>
    Device > Authentication Sequence
    Focus
    Focus
    1. Home
    2. Next-Generation Firewall
    3. Device
    4. Device > Authentication Sequence
    Next-Generation Firewall

    Device > Authentication Sequence

    Table of Contents

    Device > Authentication Sequence

    • Device > Authentication Sequence
    • Panorama > Authentication Sequence
    In some environments, user accounts reside in multiple directories (such as LDAP and RADIUS). An authentication sequence is a set of authentication profiles that the firewall tries to use for authenticating users when they log in. The firewall tries the profiles sequentially from the top of the list to the bottom—applying the authentication, Kerberos single sign-on, allow list, and account lockout values for each—until one profile successfully authenticates the user. The firewall only denies access if all profiles in the sequence fail to authenticate. For details on authentication profiles, see Device > Authentication Profile.
    Configure an authentication sequence with multiple authentication profiles that use different authentication methods. Configure at least two external authentication methods and one local (internal) method so connectivity issues don’t prevent authentication. Make the local authentication profile the last profile in the sequence so it’s only used if all external authentication methods fail. (External authentication provides dedicated, reliable, centralized authentication services, including logging and troubleshooting features.)
    Authentication Sequence Settings
    Description
    Name
    Enter a name to identify the sequence. The name is case-sensitive, can have up to 31 characters, and can include only letters, numbers, spaces, hyphens, underscores, and periods. The name must be unique in the current Location (firewall or virtual system) relative to other authentication sequences and to authentication profiles.
    In a firewall that has multiple virtual systems, if the Location of the authentication sequence is a virtual system (vsys), don’t enter the same name as an authentication profile in the Shared location. Similarly, if the sequence Location is Shared, don’t enter the same name as a profile in a vsys. While you can commit an authentication sequence and profile with the same names in these cases, reference errors might occur.
    Location
    Select the scope in which the sequence is available. In the context of a firewall that has more than one virtual system (vsys), select a vsys or select Shared (all virtual systems). In any other context, you can’t select the Location; its value is predefined as Shared (firewalls) or as Panorama. After you save the sequence, you can’t change its Location.
    Use domain to determine authentication profile
    Select this option (selected by default) if you want the firewall to match the domain name that a user enters during login with the User Domain or Kerberos Realm of an authentication profile associated with the sequence and then use that profile to authenticate the user. The user input that the firewall uses for matching can be the text preceding the username (with a backslash separator) or the text following the username (with a @ separator). If the firewall does not find a match, it tries the authentication profiles in the sequence in top-to-bottom order.
    Authentication Profiles
    Click Add and select from the drop-down for each authentication profile you want to add to the sequence. To change the list order, select a profile and click Move Up or Move Down. To remove a profile, select it and click Delete.
    You cannot add an authentication profile that specifies a multi-factor authentication (MFA) server profile or a Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) Identity Provider server profile.

    © 2025 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.