Paloalto Networks Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE) PCSFE Exam Dumps: Updated Questions & Answers (October 2025)

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?]

VM-Series firewalls and hardware firewalls that are external to the Kubernetes cluster are problematic for protecting containerized workloads because they are located outside the cluster and have no visibility into application-level cluster traffic. Kubernetes is a platform that provides orchestration, automation, and management of containerized applications. Kubernetes cluster traffic consists of traffic between containers within a pod, across pods, or across namespaces. VM-Series firewalls and hardware firewalls that are external to the Kubernetes cluster cannot inspect or control this traffic, as they only see the encapsulated or aggregated traffic at the network layer. This creates blind spots and security gaps for containerized workloads. VM-Series firewalls and hardware firewalls that are external to the Kubernetes cluster are not problematic for protecting containerized workloads because they do not scale independently of the Kubernetes cluster, are managed by another entity when located inside the cluster, or function differently based on whether they are located inside or outside of the cluster, as those are not valid reasons or scenarios for firewall deployment in a Kubernetes environment. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [CN-Series Concepts], [VM-Series on 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?]

Prisma Cloud Compute offers workload security at runtime by automatically building an allow-list security model for every container and service. Workload security is a type of security that protects applications and data from cyberattacks across different stages of the software development lifecycle, such as development, testing, staging, and production. Runtime security is a type of security that monitors and analyzes workload behavior in real time to detect and prevent malicious activities or anomalous behaviors. Prisma Cloud Compute is a cloud-native solution that provides comprehensive security and visibility across hybrid and multi-cloud environments, covering hosts, containers, serverless functions, and web applications. Prisma Cloud Compute offers workload security at runtime by automatically building an allow-list security model for every container and service, which defines the expected network connections, processes, file system activity, and system calls for each workload based on its baseline behavior. Prisma Cloud Compute then enforces the allow-list security model and blocks any deviations or violations from the expected behavior. Prisma Cloud Compute does not quarantine containers that demonstrate increased CPU and memory usage, automatically patch vulnerabilities and compliance issues for every container and service, or work with the identity provider (IdP) to identify overprivileged containers and services and restrict network access, as those are not methods or features of Prisma Cloud Compute for workload security at runtime. References: [Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE)], [Prisma Cloud Compute Datasheet], [Prisma Cloud Compute Overview], [Prisma Cloud Compute Runtime Defense]

To deploy VM-Series firewalls in high availability (HA), you need to assign identical licenses and subscriptions, and deploy them on a different host. Assigning identical licenses and subscriptions ensures that both firewalls have the same features and capabilities. Deploying them on a different host ensures that they are not affected by the same host failure. References: [VM-Series High Availability]

Dynamic address group is the component that allows the flexibility to add network resources but does not require making changes to existing policies and rules. 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. Content-ID, External dynamic list, and App-ID are not components that allow the flexibility to add network resources but do not require making changes to existing policies and rules, but they are related features that can enhance security and visibility. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Dynamic Address Groups Overview], [Content-ID Overview], [External Dynamic Lists Overview], [App-ID Overview]

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

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]

CN-Series firewalls are licensed by data-plane vCPU. Data-plane vCPU is the number of virtual CPUs assigned to the data plane of the CN-Series firewall instance. The data plane is the part of the CN-Series firewall that processes network traffic and applies security policies. CN-Series firewalls are licensed by data-plane vCPU, which determines the performance and capacity of the CN-Series firewall instance, such as throughput, sessions, policies, rules, and features. CN-Series firewalls are not licensed by service-plane vCPU, management-plane vCPU, or control-plane vCPU, as those are not factors that affect the licensing cost or consumption of CN-Series firewalls. References: [Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE)], [CN-Series Licensing], [CN-Series System Requirements], [CN-Series Architecture]

VM-Series firewall is the software firewall that would assist a prospect who is interested in securing extensive DevOps deployments. DevOps is a set of practices that combines software development and IT operations to deliver software products faster and more reliably. DevOps deployments require network security that can protect the traffic between different stages of the software development lifecycle, such as development, testing, staging, and production, as well as between different cloud or virtualization platforms, such as public clouds, private clouds, or on-premises data centers. 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 can assist a prospect who is interested in securing extensive DevOps deployments by providing comprehensive security and visibility across hybrid and multi-cloud environments, protecting applications and data from cyberattacks, and supporting automation and orchestration tools that simplify and accelerate the deployment and configuration of firewalls across different platforms. CN-Series, Ion-Series, and Cloud next-generation firewall are not software firewalls that would assist a prospect who is interested in securing extensive DevOps deployments, but they are related solutions that can be deployed on specific platforms or environments. References: Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [VM-Series Datasheet], [VM-Series Deployment Guide], [What is DevOps?]