Determine Your NGFW Management Strategy
Learn about the different management styles for your Next-Generation Firewalls
(NGFWs).
Where Can I Use This? | What Do I Need? |
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Prerequisites are determined by your management strategy of
choice.
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Palo Alto Networks provides three distinct management approaches for NGFWs, each designed
to address different operational requirements and network architectures.
Direct device management through the PAN-OS web interface offers administrators
granular control over an individual firewall's configurations, suitable for small
deployments or environments with limited devices.
Panorama provides centralized management capabilities as either a hardware
appliance or virtual machine, enabling security teams to implement consistent policy
rules, collect unified logs, and generate comprehensive reports across the entire NGFW
infrastructure.
Strata Cloud Manager is a cloud-native management solution that eliminates the
need for on-premises management infrastructure, offering similar centralized control
while providing built-in scalability and simplified deployment for distributed networks.
Each management option maintains consistent security capabilities while offering
different operational models to align with an organization's existing infrastructure,
technical resources, and security management preferences.
Determine Your Management Strategy (PAN-OS)
Learn about the advantages of managing your network directly through the PAN-OS web
interface.
The
PAN-OS web interface provides direct device
management for individual NGFW, offering administrators complete control through a
browser-based console. This management approach delivers immediate access to all NGFW
functions without requiring additional infrastructure. The interface is organized into
logical sections including Dashboard, ACC (Application Command Center), Policies,
Objects, Network, Device, and Monitor, providing intuitive navigation for both
configuration and operational monitoring.
Key advantages include zero deployment overhead, immediate configuration changes without
synchronization delays, and direct access to hardware-specific settings. The PAN-OS web
interface is particularly suitable for small deployments, lab environments, or scenarios
where granular device-specific control is required. This management method enables
administrators to leverage the full functionality of the firewall without dependencies
on external management systems.
Determine Your Management Strategy (Panorama)
Learn about the advantages of managing your network centrally using
Panorama.
Panorama serves as an on-premises centralized
management solution for organizations with multiple NGFWs, available as
either a dedicated hardware appliance or virtual machine. Its hierarchical management
model enables administrators to define shared policy rules that apply across the entire
NGFW estate while still enabling for device-specific configurations when needed.
Standout features include template stacks for standardizing network configurations,
device groups for organizing security policy rules, and consolidated logging that
aggregates security data across all Panorama managed devices.
Panorama excels in providing consistent rule enforcement, simplified compliance
management, and reduced administrative overhead in multidevice environments. The
solution supports role-based access control for distributed security teams and offers
comprehensive change management capabilities including commit previews and audit trails.
Panorama is valuable for organizations with regulatory requirements necessitating
centralized logging or those maintaining significant on-premises infrastructure.
Determine Your Management Strategy (Strata Cloud Manager)
Learn about the advantages of managing your network through the cloud using Strata
Cloud Manager.
Strata Cloud Manager represents a Palo Alto Networks
cloud-native management platform, offering centralized control of security
infrastructure without requiring on-premises management servers. This SaaS-based
solution provides similar policy rule management capabilities to Panorama but adds
cloud-specific advantages including automatic scaling, continuous updates without
maintenance windows, and global accessibility. Standout features include simplified
deployment through Zero Touch Provisioning, integrated cloud-delivered security
services, and unified management of both physical and cloud-based security controls.
Strata Cloud Manager excels in managing distributed environments and supports hybrid
deployments spanning traditional data centers, branch offices, and multicloud
environments. The platform offers consumption-based licensing models that align costs
with actual usage and provides built-in high availability without additional
infrastructure. This management option is advantageous for organizations embracing
cloud-first strategies, supporting remote workforces, or seeking to reduce the
operational complexity associated with maintaining management infrastructure.