Free Paloalto Networks PCSFE Practice Exam with Questions & Answers

CN-Series firewall can protect communications between Dockers by firewalling. Dockers are software platforms that provide containerization technology for packaging and running applications in isolated environments. Communications between Dockers are network connections between containers within a Docker host or across Docker hosts. CN-Series firewall is a containerized firewall that integrates with Kubernetes and provides visibility and control over container traffic. CN-Series firewall can protect communications between Dockers by firewalling, which is the process of inspecting and enforcing security policies on network traffic based on application, user, content, and threat information. CN-Series firewall can also leverage threat prevention technologies, such as antivirus, anti-spyware, vulnerability protection, URL filtering, file blocking, data filtering, and WildFire analysis, to block any malicious content or activity in the communications between Dockers. CN-Series firewall does not protect communications between Dockers by runtime security, vulnerability management, or data loss prevention (DLP), as those are not features or functions of CN-Series firewall. References: [Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE)], [CN-Series Datasheet], [CN-Series Concepts], [What is Docker?]

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?]

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. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Security Profiles Overview], [Threat Prevention Datasheet]

Kubernetes/Deployment Type/Environment is the structure of the YAML Ain’t Markup Language (YAML) file repository. YAML is a human-readable data serialization language that is commonly used for configuration files. YAML file repository is a collection of YAML files that specify the resources and configuration for deploying and managing infrastructure components, such as firewalls, load balancers, networks, or servers. Kubernetes/Deployment Type/Environment is the structure of the YAML file repository that organizes the YAML files based on the following criteria:

• Kubernetes: The platform that provides orchestration, automation, and management of containerized applications.
• Deployment Type: The method or model of deploying and managing infrastructure components, such as Terraform, Ansible, Helm, or Kubernetes manifests.
• Environment: The type or stage of the cloud or virtualization environment, such as development, testing, staging, or production. Deployment Type/Kubernetes/Environment, Kubernetes/Environment/Deployment Type, and Environment/Kubernetes/Deployment Type are not the structure of the YAML file repository, but they are related ways of organizing YAML files based on different criteria. References: [Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE)], [What is YAML?], [YAML File Repository]

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

The two routing options that are supported by VM-Series are:

• OSPF
• BGP

Routing is a process that determines the best path for sending network packets from a source to a destination. Routing options are protocols or methods that enable routing between different networks or devices. VM-Series firewall is a virtualized version of the Palo Alto Networks next-generation firewall that can be deployed on various cloud or virtualization platforms. VM-Series firewall supports various routing options that allow it to participate in dynamic routing environments and exchange routing information with other routers or devices. OSPF and BGP are two routing options that are supported by VM-Series. OSPF is a routing option that uses link-state routing algorithm to determine the shortest path between routers within an autonomous system (AS). BGP is a routing option that uses path vector routing algorithm to determine the best path between routers across different autonomous systems (ASes). RIP and IGRP are not routing options that are supported by VM-Series, but they are related protocols that can be used for other purposes. References: [Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE)], [VM-Series Deployment Guide], [Routing Overview], [What is OSPF?], [What is BGP?]

To configure a default route to an internet router, you need to select Network > Virtual Router, then select the default link to open the Virtual Router dialog. Then, select the Static Routes tab, then click Add. You can then specify the destination as 0.0.0.0/0 and the next hop as the IP address of the internet router1. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE)

The two requirements for automating service deployment of a VM-Series firewall from an NSX Manager are:

• Panorama has been configured to recognize both the NSX Manager and vCenter.
• The deployed VM-Series firewall can establish communications with Panorama.

NSX Manager is a software component that provides centralized management and control of the NSX environment, including network virtualization, automation, and security. Service deployment is a process that involves deploying and configuring network services, such as firewalls, load balancers, or routers, on the NSX environment. VM-Series firewall is a virtualized version of the Palo Alto Networks next-generation firewall that can be deployed on various cloud or virtualization platforms, including NSX. Panorama is a centralized management server that provides visibility and control over multiple Palo Alto Networks firewalls and devices. Panorama has been configured to recognize both the NSX Manager and vCenter is a requirement for automating service deployment of a VM-Series firewall from an NSX Manager. vCenter is a software component that provides centralized management and control of the VMware environment, including hypervisors, virtual machines, and other resources. Panorama has been configured to recognize both the NSX Manager and vCenter by adding them as VMware service managers and enabling service insertion for VM-Series firewalls on NSX. This allows Panorama to communicate with the NSX Manager and vCenter, retrieve information about the NSX environment, and deploy and manage VM-Series firewalls as network services on the NSX environment. The deployed VM-Series firewall can establish communications with Panorama is a requirement for automating service deployment of a VM-Series firewall from an NSX Manager. The deployed VM-Series firewall can establish communications with Panorama by registering with Panorama using its serial number or IP address, and receiving configuration updates and policy rules from Panorama. This allows the VM-Series firewall to operate as part of the Panorama management domain, synchronize its settings and status with Panorama, and report its logs and statistics to Panorama. vCenter has been given Palo Alto Networks subscription licenses for VM-Series firewalls and Panorama can establish communications to the public Palo Alto Networks update servers are not requirements for automating service deployment of a VM-Series firewall from an NSX Manager, as those are not related or relevant factors for service deployment automation. References: [Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE)], [Deploy the VM-Series Firewall on VMware NSX-T], [Panorama Overview], [VMware Service Manager], [Register the Firewall with Panorama]

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. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [VM-Series Plugin Overview], [VM-Series Plugin Release Notes]

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. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Deploying Virtual Switches], [Virtual Wire Deployment], [Deploying Virtual Wire on VMware ESXi]