To use the Panorama™ management server for managing Palo Alto Networks firewalls, you must add the firewalls as managed devices and then assign them to device groups and to templates or template stacks. The following tasks best suit a first-time firewall deployment. Templates and template stacks are utilized to define and administer the common base network and device configurations that enable firewalls to operate seamlessly on the network. Meanwhile, device groups allow administrators to organize firewalls logically to centrally manage globally shared and local policy rules, control the precedence of inherited objects, and maintain a structured rule hierarchy. Managing firewalls involves a variety of deployment options, including setting up Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP) to automate and simplify the onboarding of new branch firewalls directly from the internet after connecting to the ZTP service.

Administrators can also seamlessly transition existing locally-managed firewalls to Panorama management by importing their configurations, or change devices between Panorama management and cloud management as deployment needs evolve.

Panorama also provides robust device monitoring capabilities, allowing administrators to track device health metrics—such as session counts, data plane CPU utilization, logging rates, and environmental performance—and identify devices that deviate from baseline operational ranges. Furthermore, administrators can monitor policy rule usage to evaluate whether rules continue to match traffic enforcement needs, enabling the identification and cleanup of unused rules to reduce security risks.

To view the Objects and Policies tabs on the Panorama web interface, you must first create at least one device group. To view the Network and Device tabs, you must create at least one template. These tabs contain the options by which you configure and manage the firewalls on your network.

Before proceeding, review Plan Your Panorama Deployment to understand the deployment options