Bootstrapping allows you to create a repeatable and streamlined process of deploying new VM-Series firewalls on your network because it allows you to create a package with the model configuration for your network and then use that package to deploy VM-Series firewalls anywhere.

You can either bootstrap the firewall with

complete

configuration so that the firewall is fully configured at startup, or you can begin with a

basic

configuration—a minimal initial configuration that enables you to boot the firewall and then register with Panorama to complete the configuration.

If you choose the

basic

configuration and you are deploying on AWS, Azure or GCP, you can use the bootstrap package and an

init-cfg.txt

file. Alternatively, you can bootstrap with

user data

. Instead of providing bootstrap configuration parameters in files, you enter them as key-value pairs directly into the AWS or GCP user interface when you launch a VM-Series firewall. Azure has a similar process with which you provide the bootstrap parameters in a template or other text file accessed from the Azure CLI.

If you create the bootstrap package, you deliver it from an external device (such as a virtual disk, a virtual CD-ROM, or a cloud storage device (such as a bucket).