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    Policy Object: Address Groups
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    Network Security

    Policy Object: Address Groups

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    Policy Object: Address Groups

    Combine addresses that require the same security settings into address groups to simplify the creation of Security policies.
    Where Can I Use This?What Do I Need?
    • NGFW (Cloud Managed)
    • NGFW (PAN-OS & Panorama Managed)
    • Prisma Access (Managed by Strata Cloud Manager)
    • Prisma Access (Managed by Panorama)
    Check for any license or role requirements for the products you're using.
    To simplify the creation of Security policies, addresses that require the same security settings can be combined into address groups. An address group can be static or dynamic.
    You can Add or update Address Groups and give them a detailed name and description.
    There are two types of Address Groups you can use:
    • Dynamic Address Groups—Allow you to create policies that automatically adapt to changes, and are useful in infrastructures where changes in virtual machine location and IP addresses are frequent.
      A dynamic address group populates its members based on tags and filters. Use AND and OR operators to build filters for a dynamic address group. All IP addresses or address groups that match the criteria you define become members of the dynamic address group.
    • Static Address Groups—Can include address objects, dynamic address groups, or a combination of both address objects and dynamic address groups.
    Troubleshoot traffic that isn't being enforced as expected–check the status of specific devices to understand whether there’s a mismatch between expected policies (as configured) and enforced policies.

    Dynamic Address Groups

    A dynamic address group populates its members dynamically using look ups for tags and tag-based filters. Dynamic address groups are very useful if you have an extensive virtual infrastructure where changes in virtual machine location or IP address are frequent. For example, if you have a sophisticated failover setup or provision new virtual machines frequently and would like to apply policy to the traffic from or to the new machine without modifying the configuration or rules, use dynamic address groups.
    To use a dynamic address group in policy, you must complete the following tasks:
    • Define a dynamic address group and reference it in a security rule.
    • The members of the dynamic address group are formed with the IP addresses and the corresponding tags. You can do this using external scripts that use the XML API.
    Dynamic address groups can also include statically defined address objects. If you create an address object and apply the same tags that you have assigned to a dynamic address group, that dynamic address group will include all static and dynamic objects that match the tags. You can, therefore use tags to pull together both dynamic and static objects in the same address group.

    Static Address Groups

    A static address group can include address objects that are static, dynamic address groups, or it can be a combination of both address objects and dynamic address groups.
    At its core, a static address group is a logical collection of address objects or other address groups. These collections can include individual IP addresses, ranges of IPs, or other address groups, forming a cohesive unit that represents a specific set of endpoints or network entities.
    The primary advantage of using static address groups is their ability to streamline policy maintenance and updates. Instead of modifying multiple security rules individually, you can simply update the associated static address group. This change propagates across all rules referencing the group, ensuring consistency and saving valuable time.
    Static address groups can also contribute to policy organization and clarity. By grouping similar address objects based on criteria such as geographical location, department, or function, you can develop security rules that are both comprehensive and comprehensible. This promotes a structured and easily navigable policy framework, crucial for maintaining an effective security posture.

    Address Group Fields

    When creating an Address Group, you can specify some or all of the following fields:
    Address Group Settings
    Description
    Name
    A name that describes the address group (up to 63 characters). This name appears in the address list when defining Security policies. The name is case-sensitive and must be unique. Use only letters, numbers, spaces, hyphens, and underscores.
    Shared
    When this option is selected, the address group isavailable to:
    • Every virtual system (vsys) on a multi-vsys. If you clear this selection, the address group will be available only to the virtual system selected.
    • Every device group on Panorama.
    Disable override (Panorama only)
    Select this option to prevent administrators from overriding the settings of this address group object in device groups that inherit the object. This selection is cleared by default, which means administrators can override the settings for any device group that inherits the object.
    Description
    Enter a description for the object (up to 1023 characters).
    Type
    The type can be Static or Dynamic.
    To view the list of attributes for the match criteria, you must access and retrieve the attributes from the source/host. Each virtual machine on the configured information source(s) can be polled to retrieve changes in IP address or configuration.
    Tags
    Select or enter the tags that you wish to apply to this address group.
    Members Count and Address
    After you add an address group, the Members Count column indicates whether the objects in the group are populated dynamically or statically.
    • For a static address group, you can view the count of the members in the address group.
    • For an address group that uses tags to dynamically populate members or has both static and dynamic members, you can view the IP addresses that are registered to the address group.
      • Type indicates whether the IP address is a static address object or being dynamically registered and displays the IP address.
      • Action allows you to unregister tags from an IP address.

    Use Dynamic Address Groups in Policy

    Dynamic Address Groups are used in policy. They allow you to create policy that automatically adapts to changes—adds, moves, or deletions of servers. It also enables the flexibility to apply different rules to the same server based on tags that define its role on the network, the operating system, or the different kinds of traffic it processes.
    A Dynamic Address Group uses tags as a filtering criteria to determine its members. The filter uses logical and and or operators. All IP addresses or address groups that match the filtering criteria become members of the Dynamic Address Group. Tags can be defined statically or registered (dynamically). The difference between static and dynamic tags is that static tags are part of the configuration, and dynamic tags are part of the runtime configuration. This implies that a commit isn't required to update dynamic tags; the tags must however be used by Dynamic Address Groups that are referenced in policy, and the policy must be committed.
    Dynamic address groups can also include statically defined address objects. If you create an address object and apply the same tags that you have assigned to a dynamic address group, that dynamic address group will include all static and dynamic objects that match the tags. You can, therefore use tags to pull together both dynamic and static objects in the same address group.
    Keep reading to learn how to use a dynamic address group in your deployment's Security policy.

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