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reviewer2171622 - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security Specialist at a government with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
May 1, 2023
Easy to configure, reliable, with an appealing syntax
Pros and Cons
  • "The most important part of this solution is its reliability, as it just works without any fancy features."
  • "Enhancements could potentially be made to the firmware to improve its inspectability."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls as Foundry Network devices, but we also use them to filter internal network traffic.

How has it helped my organization?

I don't believe there is a significant difference. It is similar to any Google firewall product in that it works as long as they are reliable.

What is most valuable?

The most important part of this solution is its reliability, as it just works without any fancy features. Users are mainly concerned about their ability to function consistently and dependably.

I believe that companies could potentially gain an advantage by leveraging their engineers' familiarity with certain interfaces. Typically, the familiarity factor plays a significant role in product selection, and if they have experience using certain interfaces, they are more likely to opt for those products.

In terms of the interface, I don't feel there is any distinction between this vendor and others. I believe that familiarity with the products itself is an important consideration.

What needs improvement?

With the use cases that I am familiar with, I don't believe that additional features would be of any benefit. 

Adding more features generally causes more issues. I would prefer they focus on improving reliability rather than adding new features.

My preference would be to exclude machine learning since it must be capable of explanation. This is really important to us, and the performance must also be highly predictable. If it is implemented, at the very least, the option to disable it completely must be available.

In my view, machine learning is often a bothersome addition that can potentially compromise security by allowing unauthorized traffic to pass through undetected. 

From my experience, this tends to occur in networks where all the traffic is clearly defined.

Enhancements could potentially be made to the firmware to improve its inspectability.

Buyer's Guide
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls
June 2026
Learn what your peers think about Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2026.
902,456 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

In my current job, I have been using Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

In my experience, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have been a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It has been as scalable as you would expect.

I have experience working on both small office networks as well as larger ones spanning multiple locations, typically around three to five locations.

I have worked with a range from small office setups with around fifty devices to larger ones with a scale of maybe a thousand, two thousand, or even five thousand devices.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have experience with quite a lot of other vendors.

In my opinion, I find the configuration of this product more appealing than that of Cisco, but ultimately, it comes down to the preference of the organization's administrators. In terms of features, I don't see a significant difference between them; they all seem pretty standard to me.

I find their syntax more appealing, especially for the command line.

How was the initial setup?

 I am rarely involved in the deployment.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

When assessing firewalls for securing data centers consistently and across all workspaces or places, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are suitable products. 

From my experience, they have demonstrated excellent performance.

While it may not necessarily decrease downtime, it also doesn't cause any increase in downtime.

What other advice do I have?

Attending events like RSA has proven to be quite beneficial for me in terms of meeting new people and discovering interesting products. These events generated new contacts and partnerships for my organization.

I believe that we will likely evaluate and purchase at least one of the products in the near future.

It's a decent product, I would rate Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Hamada Elewa - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer - Security Presales at Raya Integration
Real User
Top 5
Feb 22, 2022
App-ID, invented by Palo Alto, knows an application, who's communicating with it, and how it is used inside a network
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features are the power of the threat prevention and the WildFire service. Its strength comes from the huge number of sensors all over the world. The firewalls have a rich library of signatures."
  • "When you apply App-ID and User-ID and Content-ID, you will protect your environment more than with any other firewall."
  • "If you enable SSL you will face a problem. The throughput of the firewall will be degraded. SSL is a big issue on all firewalls. All products suffer from issues with SSL, but Palo Alto firewalls suffer more from it."

What is our primary use case?

We use Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls as internet firewalls, LAN or WAN firewalls, as well as data center firewalls.

How has it helped my organization?

When you apply App-ID and User-ID and Content-ID, you will protect your environment more than with any other firewall. That's because Palo Alto is a leader in App-ID. They invented it. It knows the application and who's communicating with it, and how it is used inside a network. If you use Palo Alto as your internet firewall, for example, when your employee accesses the internet, you will determine which applications he's communicating with, including which ports and the behavior of the user. That helps protect your environment.

The Palo Alto NG Firewalls unified platform has helped to eliminate security holes in our customers' environments. When you have multiple firewalls from Palo Alto to protect more than one segment, such as the LAN, WAN, internet, and data center segments, you can manage all of these from a single point with Palo Alto Panorama. It makes it easy to configure and monitor all of these segments.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are the power of the threat prevention and the WildFire service. Its strength comes from the huge number of sensors all over the world. The firewalls have a rich library of signatures.

Also, the new generation of Palo Alto firewalls includes machine learning embedded in the hardware itself and that is effective in the new era of attacks. Nowadays, we don't know the behavior of the attacks, so we need a product to learn along with us: How an attack will affect us and how the attack will enter a corporate environment. That's why the machine learning aspect is important.

They also provide a unified platform that natively integrates all security capabilities. You can configure or change anything in the firewall itself from the management console, and there is a separate console for managing all the firewalls you have, called Panorama. It's a very good central manager. I like Panorama. It is the most powerful and capable central manager of firewalls. It gives you very rich information about your environment, and what is moving inside it. It helps you to configure it easily.

It's also important that the NSS Labs test report from July 2019 about Palo Alto's NG Firewalls showed that 100 percent of the evasions were blocked. NSS Labs is the most accurate public report that all my customers want to see. All my customers ask about NSS Labs and where Palo Alto is positioned in their reports. To position Palo Alto, I will show my customer the NSS Lab report. It's the most important report.

In addition, in the last two series, Palo Alto separated the engines. That means you will not face any issue with the performance or the firewalls. There is an engine for performance, an engine for the IPS, and another engine for other features. There isn't only a single engine responsible for all these features.

What needs improvement?

The IoT could be better. IoT environments will be part of IT and measuring these zones will make your IT environment more resistant to attacks. You need a powerful firewall to secure the IoT segment, the same way that Palo Alto Firewalls do for the IT segment.

Also, if you enable SSL you will face a problem. The throughput of the firewall will be degraded. SSL is a big issue on all firewalls. All products suffer from issues with SSL, but Palo Alto firewalls suffer more from it.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls for at least four years, but for my company it has been almost 10 years.

I have worked with many Palo Alto models, including the PA-3000 Series, the new PA-3020 Series, and the new-generation PA-3400. I have worked with the PA-800 Series and the 5K as well.

Our company provides services for the whole cycle, from design and sizing to ordering and implementation. We provide all professional services. And we support systems after implementation.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a very stable firewall.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

If you choose a model, from PA-3000 or PA-400, or the PA-5000 Series, you should size it correctly from the beginning, and you must consider expansion, otherwise you could face a big problem, as it's not scalable. But, if you have a big company, and you've chosen it as a data center firewall, you can choose a modular version, so that it is easily scalable.

How are customer service and support?

There are two types of support. If you choose partner support, you will face a big problem because it will take more time to reach Palo Alto. But if you choose direct support from the vendor, they will support you very well.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

It's very simple to deploy Palo Alto NG Firewalls into our clients' environments. One of my professional service team engineers was able to do an implementation on his own after shadowing just one implementation. He didn't take any courses or do any formal training. He was just a shadow on a single implementation. After that, he did an implementation. It's a very easy firewall.

The time it takes to deploy this firewall depends on the environment. If it's a complicated environment, a big corporate environment, the number of policies and rules and segments will be the determining factor. But it won't take that long. If you enable App-ID, you will need more time. App-ID is one of the most powerful tools inside NG Firewalls from Palo Alto, but it needs professional engineers to implement it. After that, you will have a very good security tool.

What was our ROI?

Our customers certainly see ROI from Palo Alto firewalls. For example, if a bank doesn't have Palo Alto firewalls, or any technology from Palo Alto, they will face many attacks, which would be resolved by Palo Alto. These attacks could compromise some of their customers and result in taking their money. What will the bank do then? The ROI comes from protecting customers.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Palo Alto is one of the most expensive firewalls in the world. Everyone knows that. But you need at least one layer from Palo Alto to protect your environment because it is the strongest company in the security field.

The licensing model for container security is complicated for me and for my customers.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I deal with Fortinet Fortigate firewalls, Forcepoint firewalls, and Cisco firewalls every day. We sell and implement them, like Palo Alto.

Palo Alto now has the IoT license on the firewall. They can protect you from DNS attacks. The WildFire license is a very rich license, and other vendors don't have that. And if your firewall is an internet edge firewall, Palo Alto GlobalProtect will give you a host compliance check without adding anything else. Also App-ID and Content-ID are very good and very mature, unlike with other vendors.

I have also used Palo Alto NGFW’s DNS Security for two of my customers. It's a good addition to the firewall, but it's not perfect. Palo Alto is not specialized in DNS attacks. There are a lot of companies that specialize in DNS attacks. They are more mature than Palo Alto in this area. Palo Alto is not like Akamai or Infoblox or EfficientIP, as those companies are specialized in DNS, DNS servers, and DNS attacks. Palo Alto is not only a DNS company.

What other advice do I have?

Someone who says, "We are just looking for the cheapest and fastest firewall?" can get a free firewall, but they will not be protected. They will not be updated against the latest attacks all over the world.

There are tools on the Palo Alto portal that can be used to enhance the configuration of your Palo Alto product and they are free.

Overall, I love Palo Alto.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Diamond Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls
June 2026
Learn what your peers think about Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2026.
902,456 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Technical Manager at PSR
Real User
Top 5
Jan 18, 2022
Machine learning and sandboxing are what differentiate this product from competitors
Pros and Cons
  • "The sandboxing is valuable and they are frequently updating their signature database. We get new updates every five minutes. That makes it easy to detect new and unknown attacks."
  • "Palos Alto's firewalls have machine learning software and sandboxing, and everything is one step ahead of all the competitors."
  • "The configuration part could be improved. It's very difficult to configure. It doesn't have a user-friendly interface. You have to know Palo Alto deeply to use it."

What is our primary use case?

It is used for protection against attacks and it is very fast and reliable. We have a lot of use cases for it.

How has it helped my organization?

We are an implementation partner for Palo Alto. One of the companies we implemented its Next-Generation Firewalls for was previously using Barracuda. A ransomware attack happened and they lost all their backup data, and their configuration. Once we implemented Palo Alto for them, there were similar attacks but they were blocked.

Along with Prisma, it helps in preventing a lot of attacks, especially Zero-day attacks.

What is most valuable?

The sandboxing is valuable and they are frequently updating their signature database. We get new updates every five minutes. That makes it easy to detect new and unknown attacks.

What needs improvement?

The configuration part could be improved. It's very difficult to configure. It doesn't have a user-friendly interface. You have to know Palo Alto deeply to use it.

Also, it doesn't support open-source protocols like EIGRP. We had to find another solution for that.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls for the last six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Palo Alto suggests version 9.1.7 for stability. When new features come out, things are not as stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's scalable. I recommend it for its scalability.

We generally deploy these firewalls into larger environments, but the PA-400 series is affordable.

How are customer service and support?

There are problems with the technical support. When we are facing an attack, it's very difficult to get a hold of people from the TAC. It's not like Cisco, especially in India. There are very few members of Palo Alto TAC in India. Sometimes we get support from people in other countries.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

The initial deployment of these firewalls is very complex. The registration is a very difficult task. You have to go to the partner portal to register and it's not user-friendly. All the other solutions are not like that. With Juniper, for example, it's very easy to handle their portal.

The deployment time depends on the customer environment but it normally takes around three weeks. Our implementation strategy is to first understand the network we are dealing with and how we can deploy Palo Alto.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing for Palo Alto is very high. The price difference with other vendors is huge because Palo Alto has been the market leader for the last five or six years, and they have a reliable product. Everybody knows Palo Alto, like Cisco routing and switching. It's likely that only enterprise-level customers can afford this kind of firewall.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Palos Alto's firewalls have machine learning software and sandboxing. Everything is one step ahead of all the competitors.

Still, almost all vendors provide the same things. They call their technologies by different names, but that's the only big difference in features.

What other advice do I have?

According to the industry reviews Palo Alto has been the market leader for the last five or six years. They have better technology and the hardware is also good. It's the pricing and user interface where there are issues. Apart from them, everything is fine.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Manager IT Security & Infrastructure at Currimjee Jeewanjee & Co. Ltd.
Real User
Jan 3, 2022
Gives us visibility and reporting that we didn't have, improving our ability to monitor and secure our network
Pros and Cons
  • "You can easily integrate it with Active Directory, and you can use the GlobalProtect VPN for internal and external purposes. The URL Filtering is also clear and the application filtering is a plus. The application filtering is much better when you compare it to FortiGate or other firewall vendors."
  • "We have complete visibility through the logs and the alerting."
  • "There has been a recent change in the graphical interface. For the monitoring part, they could have a better UI."

What is our primary use case?

We have implemented our own private cloud where we host different services for a number of internal companies that are part of a group. We have financial companies, hospitality, and construction companies; a large variety. We use Palo Alto to provide security protection for all these companies.

How has it helped my organization?

Previously, with our old firewalls, we did not have any visibility. The application layer was zero. We didn't have any visibility there. And we also didn't have any reports. Now, we have good visibility and we are able to get reports and we can monitor the network much better. That's a big change for us and a big help.

What is most valuable?

There are a lot of helpful features

  • monitoring
  • reporting
  • WiFi.

You can easily integrate it with Active Directory, and you can use the GlobalProtect VPN for internal and external purposes. The URL Filtering is also clear and the application filtering is a plus. The application filtering is much better when you compare it to FortiGate or other firewall vendors.

Also, the fact that Next-Gen Firewalls from Palo Alto embed machine learning in the core of the firewall to provide inline and real-time attack prevention is very important. Nowadays, all the modern attacks, hackers, and bad people are becoming more intelligent and automating attacks. Embedding AI is a good idea.

We have complete visibility through the logs and the alerting. It depends on how you configure the firewall. You can configure it to get alerts whenever there's an attack or whenever something is happening. That's how we can assess if the firewall is doing the job correctly or not. We are happy with the way the firewall does its job.

What needs improvement?

There has been a recent change in the graphical interface. For the monitoring part, they could have a better UI.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The big firewalls, like the PA-300 and the PA-3020, are very good, stable, and performant. They are very reliable. The smaller models are reliable, but the performance on their management plane is a bit slow. Even the management plane of the PA-850 is a bit slow when you compare it to some of the bigger models.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scaling is easy. We currently have about 1,000 endpoints.

How are customer service and support?

We haven't worked with their technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We replaced a Cisco ASA Firewall with Palo Alto, and then we started replacing all our other firewalls with Palo Alto. Cisco ASA was not a next-generation firewall at that time. And no firewall could beat the traffic monitoring and the visibility that we had on Palo Alto.

We did a PoC before going to Palo Alto. We placed the Palo Alto in virtual wire mode, meaning a transparent mode. Without changing our existing network infrastructure, we were able to plug the Palo Alto into our network where we could see all the incoming and all the outgoing traffic. Without creating any policies or any blocking, we were able to see all the traffic and we were impressed with that part and we decided to switch to Palo Alto.

How was the initial setup?

The first deployment was very complex. I was not the one who implemented it, it was an integrator, but it was a headache due to some difficulties. After that, things became easy. We have implemented six or seven Palo Altos, and things are easy because of our familiarity with the whole deployment process. The first time we were using this firewall we were not at ease with the product. After that, we got used to it and it became easier.

Because of the issues with the first one, it took one week for the deployment, for the complete transition from Cisco ASA to Palo Alto. Since then, all the deployments have been done in one day.

What was our ROI?

We have seen ROI as a result of the visibility and reporting. These are two things we didn't have, and now that we have the visibility, we can ensure  that our network is secure.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

If you compare Palo Alto with other firewalls, it's a bit expensive.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

At that time, Palo Alto was the leader and I think it was the only next-gen firewall.

We have looked into other firewalls since then. In 2017 or 2018, we decided to replace one Palo Alto with a Forcepoint Next-Gen Firewall. We placed that in the network but, after six months, we replaced it with Palo Alto.

What other advice do I have?

If someone is looking for the cheapest and fastest firewall, I would say the fastest is good, but not cheapest. Palo Alto Firewalls are not cheap.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Presales Specialist at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Real User
Dec 6, 2021
Embedded machine learning reduces manual work of having to search for attacks in a SIEM
Pros and Cons
  • "DNS Security is a good feature because, in the real world with web threats, you can block all web threats and bad sites. DNS Security helps to prevent those threats. It's also very helpful with Zero-day attacks because DNS Security blocks all DNS requests before any antivirus would know that such requests contain a virus or a threat to your PC or your network."
  • "If you need really reliable hardware and software, and don't want headaches after the implementation, just buy Palo Alto."
  • "The only area I can see for improvement is that Palo Alto should do more marketing."

What is our primary use case?

We have had a couple of big projects with government companies here in Ukraine. One of those projects involved three data centers with a lot of security and network requirements, and we implemented Palo Alto as part of this project.

The use case was to build the new data centers with a firewall that would not only work on the perimeter but also for internal traffic. We deployed eight PA-5200 Series firewalls and integrated them with VMware NSX, and they're working together.

How has it helped my organization?

One of the points that helped us win the tender is that Palo Alto NG Firewalls embed machine learning in the core of the firewall to provide inline, real-time attack prevention. The customer's security team was asking for this feature from the firewalls because machine learning makes things much easier than manually sitting there with some kind of SIEM and searching for all kinds of attacks and critical issues. The machine learning is really helpful because it's doing the work automatically.

What is most valuable?

We had a small project with the PA-800 Series appliance where we implemented DNS Security. DNS Security is a good feature because, in the real world with web threats, you can block all web threats and bad sites. DNS Security helps to prevent those threats. It's also very helpful with Zero-day attacks because DNS Security blocks all DNS requests before any antivirus would know that such requests contain a virus or a threat to your PC or your network.

In general, Palo Alto NG Firewalls are 

  • easy to manage
  • good, reliable appliances
  • easy to configure.

They also have a good balance between security and traffic. They have good hardware and, for management, they have their own data plane. If traffic is really overloading the data plane, you still have the ability to get into the management tools to see what's going on. You can reset or block some traffic. Not all firewalls have that feature.

They have really good clients, such as a VPN client. You can also enforce security standards on workers in the field. It's a really good product. And now, for endpoint security, they have Cortex XDR. You use the same client, but with additional licenses that enable more features.

What needs improvement?

The only area I can see for improvement is that Palo Alto should do more marketing.

For how long have I used the solution?

We work with customers, but we are not using the solution ourselves.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is really good because they have a chassis version of appliances. They plan to build new chassis. But for the really big projects here in Ukraine, we can easily cover what we need with the PA-8000 Series with Palo Alto chassis appliances.

In our project with the three data centers, each data center was able to process 40 gigs.

How are customer service and support?

First-level support is provided by our distributor Bakotech. They are technical guys and they really know the product. Unlike some support providers who just send you manuals to ready, they're really helpful. You can call them at any time and they get back to you shortly and help.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is really easy. If you're working with Palo Alto Panorama, which is their management server, it's very easy to deploy a lot of appliances in a couple of days, because you're just sending out the configuration and templates on a blind device. In a couple of hours that device is working like the rest.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Another valuable aspect of Palo Alto NG Firewalls is that the appliances and software are really reliable in terms of stability and performance. Some firewall vendors don't write real information on their datasheets and, after implementing them, you see that the reality is not the way it was described. For example, when it comes to threat prevention and how much traffic appliances can handle, there was a project where we beat another vendor's firewall because Palo Alto has the real information on its datasheets.

I have some experience with Cisco, on a small project but there was a somewhat older software version, and there was a lot of lag. When changing something in the configuration, once you pushed "commit" you could go have a coffee or do other stuff for 20 minutes or more, because it took a really long time to push that configuration to the device.

What other advice do I have?

If a colleague at another company said to me, "We're just looking for the cheapest and fastest firewall," I would tell them that the cheapest is not the best. If you need really reliable hardware and software, and don't want headaches after the implementation, just buy Palo Alto.

The PA-400 is really strong and not only for SOHO or SMB companies. They have a really big throughput with Threat Prevention and DNS Security enabled. It's a really good appliance in a small size. But it's not only for small companies. The PA-460 can easily handle the traffic of a midsize company, one with 100 or 200 employees, and maybe even a little more. The PA-460 can handle about 5 gigs of traffic. With Threat Prevention, they can handle 2.5 gigabytes of traffic. For a regular office, that's good. It might be a little small for big companies.

Regarding DS tunneling, it is mostly peer-type attacks. With tunneling, it depends on what type of tunneling is used. You need to look at the specific case, at things like whether it was an internal DNS tunnel or one from the outside to the inside between branches. Most of the time, you can see that kind of traffic with a firewall if you have enabled full logging and you drop the logs into a good SIEM, like ArcSight or others. You will see the anomaly traffic via tunnels. You can also switch on decryption so you can decrypt a tunnel and see what is going on inside.

We have had no issues from our customers who are working with Palo Alto NG Firewalls. They fully cover all our customers' needs.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Integrator
PeerSpot user
Amar-Patil - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 5
Nov 24, 2021
Enables us to monitor VPN compliance and integrate with multiple vendors
Pros and Cons
  • "With App-ID, we can identify exact traffic. Even if someone tries to fool the firewall with a different port number, or with the correct port number, Palo Alto is able to identify what kind of traffic it is."
  • "In addition to our environment being secure, we can monitor compliance of VPN users."
  • "The solution has normal authentication, but does not have two-factor or multi-factor authentication. There is room for development there."

What is our primary use case?

These firewalls are only used for perimeter purposes, in gateway mode.

How has it helped my organization?

In addition to our environment being secure, we can monitor compliance of VPN users. Security and monitoring are the two big benefits.

It's also very critical for us that it provides a unified platform that natively integrates all security capabilities. We have multiple vendors and multiple solutions. Palo Alto has to work with them. For example, when it comes to authentication, we can integrate LDAP and RADIUS, among others. And in one of our customer's environments, we have integrated a new, passwordless authentication.

What is most valuable?

Apart from the security, Palo Alto NG Firewalls have nice features like App-ID and User-ID. These are the two most useful features.

With App-ID, we can identify exact traffic. Even if someone tries to fool the firewall with a different port number, or with the correct port number, Palo Alto is able to identify what kind of traffic it is.

With User-ID, we can configure single sign-on, which makes things easy for users. There is no need for additional authentication for a user. And for documentation and reporting purposes, we can fetch user-based details, based on User-ID, and can generate new reports.

Another good feature is the DNS Security. With the help of DNS security, we can block the initial level of an attack, and we can block malicious things from a DNS perspective.

The GlobalProtect VPN is also very useful.

What needs improvement?

The solution has normal authentication, but does not have two-factor or multi-factor authentication. There is room for development there.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls for two years. I've worked on the 800 Series and the 3000 Series.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's quite stable. They are launching a new firmware version, but compared to other products, Palo Alto is quite stable.

How are customer service and support?

I have worked with Palo Alto's support many times and it is quite good. Whenever we create a support ticket, they are on time and they update us in a timely manner. In terms of technical expertise, they have good people who are experts in it. They are very supportive of customers.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial deployment is straightforward; very simple. The primary access for these firewalls is quite simple. We can directly access them, after a few basic steps, and start the configuration. Even the hardware registration process and licensing are quite simple.

The time it takes to deploy a firewall depends upon hardware and upon the customer's environment. But a basic to intermediate deployment takes two to three months.

What was our ROI?

Our customers definitely see ROI with Palo Alto NG Firewalls, although I don't have metrics.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I am not involved in the commercial side, but I believe that Palo Alto is quite expensive compared to others.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

One of the pros of Palo Alto is the GlobalProtect, which is a VPN solution. GlobalProtect has broader compliance checks. I have worked on Check Point and FortiGate, but they don't have this kind of feature in their firewalls. Also, Check Point does not have DNS Security, which Palo Alto has.

What other advice do I have?

If you're going with Palo Alto, you have to use all its features, including the DNS Security, App-ID, and SSL decryption. Otherwise, there is no point in buying Palo Alto.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
LuisSilva6 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director of Information Technology at a hospitality company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Jun 8, 2021
A stable next-generation firewall solution
Pros and Cons
  • "I like that they are more stable than the previous ones, and they allow a lot of other features."
  • "It would be better to have more tools to control Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls. We don't have too many tools to access Palo Alto. For example, the IT team doesn't have access to it. We can see it physically and see if it's running or not. We need to contact a special team to receive that information. I would also like to see more reporting in the next release."
  • "It would be better to have more tools to control Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls. We don't have too many tools to access Palo Alto."

What is our primary use case?

We use Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls to manage the villains. Basically, to protect the environment. 

What is most valuable?

I like that they are more stable than the previous ones, and they allow a lot of other features.

What needs improvement?

It would be better to have more tools to control Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls. We don't have too many tools to access Palo Alto. For example, the IT team doesn't have access to it. We can see it physically and see if it's running or not. We need to contact a special team to receive that information. I would also like to see more reporting in the next release.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is scalable. We have about 250 people using it at our hotel.

How are customer service and technical support?

We use Trustwave, a company that provides the devices. We have an agreement with them, and we're satisfied with the support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used to use Juniper and Fortinet.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is pretty much straightforward. It takes us about two hours to set up and deploy this solution. It takes a team of two guys to deploy and maintain this solution.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to new users.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls a nine.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Security team leader at a aerospace/defense firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
May 25, 2021
All of the policies configured are related to the application and not to a port
Pros and Cons
  • "The strengths of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are application visibility and application awareness. Their strong point is identifying applications for traffic. So all of the policies that are configured are related to the application and not to a port."
  • "This solution cannot be implemented on-premises; it's only a cloud solution. The price is high as well."
  • "From a financial perspective, this solution is quite expensive."

What is our primary use case?

We deployed the Palo Alto Next Generation Firewall on the perimeter of the network, so all traffic that flows to the company from the internet and from the company to the internet scanned by the Palo Alto Networks Firewall. In addition, all of the internal traffic from LAN users to services that are on the DMZ zone traverse the Palo Alto Firewall.

What is most valuable?

The strengths of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are application visibility and application awareness. Their strong point is identifying applications for traffic. So all of the policies that are configured are related to the application and not to a port.

For example, let's say you want to allow HTTP traffic and the server is not listening on the standard http port which port 80 but listens on port 25 which Is the standard port for SMTP, this is not an obstacle has the firewall is focusing on the application, it identify the HTTP application and allow the HTTP application and block any other application on port 25. So we don't care on which port the app traverses.

It is easy to install and is stable too.

What needs improvement?

There is another solution from Palo Alto for endpoints - XDR  that integrates with the firewall  thus providing protection at the network level and also at the end point but the XDR solution is only a cloud based solution. I would really like it if would be possible to implement this solution on-premises this is something that I would love to see with Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls.

The price could be lower.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've worked with Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls within the last 12 months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

So far, it's stable. I haven't had any problem with it. I'm always authorizing to have the minor version aligned with the latest version. There haven't been any published vulnerabilities with the product so far.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I'm using the cluster, and that's a great long term solution. So I haven't needed to expand.

There are more than 10,000 employees in the company. We hope to migrate the other branches that have a different vendor to Palo Alto.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward from my point of view.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

From a financial perspective, this solution is quite expensive.

The licensing is on a yearly basis even though we close the deal for three years upfront.

What other advice do I have?

I would advise that those thinking about Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls need to switch how they think about a policy on the firewall. They should not to look at it from the point of view of the service and what port that policy is related to. Instead, they should look at it from the application side. Don't pay too much attention to the port. Just look at the application. For example, the NGFW doesn't care if SMTP traverses on port 25 or 65. It just enforces the protocol.

From a technical point of view, I don't think that there's something that's missing from the Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls. So, I would rate it at nine on a scale from one to ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1529103 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director IT Security at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
May 2, 2021
Good threat hunt capabilities, good support, and easy to deploy
Pros and Cons
  • "Mechanically, all firewalls work in a similar fashion, but what makes Palo Alto different is that it also has some of the threat hunt capabilities. It is a little bit better than other vendors."
  • "As things are evolving, we want to make sure that Palo Alto is able to keep up with what is going on outside. They should continue to do more intelligence-related enhancements and integrate with some of the other security tools. We want to have a more intelligent toolset down the road."

What is our primary use case?

Basically, it is for protection and security. We are using it to make sure that our network is as secure as possible. We are able to evaluate each stack in each pocket and take certain actions as needed when we look into some of the content of the payload. 

We have on-prem deployments, and we also have SaaS-based services.

What is most valuable?

Mechanically, all firewalls work in a similar fashion, but what makes Palo Alto different is that it also has some of the threat hunt capabilities. It is a little bit better than other vendors.

What needs improvement?

As things are evolving, we want to make sure that Palo Alto is able to keep up with what is going on outside. They should continue to do more intelligence-related enhancements and integrate with some of the other security tools. We want to have a more intelligent toolset down the road.

For how long have I used the solution?

We implemented this solution last year.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We currently have 25,000 users. Its usage won't increase a lot, but IT is changing very rapidly, and it would depend on the security model towards which we are moving. 

How are customer service and technical support?

Palo Alto provides pretty good support.

How was the initial setup?

It is straightforward. The deployment duration varies because there are different modules and components, but it doesn't mean that we have to complete everything to make it work. For the core piece of it, it would probably take a couple of months to install, configure, and test.

What about the implementation team?

We have a vendor to help us. We have two or three people for its deployment.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It has a yearly subscription.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution. I would rate Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1360215 - PeerSpot reviewer
Server Administrator and Operation Manager at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Feb 14, 2021
Good security with very good web content control and capable of scaling
Pros and Cons
  • "The stability of the product has been good over the years."
  • "The solution is very user-friendly and easy to manage and administrate."
  • "The cost of the device is very high."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the product for web browsing and in order to protect some sites that we are publishing to the web internet.

What is most valuable?

The solution is very helpful in controlling spam.

The product offers very good web content control and various aspects of security.

The stability of the product has been good over the years.

The initial setup is very easy. Compared to Cisco or other solutions, Palo Alto is very easy to implement and administer. They are both very easy.

What needs improvement?

I can't recall a feature that was missing. It's a pretty complete solution.

The cost of the device is very high.

To buy license support is very slow. For renewing devices and products, it's slow in terms of contacting and activating upgraded devices.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for four years at this point. It's been a while. We've been using it over the last 12 months as well.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is excellent. It's reliable. We don't deal with bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. Overall, it's been very good in terms of performance.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have not proven the scalability yet. We're planning to extend our office within the next year or six months to eight months. We are buying some appliances for the process of extending our office.

Currently, around 1,000 people use this solution.

How are customer service and technical support?

We've never been in touch with technical support. Having never dealt with them, I wouldn't be able to speak to how they are in terms of services.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also use Barracuda and Cisco for certain aspects of security.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is pretty straightforward. It's quite easy to implement.

The deployment takes about one week, or maybe a bit less, depending on the requirements. That includes both implementing and training.

Currently, two people are required for deployment and maintenance of the product

What about the implementation team?

We implement the solution with our network team. We implement the solution ourselves. We don't need the help of integrators or consultants.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is quite high on Palo Alto.

On the lower end, it's likely to cost $15,000 for renovation and support.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated Cisco, Juniper, and Dell among other solutions before ultimately choosing this solution. Cisco can be complex in terms of device management compared to other options, for example. Cisco can be cheaper than Palo Alto, but that is not always the case.

What other advice do I have?

I'm not sure which version of the solution we're using. We use a physical appliance.

We're using three different models, for the most part.

My company is an outsourcing company that deploys software and testing.

The solution is very user-friendly and easy to manage and administrate. For that reason, I would rate the product at a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: June 2026
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.