VM-Series Next-Gen Virtual Firewall w/ Advanced Security Subs (PAYG)
Palo Alto Networks | PAN-OS 11.1.6-h7Linux/Unix, Other PAN-OS 11.1.6-h7 - 64-bit Amazon Machine Image (AMI)
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yes, off course. its very good, reliable
What do you like best about the product?
1) It works seamlessly with AWS, Azure and google cloud and others
2)It has security features like App-ID, User-ID and Threat preventions on appliances.
2)It has security features like App-ID, User-ID and Threat preventions on appliances.
What do you dislike about the product?
1) Too much resource intensive on CPU and memory in cloud environments.
2) It needs deep expertise as in training to understand it's full value which can be understood.
2) It needs deep expertise as in training to understand it's full value which can be understood.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
1) It's slow and security has to be done manually
2) There is almost no or very less visibility and control in the cloud
3) It's not reliable with security policies across all environments
2) There is almost no or very less visibility and control in the cloud
3) It's not reliable with security policies across all environments
Robust Cloud Firewall with Granular Control and Strong Security Features
What do you like best about the product?
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Virtual Firewall is a fantastic choice for organizations that need enterprise-grade security in virtualized and cloud environments. It applies features like application-aware traffic management, threat protection, and packet analysis with packet flexibility on AWS, Azure, GCP, and Kubernetes environments.
One of its best features is offering consistent security policies for multi-cloud and hybrid deployments. The firewall is highly scalable, is automatable with tools like Terraform, and plays nicely in CI/CD pipelines. Management through Panorama also simplifies operations by providing centralized management over multiple instances.
The built-in WildFire service offers a secondary layer of real-time threat intelligence, helping to defend against new and emerging threats in a timely fashion.
One of its best features is offering consistent security policies for multi-cloud and hybrid deployments. The firewall is highly scalable, is automatable with tools like Terraform, and plays nicely in CI/CD pipelines. Management through Panorama also simplifies operations by providing centralized management over multiple instances.
The built-in WildFire service offers a secondary layer of real-time threat intelligence, helping to defend against new and emerging threats in a timely fashion.
What do you dislike about the product?
While the Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Virtual Firewall is excellent at security, it is not without its drawbacks. The most significant drawback is cost — licensing, subscription, and cloud resource use can easily become expensive, especially at scale. Setup is also extremely complex and usually requires specialist knowledge, so the learning curve is steep for beginners. Additionally, the firewall can be resource-intensive, consuming heavy CPU and memory, and that increases the operating cost in cloud environments. Last, Palo Alto's licensing options and feature sets are difficult to understand, making the onboarding more complicated.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
The Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Virtual Firewall is meeting the critical need to protect cloud and hybrid environments as securely as it is conventionally possible in on-premises data centers. It is confronting challenges like detecting advanced threats, fine-grained traffic control, application visibility, and consistent policy enforcement across multiple cloud platforms. With deep packet inspection, real-time threat intelligence, and automation tool integrations like Terraform, it enables us to securely migrate workloads into the cloud without relaxing security. This has enabled us to accomplish risk reduction, compliance enhancement, and centralized visibility and management for all our network infrastructure irrespective of where the workloads are directed.
Enhance cybersecurity for large enterprises using advanced threat management
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case involves working with TVS Group of companies in India, a large automobile manufacturer. We take care of their entire cybersecurity system. We implement Palo Alto Networks VM-Series firewalls along with third-party vendors and support them remotely for their day-to-day issues. We use these solutions to enhance cybersecurity and provide protection against various security threats.
What is most valuable?
The VM-Series firewalls are described as useful for security posture, offering next-generation features such as Unified Threat Management, app-centric capabilities, and threat intelligence. The firewalls use sandboxing and behavioral analysis to allow or quarantine new traffic. They help in identifying legitimate domains and instruct admins if approval is needed. This set of features is very helpful in daily tasks.
What needs improvement?
An improvement could be the integration of security intelligence with Palo Alto cloud via APIs. This would allow IOCs, domains, and hash values to be automatically entered, reducing manual entry. Integration with CSIRT across all use levels would make it easier for administrators to stay updated on the blocked entities without manual intervention.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Palo Alto Networks VM-Series firewalls for about four to five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Generally, the VM-Series firewalls are stable. I would rate the stability as eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable and can easily handle an increase in the number of users.
How are customer service and support?
I have worked with Palo Alto technical support for over two years. They are responsive and provide high-quality assistance. Previously, I have raised tickets, and they were efficiently handled by the technical team. My experience has been positive overall.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of the VM-Series firewalls is quite easy compared to traditional firewalls. It is manageable with fewer administrators required. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate the setup as nine for its ease of implementation.
What about the implementation team?
I am directly involved in the implementation of these firewalls. It typically takes around two to three hours to deploy the firewalls in a single environment.
What other advice do I have?
The solution is user-friendly and easy to manage within an environment. As a VM, it requires no physical space and can be managed with one or two admins. It's also 99.9% secure, according to cloud security standards. Overall, I give Palo Alto Networks VM-Series a rating of nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Palo Alto's reliability
What do you like best about the product?
Through my career I've worked with several firewall providers, primarily Sophos what I love about Palo Alto compared to the others is that the support base for this firewall is extremely detailed. Also many advanced features, exactly what you would need in the enterprise.
What do you dislike about the product?
Steep learning curve this is what was the biggest challenge and what I've disliked the most about it. Never firewalls have better UI but it's still pretty rough to switch vendors
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Well as any firewall the primary purpose is of course network protection. We have several unique Inbound/outbound rules and policy's requirements that this firewall is meeting so security and management.
User-friendly CLI and efficient dashboard streamline operations with robust security features
What is our primary use case?
We usually recommend Palo Alto Networks VM-Series for BFSI companies.
What is most valuable?
I find Palo Alto Networks VM-Series easy to deploy, and none of my customers have had significant complaints. My customers have high certifications provided by Palo Alto Networks. The friendly dashboard and the ability to easily command and use the CLI make Palo Alto Networks VM-Series a better product. It offers robust solutions, making it valuable to my customers.
What needs improvement?
It may be beneficial if the firewall can monitor all internal elements like VMs pulling from HP servers. Consolidating these insights into a single dashboard would be advantageous.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been familiar with Palo Alto Networks for four or five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The performance of VM instances has some limitations in terms of threshold and throughput compared to appliances.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate scalability as eight out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
Palo Alto Networks offers better technical support, maintaining SLA efficiently, and resolving issues promptly.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
In some cases, I have migrated from Cisco to Palo Alto Networks VM-Series smoothly.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Pricing for Palo Alto Networks is higher than other OEMs, but considering the robustness and features, it gains customer trust. Technical configuration is a focus area due to its high commercial profile.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I consider Check Point alongside Palo Alto Networks, as well as Cisco for wireless solutions.
What other advice do I have?
When evaluating, consider the customer’s environment and pain points since both Check Point and Palo Alto Networks have their advantages. Overall, I rate Palo Alto Networks VM-Series eight out of ten.
Using Palo alto Firewall
What do you like best about the product?
The ability to deploy on AWS, Azure, and GCP with consistent security policies across hybrid environments is a game-changer. Additionally, the SSL decryption feature ensures no threats hide in encrypted traffic
What do you dislike about the product?
The VM-Series’ dynamic address groups and User-ID features streamline policy enforcement based on real-time user/device context. The Threat Prevention subscription (with WildFire) provides AI-driven malware analysis
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Shadow IT Risks: Layer 7 visibility identifies unauthorized SaaS apps (e.g., employees using unapproved cloud storage), reducing data exfiltration risks by 60%.
Cloud Security Gaps: Auto-scaling in AWS prevents bottlenecks during traffic spikes while maintaining threat inspection.
Cloud Security Gaps: Auto-scaling in AWS prevents bottlenecks during traffic spikes while maintaining threat inspection.
very easy to spin up, manage, and deploy using terraform, manage using ansible
What do you like best about the product?
was able to deploy using terraform, and provision all the firewall rules using ansible, easy to control via code. was able to test deploying in AWS and azure with no problems.
What do you dislike about the product?
not much, great product overall. i will say i wish getting the product deployed was a little faster, not nessicarly the most emphermial product, but besides that great
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
limiting access to backend application, acting as network gatweay and firewall for my backend appication. used it as middlewear in between azure devops and my private application.
Great experience using Palo Alto VM series devices
What do you like best about the product?
Ease of use and implementation of the VM devices. VM series offer a great experience whether deploying in the cloud or on-premises. Palo Alto support is very responsive, also the support portal is very easy to navigate.
What do you dislike about the product?
There is not much to dislike about Palo Alto VM series devices, one thing might be the way they are licenced. You need to purchase Flex credits and depending on the features you use it how many credits your VM consumes.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Enabling our organization and our users to establish secure connection to external applications and services. Also provides resiliency and stability to our network.
Secures remote work with advanced threat protection and efficient traffic management
What is our primary use case?
I am using Palo Alto Networks VM-Series because almost all my application infrastructure is hosted on AWS. AWS supports deploying Palo Alto Networks VM-Series in their marketplace, and Palo Alto is a leader in security in the firewall market. I also use the GlobalProtect VPN from Palo Alto Networks.
What is most valuable?
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is very strong in security features like antivirus, anti-spyware, and machine learning capabilities that help scan for antivirus and anti-spam. This ensures high security for internal and external traffic. They frequently update antivirus patterns and application threats, which provides reliable protection. I also value GlobalProtect VPN for supporting remote users as most of my employees work remotely. Additionally, Palo Alto Networks helps me visualize and manage network traffic effectively, blocking risky files and enhancing network security.
What needs improvement?
Currently, I do not have specific suggestions for Palo Alto Networks VM-Series improvements. I am happy with the rich features provided. As I have only used it for four months, I might need more time to explore and suggest enhancements.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Palo Alto Networks VM-Series since December 2020, around four months.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
Deploying Palo Alto Networks VM-Series was a bit challenging. I rate it a six out of ten for ease, as it required going through extensive documentation to set it up. Deployment took nearly a week to complete.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the stability of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series as seven out of ten. I have not experienced any major problems or downtime, but I haven't yet explored all its features.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Currently, I do not have a clear answer about the scalability of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series as I have not scaled it yet.
How are customer service and support?
I have not directly used Palo Alto's technical support as I rely on vendor support. The vendor provides me with documentation when needed.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before using Palo Alto Networks VM-Series, I used a physical box on-premises. The switch was due to moving all infrastructure to AWS, necessitating a virtual solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series was somewhat challenging, requiring extensive documentation review. I rate it a six out of ten for ease.
What about the implementation team?
I handled almost 100% of the deployment myself. However, for specific features, I consulted the vendor engineer, who provided online documentation for guidance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate the pricing of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series as six or seven out of ten. The cost involves purchasing through a vendor, which might mark up due to the supply chain. I've had no complaints about Palo Alto's pricing.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I did not evaluate other options before choosing Palo Alto Networks VM-Series, as it is a leader in the market.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I rate Palo Alto Networks VM-Series an eight out of ten. I am happy with its performance and rich features.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Secure and easy to integrate.
What do you like best about the product?
It excels in providing robust security features tailored for cloud environments. Its ability to seamlessly integrate with major cloud platforms ensures consistent protection across hybrid and multi-cloud architectures. Additionally, its scalability is a strong point, allowing organizations to adapt to changing workloads without compromising performance. The centralized management through Panorama further simplifies operations, making it a powerful tool for securing dynamic, cloud-based infrastructures.
What do you dislike about the product?
The initial setup and configuration can be complex, especially for users without prior experience. The learning curve is steep, requiring significant time and effort to optimize deployment. Additionally, the licensing and ongoing costs can be relatively high, which could deter smaller organizations or those with limited budgets.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
As an administrator, I’ve found that it solves a lot of the challenges we face with securing workloads in the cloud. It provides advanced threat prevention, great traffic visibility, and consistent policy enforcement across our hybrid and multi-cloud environments. One of the biggest benefits is its ability to integrate with cloud-native tools, which simplifies managing security across different platforms. It’s helped us prevent malware, secure east-west traffic, and maintain compliance without adding unnecessary complexity.
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