Free Practice Questions for Paloalto Networks PCSFE Exam

The two design options that address split brain when configuring high availability (HA) are:

Adding a backup HA1 interface

Using the heartbeat 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. Adding a backup HA1 interface is a design option that addresses split brain when configuring HA. The HA1 interface is used for exchanging HA state information and configuration synchronization between the firewalls. Adding a backup HA1 interface provides redundancy and failover protection for the HA1 interface, ensuring that the firewalls can maintain their HA communication and avoid split brain. Using the heartbeat backup is a design option that addresses split brain when configuring HA. The heartbeat backup is a mechanism that allows the firewalls to send additional heartbeat messages through an alternate path, such as a management interface or a data interface, to verify the health of the peer firewall. Using the heartbeat backup prevents split brain caused by network failures or device failures that affect the primary HA interfaces. Bundling multiple interfaces in an aggregated interface group and assigning HA2, and sending heartbeats across the HA2 interfaces are not design options that address split brain when configuring HA, 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]

Access to the Cloud NGFW for AWS console must be enabled when using Terraform templates with a Cloud next-generation firewall (NGFW) for Amazon Web Services (AWS). Terraform is an open-source tool that allows users to define and provision infrastructure as code using declarative configuration files. Terraform templates are files that specify the resources and configuration for deploying and managing infrastructure components, such as firewalls, load balancers, networks, or servers. Cloud NGFW for AWS is a cloud-native solution that provides comprehensive security and visibility across AWS environments, including VPCs, regions, accounts, and workloads. Cloud NGFW for AWS 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. Access to the Cloud NGFW for AWS console must be enabled when using Terraform templates with a Cloud NGFW for AWS, as the console is the web-based interface that allows customers to view and manage their Cloud NGFW for AWS instances, policies, logs, alerts, and reports. The console also provides the necessary information and credentials for integrating with Terraform, such as the API endpoint, access key ID, secret access key, and customer ID. AWS CloudWatch logging, access to the Palo Alto Networks Customer Support Portal, and AWS Firewall Manager console access do not need to be enabled when using Terraform templates with a Cloud NGFW for AWS, as those are not required or relevant components for Terraform integration. References: [Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE)], [Terraform Overview], [Cloud Next-Generation Firewall Datasheet], [Cloud Next-Generation Firewall Deployment Guide], [Cloud Next-Generation Firewall Console Guide]

A benefit of CN-Series firewalls securing traffic between pods and other workload types is that it allows for automatic deployment, provisioning, and immediate policy enforcement without any manual intervention. CN-Series firewalls are integrated with Kubernetes and use the Kubernetes API server to get information about pod labels, namespaces, services, and network policies. CN-Series firewalls can also use Panorama or Terraform to automate the configuration and management of security policies. References: [CN-Series Deployment Guide]

The appropriate file format for Kubernetes applications is .yaml. YAML is a human-readable data serialization language that is commonly used for configuration files. Kubernetes applications are defined and deployed using YAML files that specify the desired state and configuration of the application components, such as pods, services, deployments, or ingresses. YAML files for Kubernetes applications follow a specific syntax and structure that adhere to the Kubernetes API specifications. .exe, .json, and .xml are not appropriate file formats for Kubernetes applications, but they are related formats that can be used for other purposes. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [What is YAML?], [Kubernetes Basics], [Kubernetes API Overview]

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]

The two environments supported by the CN-Series firewall are:

OpenShift

Native K8

The CN-Series firewall is a containerized firewall that integrates with Kubernetes and provides visibility and control over container traffic. The CN-Series firewall can be deployed in various environments that support Kubernetes, such as public clouds, private clouds, or on-premises data centers. OpenShift is an environment supported by the CN-Series firewall. OpenShift is a platform that provides enterprise-grade Kubernetes and container orchestration, as well as developer tools and services. Native K8 is an environment supported by the CN-Series firewall. Native K8 is a term that refers to the standard Kubernetes distribution that is available from the Kubernetes project website, without any vendor-specific modifications or additions. Positive K and OpenStack are not environments supported by the CN-Series firewall, but they are related concepts that can be used for other purposes. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [CN-Series Datasheet], [CN-Series Deployment Guide for OpenShift], [CN-Series Deployment Guide for Native K8], [What is OpenShift?], [What is Kubernetes?]

The two private cloud environments that Palo Alto Networks have deep integrations with are:

VMware NSX-T

Cisco ACI

A private cloud environment is a cloud computing service that provides infrastructure as a service (IaaS) or platform as a service (PaaS) to customers within a private network or data center. A private cloud environment requires network security that can protect the traffic between different virtual machines (VMs) or other resources from cyberattacks and enforce granular security policies based on application, user, content, and threat information. Palo Alto Networks have deep integrations with VMware NSX-T and Cisco ACI, which are two private cloud environments that provide network virtualization, automation, and security for cloud-native applications. VMware NSX-T 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. Cisco ACI is a private cloud environment that provides application-centric infrastructure (ACI) and security for physical and virtual endpoints across multiple data centers or clouds. Palo Alto Networks have deep integrations with VMware NSX-T and Cisco ACI by enabling features such as dynamic address groups, service insertion, policy redirection, service chaining, orchestration, monitoring, logging, and automation for VM-Series firewalls and Panorama on these platforms. Dell APEX and Nutanix are not private cloud environments that Palo Alto Networks have deep integrations with, but they are related platforms that can be used for other purposes. References: [Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE)], [Deploy the VM-Series Firewall on VMware NSX-T], [Deploy the VM-Series Firewall on Cisco ACI], [What is VMware NSX-T?], [What is Cisco ACI?]

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. References: 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]

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]