Palo Alto Networks PCSFE Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer Exam Practice Test

Answer : B

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]

Answer : B, C

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. Reference:Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Threat Prevention Datasheet], [WildFire Datasheet], [Intelligent Traffic Offload], [SD-WAN]

Answer : A, B

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. Reference: [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?]

Answer : D

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]

Answer : C

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]

Answer : B

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. Reference: [Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE)], [What is YAML?], [YAML File Repository]

Answer : B

Microsegmentation is a technology that allows for granular control of east-west traffic in a software-defined 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]