the plugin compatibility matrix2. If the plugins are not updated accordingly, the upgrade process may fail or cause issues with Panorama functionality3. References: Panorama Plugins Upgrade/Downgrade Considerations, Troubleshoot Your Panorama Upgrade, PCNSE Study Guide (page 54)

Based on the snippet of the WildFire submission log provided, it appears that the end user was able to successfully download a file. The key indicator here is that the final action for the web-browsing application and the flash file is set to “allow.” This means that despite any alerts or other actions taken earlier in the process, the ultimate decision was to allow the file to be downloaded.

TIPS & TRICKS: REDUCING MANAGEMENT PLANE LOAD:

https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/KCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000ClSvCAK

TIPS & TRICKS: REDUCING MANAGEMENT PLANE LOAD—PART 2:

https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/KCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000ClU4CAK

When configuring Quality of Service (QoS) policies, particularly for traffic going to or from specific IP addresses and involving NAT, it's important to base the rule on how the firewall processes the traffic. For QoS, the firewall evaluates traffic using pre-NAT IP addresses and zones because QoS policies typically need to be applied before the NAT action occurs. This is especially true for inbound traffic, where the goal is to limit bandwidth before the destination IP is translated.

The correct combination for a QoS rule in this scenario, where the aim is to limit bandwidth for downloads from a specific server (implying inbound traffic to the server), would be:

D. Pre-NAT source IP address Pre-NAT source zone:

• Pre-NAT source IP address: This refers to the original IP address of the client or source device before any NAT rules are applied. Since QoS policies are evaluated before NAT, using the pre-NAT IP address ensures that the policy applies to the correct traffic.
• Pre-NAT source zone: This is the zone associated with the source interface before NAT takes place. Using the pre-NAT zone ensures that the QoS policy is applied to traffic as it enters the firewall, before any translations or routing decisions are made.

By configuring the QoS rule with pre-NAT information, the firewall can accurately apply bandwidth limitations to the intended traffic, ensuring efficient use of network resources and mitigating the impact of large file downloads from the specified server.

For detailed guidelines on configuring QoS policies, refer to the Palo Alto Networks documentation, which provides comprehensive instructions and best practices for managing bandwidth and traffic priorities on the network.

https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/KCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000ClhwCAC

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-1/pan-os-networking-admin/nat/source-nat- and-destination-nat/source-nat

Set the Action to take when matching a packet:

Forward—Directs the packet to the specified Egress Interface.

Forward to VSYS (On a firewall enabled for multiple virtual systems)—Select the virtual system to which to forward the packet.

Discard—Drops the packet.

No PBF—Excludes packets that match the criteria for source, destination, application, or service defined in the rule. Matching packets use the route table instead of PBF; the firewall uses the route table to exclude the matched traffic from the redirected port.

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-1/pan-os-admin/policy/policy-based-forwarding/create-a-policy-based-forwarding-rule#ideca3cc65-03d7-449d-b47a-90fabee5293c

When deploying User-ID in environments with diverse directory services, Palo Alto Networks firewalls have the capability to monitor several types of servers to gather user mapping information. Among the options provided:

C. Red Hat Linux, Microsoft Active Directory, and Microsoft Exchange:

• Red Hat Linux: Palo Alto Networks User-ID can monitor Linux systems to gather user information, typically by integrating with services like syslog or by using an agent that reads user login events.
• Microsoft Active Directory: This is one of the most common sources for User-ID, as Active Directory is widely used for user management and authentication. User-ID can directly integrate with Active Directory to read security event logs, capturing user login and logout events.
• Microsoft Exchange: While not directly monitored for user login events, Microsoft Exchange can be a source of IP-to-user mapping information, especially for users accessing email services. This can be achieved by parsing Exchange logs for client access information.

These platforms can provide valuable data for User-ID, enabling the firewall to apply policies based on user identity across diverse network environments.

The best description of the Cluster Synchronization Timeout (min) is the maximum time that the local firewall waits before going to Active state when another cluster member is preventing the cluster from fully synchronizing. This is a parameter that can be configured in an HA cluster, which is a group of firewalls that share session state and provide high availability and scalability. The Cluster Synchronization Timeout (min) determines how long the local firewall will wait for the cluster to reach a stable state before it decides to become Active and process traffic. A stable state means that all cluster members are either Active or Passive, and have synchronized their sessions with each other. If there is another cluster member that is in an unknown or unstable state, such as Initializing, Non-functional, or Suspended, then it may prevent the cluster from fully synchronizing and cause a delay in traffic processing. The Cluster Synchronization Timeout (min) can be set to a value between 0 and 30 minutes, with a default of 0. If it is set to 0, then the local firewall will not wait for any other cluster member and will immediately go to Active state. If it is set to a positive value, then the local firewall will wait for that amount of time before going to Active state, unless the cluster reaches a stable state earlier12. References: Configure HA Clustering, PCNSE Study Guide (page 53)

How to Set Session, TCP, and UDP Timeout Values - Palo Alto Networks ...

To prevent the import from affecting ongoing traffic when you import the configuration of an HA pair into Panorama, you should disable config sync on both firewalls. Config sync is a feature that enables the firewalls in an HA pair to synchronize their configurations and maintain consistency. However, when you import the configuration of an HA pair into Panorama, you want to avoid any changes to the firewall configuration until you verify and commit the imported configuration on Panorama. Therefore, you should disable config sync before importing the configuration, and re-enable it after committing the changes on Panorama12. References: Migrate a Firewall HA Pair to Panorama Management, PCNSE Study Guide (page 50)

Cisco TrustSec technology uses Security Group Tags (SGTs) to enforce access controls on Layer 2 traffic. When implementing Zone Protection on a Palo Alto Networks firewall in an environment with Cisco TrustSec, you should configure Ethernet SGT Protection. This setting ensures that the firewall can recognize SGTs in Ethernet frames and apply the appropriate actions based on the configured policies.The use of Ethernet SGT Protection in conjunction with TrustSec is covered in advanced firewall configuration documentation and in interoperability guides between Palo Alto Networks and Cisco systems.

To troubleshoot SSL Decryption issues and check the details of the Forward Trust certificate, Forward Untrust certificate, and SSL Inbound Inspection certificate, the PAN-OS CLI command debug dataplane show ssl-decrypt ssl-certs is used. This command provides detailed information about the SSL certificates involved in decryption and inspection processes, allowing administrators to verify certificate validity, issuer details, and other critical parameters. Understanding the certificate details is crucial in diagnosing issues related to SSL decryption, such as certificate validation errors or misconfigurations that could lead to decryption failures.

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/9-1/pan-os-new-features/user-id-features/dynamic-user-groups

Use the dynamic user group in a policy to regulate traffic for the members of the group. You will need to configure at least two rules: one to allow initial traffic to populate the dynamic user group and one to deny traffic for the activity you want to prevent (in this case, questionable-activity). To tag users, the rule to allow traffic must have a higher rule number in your rulebase than the rule that denies traffic.

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-2/pan-os-admin/policy/use-dynamic-user-groups-in-policy

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/panorama/11-0/panorama-admin/manage-firewalls/transition-a-firewall-to-panorama-management/migrate-a-firewall-to-panorama-management Push the configuration bundle from Panorama to the newly added firewall to remove all policy rules and objects from its local configuration. This step is necessary to prevent duplicate rule or object names, which would cause commit errors when you push the device group configuration from Panorama to the firewall in the next step.

Policy-Based Forwarding (PBF) on Palo Alto Networks firewalls allows administrators to define forwarding decisions based on criteria other than the destination IP address, such as the application, source address, or user. It can address scenarios like:

A. Routing FTP to a backup ISP link to save bandwidth on the primary ISP link: PBF can be configured to identify FTP traffic and route it through a different ISP, preserving bandwidth on the primary link for other critical applications.

B. Providing application connectivity when the primary circuit fails: PBF can be used for failover purposes, directing traffic to an alternate path if the primary connection goes down, ensuring continuous application availability.

PBF is not designed to bypass Layer 7 inspection or forward traffic based solely on source port, as these tasks are managed through different mechanisms within the firewall's operating system.

When using certificate authentication for firewall administration on Palo Alto Networks devices, the method used for authorization is typically the Local database. Certificate authentication ensures that the entity attempting to access the firewall is in possession of a valid certificate. Once the certificate is validated for authentication, the authorization process determines what level of access or permissions the authenticated entity has. This is usually managed locally on the firewall, where administrators can define roles and permissions associated with different users or certificates. Thus, the authorization process, in this case, leverages the Local database to enforce access controls and permissions, aligning with best practices for secure management of network devices.

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-2/pan-os-admin/high-availability/ha-concepts/ha-timers

Regardless of whether you generate Forward Trust certificates from your Enterprise Root CA or use a self-signed certificate generated on the firewall, generate a separate subordinate Forward Trust CA certificate for each firewall. The flexibility of using separate subordinate CAs enables you to revoke one certificate when you decommission a device (or device pair) without affecting the rest of the deployment and reduces the impact in any situation in which you need to revoke a certificate. Separate Forward Trust CAs on each firewall also helps troubleshoot issues because the CA error message the user sees includes information about the firewall the traffic is traversing. If you use the same Forward Trust CA on every firewall, you lose the granularity of that information.

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-2/pan-os-admin/decryption/configure-ssl-forward-proxy

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/prisma/prisma-access/prisma-access-cloud-managed-admin/secure-mobile-users-with-prisma-access/explicit-proxy/explicit-proxy-how-it-works

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/11-0/pan-os-new-features/networking-features/web-proxy