Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls Reviews

We use three types of firewalls for comprehensive network security. Our perimeter firewall, a Palo Alto Networks NG Firewall, safeguards our network from external threats by controlling access at the network's edge.

Palo Alto Networks provides a unified platform by integrating its next-generation firewalls with Cortex XDR, an extended detection and response solution.

It also provides inline protection using ML, which detects almost 100 percent of threats.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are top-of-the-line security solutions. We are quite satisfied with their performance, as they have effectively addressed our security needs without any issues. Their robust features and reliability make them a valuable asset to our organization.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls block up to 3,000 daily attacks on our organizations.

It was set up for VPN tunnels and inbound file access in my previous organization. We also had connections from our on-prem systems to any cloud systems, meaning Azure, AWS, or site-to-site VPNs.

We had a unified platform to look at and compare configurations between firewalls, the versions that we have, and what was available. We could do upgrades or updates to the firewalls using the interface.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are the best in the field in terms of usability and coverage.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls did help reduce downtime. Because of the features that they had, we were able to push updates. We would do one site at a time. We had set up the cluster mode, so it saved the previous configuration, and then it went through the updates while the other one was running. It would apply the patch, recycle it, and make sure all the connections failover before going to the next one.

We rarely had any downtime. We were running 24/7. Most of the issues we had were with ISP. We did have multiple firewalls, and we were going through two different ISPs. Once one ISP was down, and then it was able to switch over to the other ISP automatically because of the way it was set up. If we had not set up the clustering or failover correctly with the Palo Alto Firewalls handling the two ISPs, it would have been almost a day's worth of downtime. When one ISP was down, if it had not automatically failed over, we would've had to go in and take care of this. This team was pretty much remote, so it would have easily taken us a day.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are primarily used for perimeter security, typically deployed in pairs at most locations. Smaller sales offices often have just one, while larger facilities prioritize security with more firewalls due to their broader operational scope. These firewalls are also highly valuable in mixed environments where standardized security features are essential.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls provides a unified platform that natively integrates all security capabilities. Panorama is our single console that allows us to do all things Palo Alto. We are a value-added reseller. Some customers specifically request Palo Alto firewalls, while others need guidance and comparisons. 

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are considered some of the most secure firewalls available, offering robust protection when configured with strict security rules. Palo Alto firewalls maintain consistent security functionality across all models, with the primary difference being throughput capacity. While they previously faced criticism for their licensing model requiring separate purchases for features like URL filtering, their advanced malware detection, Wildfire and other integrated tools like IDS, IPS, and SIEM reporting provide comprehensive threat protection. Furthermore, their single-pass processing architecture mitigates the performance degradation typically associated with enabling multiple security features, ensuring consistent performance even with advanced threat protection enabled.

It can help reduce downtime caused by malicious insiders. If an employee intends to steal data on behalf of a competitor, these firewalls can help prevent data exfiltration and maintain network availability.

In my previous company, we used Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls for the government, specifically for the Security Operation Center (SOC). We used it not only for on-premises but also for the cloud infrastructure in AWS. Instead of using the cloud-native firewall, we implemented Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls to inspect the traffic.

The version we work with varies based on the customer.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls reduced the downtime. We upgraded the primary and then failed over to the secondary, so there was no impact on the customer. There was just one ICMP packet drop.

The IPS with firewalls is very important. We do not have to buy a separate appliance. We have just one firewall. We have the single-plane and parallel processing. The traffic is spread from layer 2 to layer 3 to layer 4 to layer 7, including the applications. There are also antivirus, spyware, and vulnerability checks. It is very important to inspect the traffic.

We use Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls in our data center to manage security for both east-west and north-south traffic. These firewalls provide comprehensive protection for various traffic types, ensuring secure communication within the data center and between the data center and external networks.

Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls provide a unified threat management solution with various security features, including threat prevention, URL filtering, security policies, and zone protection. These features are crucial for internet-level protection, enabling URL filtering, threat prevention, security policies, user identification, and a comprehensive VPN solution for site-to-site and remote access connections.

Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls include WildFire, which uses machine learning for inline, real-time threat prevention.

It effectively secures our data centers with their application-based approach. Unlike traditional firewalls that solely rely on port numbers and IP addresses, these firewalls identify applications to determine whether to allow or block traffic. This enhanced inspection ensures only legitimate applications access the network, providing robust security.

It has also helped us reduce downtime because the failover is very swift and the performance is good. This offers us good throughput and parallel processing.

The primary use case is enterprise-level security. Our organization utilizes Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls for internal security measures, including SD-WAN and SSL authentication configurations to establish secure network connections through the firewall.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls provides a unified platform that natively integrates all security capabilities. The integration of machine learning in the core of the firewall that provides inline real-time attack prevention is crucial.

Palo Alto Networks NG firewalls embed machine learning in their core, which aids in preventing real-time attacks. The effectiveness of this technology improves with each release, bolstering confidence in the product's ability to provide robust security.

When we identify a vulnerability, we use Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls to mitigate the threat.

We experienced no downtime in the past two and a half years while using Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation firewalls.

The primary use case for Palo Alto is to address traffic-related issues and manage configurations pushed from Panorama to Palo Alto Firewalls. Additionally, it handles GPU-related challenges, global protect, and IP internal problems.

Both FortiGate and Cisco firewalls process network traffic sequentially, meaning each packet passes through security engines, e.g., security profiles and URL filtering, one by one, which can be time-consuming. In contrast, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls utilize single-pass parallel processing. When a packet arrives on an interface, the firewall creates multiple copies and sends them to all relevant security engines simultaneously. This parallel approach significantly reduces processing time and increases overall efficiency.

Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls offer a comprehensive platform that seamlessly integrates all essential security functions, eliminating the need for multiple platforms. With integrated routing, switching, threat prevention, SASE, and Prisma capabilities, Palo Alto provides a centralized solution. A notable feature is the active-passive router configuration, enabling one firewall to be active while another remains on standby. Additionally, these firewalls incorporate SD-WAN, IPsec, and VPNs for enhanced network security and connectivity.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls effectively utilize embedded machine learning to provide real-time attack prevention. Upon receiving a packet, the firewall performs an initial ingress phase analysis before passing it to the fast path for routing, switching, and connection establishment. Simultaneously, the security policy is checked. If a threat is detected, the initial packet is allowed through for analysis, while subsequent traffic is automatically blocked without the need for manual security policy configuration.

Our organization benefited from the comprehensive feature set of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, eliminating the need for separate purchases of web-based firewalls, load balancers, routers, switches, Prisma devices, and SD-WAN devices. This saves our organizational costs.

Palo Alto provides strong security in our data centers and across all our workplaces.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls reduce downtime and enhance network reliability and security through active-passive setups, where a secondary firewall automatically takes over if the primary one fails, ensuring continuous operation. These firewalls provide a seamless and efficient environment by automatically capturing logs and managing known threats. Advanced features like App-ID and Content-ID inspection enable deep packet inspection, identifying and mitigating threats even within encrypted files or those disguised as legitimate data, such as a virus bound to an MPG file. This comprehensive approach ensures robust security and minimizes the impact of malicious activities, regardless of the attacker's techniques.

We use Palo Alto firewalls to secure the enterprise network and connect our branch offices with our data centers.

A lot of Palo Alto's attack mitigation is automatic. It's nice that you can define security policies and profiles, and the firewall can automatically take action to mitigate attacks as they occur.

We can avoid downtime because Palo Alto supports high-availability firewalls, which usually enable us to do maintenance without interruption to the enterprise. We also have redundancy in our wide area, so we are not dependent on one internet provider. If it fails, we can route across an alternate provider through our VPN tunnels.