Palo Alto Networks Palo Alto Networks Certifications PCSFE Questions & Answers

• Question 11:

  A CN-Series firewall can secure traffic between which elements?

  A. Host containers

  B. Source applications

  C. Containers

  D. IPods

  Correct Answer: C

  Explanation: Containers are the elements that a CN-Series firewall can secure traffic between. Containers are isolated units of software that run on a shared operating system and have their own resources, dependencies, and configuration. A CN-Series firewall can inspect and enforce security policies on traffic between containers within a pod, across pods, or across namespaces in a Kubernetes cluster. Host containers, source applications, and IPods are not valid elements that a CN-Series firewall can secure traffic between. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [CN-Series Concepts], [What is a Container?]

• Question 12:

  Which component scans for threats in allowed traffic?

  A. Intelligent Traffic Offload

  B. TLS decryption

  C. Security profiles

  D. NAT

  Correct Answer: C

  Explanation: 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]

• Question 13:

  What is the structure of the YAML Ain't Markup Language (YAML) file repository?

  A. Deployment Type/Kubernetes/Environment

  B. Kubernetes/Deployment Type/Environment

  C. Kubernetes/Environment/Deplovment Type

  D. Environment/Kubernetes/Deployment Type

  Correct Answer: B

  Explanation: 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]

• Question 14:

  Which two steps are involved in deployment of a VM-Series firewall on NSX? (Choose two.)

  A. Create a virtual data center (vDC) and a vApp that includes the VM-Series firewall.

  B. Obtain the Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) from marketplace.

  C. Enable communication between Panorama and the NSX Manager.

  D. Register the VM-Series firewall as a service.

  Correct Answer: CD

  Explanation: To deploy a VM-Series firewall on NSX, you need to enable communication between Panorama and the NSX Manager. This allows Panorama to receive information about the virtual machines and services in the NSX

  environment. You also need to register the VM-Series firewall as a service on the NSX Manager. This allows NSX to redirect traffic to the VM-Series firewall for inspection3. References: VM-Series Deployment Guide for VMware NSX

• Question 15:

  How must a Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) be configured in order to secure traffic in a Cisco ACI environment?

  A. It must be deployed as a member of a device cluster

  B. It must use a Layer 3 underlay network

  C. It must receive all forwarding lookups from the network controller

  D. It must be identified as a default gateway

  Correct Answer: B

  Explanation: 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. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Deploy the VM-Series Firewall on Cisco ACI], [Cisco ACI Underlay Network]

• Question 16:

  Which feature must be configured in an NSX environment to ensure proper operation of a VM-Series firewall in order to secure east-west traffic?

  A. Deployment of the NSX DFW

  B. VMware Information Sources

  C. User-ID agent on a Windows domain server

  D. Device groups within VMware Services Manager

  Correct Answer: A

  Explanation: Deployment of the NSX Distributed Firewall (DFW) must be configured in an NSX environment to ensure proper operation of a VM-Series firewall in order to secure east-west traffic. East-west traffic is the traffic that flows between applications or workloads within a network or a cloud environment. NSX environment 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. NSX DFW is a feature that provides distributed stateful firewalling at the hypervisor level for every virtual machine (VM) in an NSX environment. Deployment of the NSX DFW must be configured in an NSX environment to ensure proper operation of a VM-Series firewall in order to secure east-west traffic by enabling features such as service insertion, policy redirection, service chaining, orchestration, monitoring, logging, and automation for VM- Series firewalls and Panorama on NSX environment. VMware Information Sources, User- ID agent on a Windows domain server, and device groups within VMware Services Manager do not need to be configured in an NSX environment to ensure proper operation of a VM-Series firewall in order to secure east-west traffic, as those are not required or relevant components for NSX integration. References: [Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE)], [Deploy the VM-Series Firewall on VMware NSX-T], [What is VMware NSX-T?], [What is NSX Distributed Firewall?]

• Question 17:

  Which offering inspects encrypted outbound traffic?

  A. WildFire

  B. TLS decryption

  C. Content-ID

  D. Advanced URL Filtering (AURLF)

  Correct Answer: B

  Explanation: TLS decryption is the offering that inspects encrypted outbound traffic. TLS decryption is a feature that allows the firewall to decrypt and inspect outbound SSL/TLS traffic from internal clients to external servers. TLS decryption can inspect encrypted outbound traffic by applying threat prevention technologies, such as antivirus, anti-spyware, vulnerability protection, URL filtering, file blocking, data filtering, and WildFire analysis, to the decrypted traffic and blocking any malicious content or activity. WildFire, Content-ID, and Advanced URL Filtering (AURLF) are not offerings that inspect encrypted outbound traffic, but they are related solutions that can enhance security and visibility. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [TLS Decryption Overview], [Threat Prevention Datasheet]

• Question 18:

  With which two private cloud environments does Palo Alto Networks have deep integrations? (Choose two.)

  A. VMware NSX-T

  B. Cisco ACI

  C. Dell APEX

  D. Nutanix

  Correct Answer: AB

  Explanation: 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 NSXT], [Deploy the VM-Series Firewall on Cisco ACI], [What is VMware NSX-T?], [What is Cisco ACI?]

• Question 19:

  Which Palo Alto Networks firewall provides network security when deploying a microservices-based application?

  A. PA-Series

  B. ICN-Series

  C. VM-Series

  D. HA-Series

  Correct Answer: B

  Explanation: 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?]

• Question 20:

  Which protocol is used for communicating between VM-Series firewalls and a gateway load balancer in Amazon Web Services (AWS)?

  A. VRLAN

  B. Geneve

  C. GRE

  D. VMLAN

  Correct Answer: B

  Explanation: Geneve is the protocol used for communicating between VM-Series firewalls and a gateway load balancer in Amazon Web Services (AWS). A gateway load balancer is a type of network load balancer that distributes traffic across multiple virtual appliances, such as VM-Series firewalls, in AWS. Geneve is a tunneling protocol that encapsulates the original packet with an additional header that contains metadata about the source and destination endpoints, as well as other information. Geneve allows the gateway load balancer to preserve the original packet attributes and forward it to the appropriate VM- Series firewall for inspection and processing. VRLAN, GRE, and VMLAN are not protocols used for communicating between VM-Series firewalls and a gateway load balancer in AWS, but they are related concepts that can be used for other purposes. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Deploy the VM-Series Firewall with AWS Gateway Load Balancer], [Geneve Protocol Specification]