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System Administrator at a mining and metals company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Nov 18, 2020
Easy to create custom policies, easy to upgrade, and very stable
Pros and Cons
  • "Everything is easy in Palo Alto Networks NG Firewall. It is very stable, easy to configure, and easy to upgrade. It is also very easy to create custom policies and applications. Everything can be done with the click of a button. It is also good for the protection of web services. Nowadays, they have a rather new DNS security feature, which is pretty good and functional. We did a one-month trial, and it is the best product for the firewall network."
  • "It is a little bit expensive than other firewalls, but it is worth every penny."
  • "Its price can be improved. It is expensive. Other vendors have pre-configured policies for the protection of web servers. Palo Alto has an official procedure for protecting the web servers. Many people prefer pre-configured policies, but for me, it is not an issue."
  • "Its price can be improved. It is expensive."

What is our primary use case?

We use it as a firewall. We have VPN, IPSec, or site-to-site VPN. We also protect our few internal web services. 

What is most valuable?

Everything is easy in Palo Alto Networks NG Firewall. It is very stable, easy to configure, and easy to upgrade. It is also very easy to create custom policies and applications. Everything can be done with the click of a button. 

It is also good for the protection of web services. Nowadays, they have a rather new DNS security feature, which is pretty good and functional. We did a one-month trial, and it is the best product for the firewall network.

What needs improvement?

Its price can be improved. It is expensive.

Other vendors have pre-configured policies for the protection of web servers. Palo Alto has an official procedure for protecting the web servers. Many people prefer pre-configured policies, but for me, it is not an issue. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for almost six years.

Buyer's Guide
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Our version is not scalable. The new version is scalable on the network interface. It comes with slots where you can put your SFP if you want a fiber or copper. 

We have almost 600 users who use it for accessing the internet. We have about 50 to 70 VPN connections.

How are customer service and support?

I didn't contact them because I don't get any technical issues with any feature of the firewall. I didn't have the need to open a case. If I have any issue, I am able to resolve it by using my cell phone and taking help from the internet. 

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

I was using Check Point before Palo Alto. I am very disappointed with Check Point because I had to reboot power three to five times a week. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewall is comparatively very easy to manage and use. It has better logic for configuration than other firewalls.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. When I migrated from Check Point to Palo Alto Networks NG Firewall, it took about an hour and a half to reconfigure all policies and services.

What about the implementation team?

I deployed it myself. The logic is very easy when you configure it. I did 90% percent of deployment on my own. For the remaining 10% deployment, I found the information on the internet. 

I am the only user working on this firewall. I am a system administrator.

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

It is a little bit expensive than other firewalls, but it is worth every penny. There are different licenses for the kinds of services you want to use. When we buy a new product, we go for a three-year subscription.

What other advice do I have?

We have not had any issue with this solution. I really hope that we continue to use this solution. Its price is higher than other solutions, and the company might go for another firewall.

I would recommend this solution to other users. I would rate Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls 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
MD.SIHAB TALUKDAR - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 10
Nov 15, 2020
Reliable, sophisticated, fast, and easy to setup with good support
Pros and Cons
  • "The structure is much faster and more sophisticated than Cisco."
  • "The structure is much faster and more sophisticated than Cisco."
  • "I would like a collaboration system and reporting ASA policy needs to be smarter."
  • "Palo Alto hardware is not equal to the level of the Cisco Device. The hardware is weak."

What is our primary use case?

We are using this solution for IDS, IPS, and VPN services.

Also, we are using it for gateway purposes. The development team accesses the data center, and the file intrusion prevention policy.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are the content ID, IPs, and the URL filtering service to enable protection. 

The structure is much faster and more sophisticated than Cisco.

Their cloud support is smart.

What needs improvement?

This solution is very stable, but Cisco devices are stable at the hardware level. Palo Alto hardware is not equal to the level of the Cisco Device.

The hardware is weak.

In the next release, I would like to see faster support and the integrated system a 5G network, a next-generation firewall, and endpoint security.

I would like a collaboration system and reporting ASA policy needs to be smarter.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's definitely a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

For LAN purposes, we have 700 plus users.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support is good enough.

We are using Cisco support and they are very good. 

The Palo Alto support is faster and their support is also good.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward.

It takes a maximum of two days to deploy.

Two or three guys are enough to deploy and maintain it.

What about the implementation team?

We used vendor support for the deployment.

What other advice do I have?

We plan to continue the usage of this solution in the future and I would recommend it to others. 

The product is very good, I would rate Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls 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
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
885,286 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Network Security Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Nov 12, 2020
Ability to log each and every application provides valuable control
Pros and Cons
  • "Ability to log each and every application."
  • "End user logging is far better with Palo Alto than Fortinet or Cisco, and it helps you to troubleshoot."
  • "With new features and applications you get bugs."
  • "In some countries, the support flexibility is very good. For others, you have different strategies."

What is our primary use case?

I'm a network security engineer and we are platinum partners with Palo Alto. 

What is most valuable?

Initially, there were no application controls offered in the legacy firewall. Now you can log each and every application. It provides valuable control and is the main feature in addition to the security features they're currently offering. All the firewalls - Fortinet, Cisco, Palo Alto -  provide complete visibility and control over your network which you didn't previously have. Now you have user ID and you can implement URL filtering as well, there is control over your network. End user logging is far better with Palo Alto than Fortinet or Cisco, and it helps you to troubleshoot. I'd rate Palo Alto on top. It's comfortable and that's my experience. Cisco and Fortinet provide good services, but Palo Alto offers a very good product.

What needs improvement?

There will always be room for improvement. On a daily basis you get patches for everything. They build new features, apply new technologies and new applications which need to be integrated and with that you get bugs. There are always issues, whether it's hardware or software. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for five years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is generally stable but with each new update you need to get the OS bug fix. Any security device has a vulnerability which a hacker can exploit and you have to keep on patching.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I work on the system integrator side and work with multiple customers, and this is a scalable solution. 

How are customer service and technical support?

The support level is good, but it depends on the region you're working from. In some countries, the support flexibility is very good. For others, you have different strategies. I'm in Pakistan and Palo Alto has a different strategy here in that they don't directly provide support. You have to add another vendor in between and open a case with them and if they can't resolve your query they activate to Palo Alto. In some countries, Palo Alto directly provides support and in others they can't be contacted directly. In a couple of scenarios, we got involved with an R&D team and told them there was a bug for our end users. Palo Alto escalated that case to an R&D team and they got it fixed in the following patches.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is a very smooth process integrated with initial configuration. It's very easy. 

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

You could say that the cost is higher for Palo Alto, but they are a better product compared to the other principals. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I work with Fortinet as well as Palo Alto. Palo Alto has very extensive logging that Fortinet doesn't offer. To get that with Fortinet you need to purchase FortiAnalyzer for reporting. The logging is so extensive in Palo Alto that you can generate a report and get an analysis on the same firewall. You don't need to procure anything else. The documentation of both Fortinet and Palo Alto is up to standard. They both have very extensive documentation for their products. Both of them offer the same level of knowledge base for their customers and are up to the mark. In terms of support, Fortinet and Cisco allow you to directly open a case and get an engineer on the line. Cisco follows the same model. I'm unable to do that with Palo Alto from Pakistan. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution an eight out of 10.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
PeerSpot user
it_user1162290 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cyber Security Trainee at Macroview Telecom Limited
Reseller
Jul 29, 2020
Stable, straightforward to set up, and guards against sophisticated attacks
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is WildFire, which blocks sophisticated attacks and distinguishes it from other traditional firewall functions."
  • "The most valuable feature is WildFire, which blocks sophisticated attacks and distinguishes it from other traditional firewall functions."
  • "I would like to see better third-party orchestration so that it is easier for the team to work with different products."
  • "I would like to see better third-party orchestration so that it is easier for the team to work with different products."

What is our primary use case?

We are a solution provider and this is one of the firewall solutions that we implement for our customers. We present this product to customers and also handle the onsite installation.

Our clients use it to secure their network infrastructure.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is WildFire, which blocks sophisticated attacks and distinguishes it from other traditional firewall functions.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see better third-party orchestration so that it is easier for the team to work with different products. 

Improvements should be made in the Cortex module.

For how long have I used the solution?

I worked with this next-generation firewall for about four months as I rotated between departments.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have had no complaints about stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability has not been a problem. Our customers for this firewall are large companies in industries such as banking.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have not been in contact with technical support.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is quite straightforward compared to other brands of firewalls. The deployment takes about one month.

What about the implementation team?

Our in-house team handles the deployment and maintenance for our customers.

What other advice do I have?

My advice for anybody who is considering this product is that it is a useful firewall and high-ranking compared to others.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Reseller
PeerSpot user
System Engineer at IRIS
Reseller
Jul 29, 2020
Good web and application filtering, but the traps needs to be improved
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features are web filtering and application filtering."
  • "This is a stable firewall and you don't have a lot of surprises."
  • "I would like to see better integration with IoT technologies."
  • "The price is expensive and should be reduced to make it more competitive."

What is our primary use case?

We resell products by Palo Alto and Cisco, and this next-generation firewall by Palo Alto is one of the products that we are familiar with.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are web filtering and application filtering.

The IPS functionality is very good.

The performance is good.

What needs improvement?

The price is expensive and should be reduced to make it more competitive.

Information about Palo Alto products is more restricted than some other vendors, such as Cisco, which means that getting training is important.

The traps should be improved.

I would like to see better integration with IoT technologies. Having a unified firewall for OT and IT would be very good.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been working with Palo Alto for about one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a stable firewall and you don't have a lot of surprises. The performance, throughput, and decryption are all good. It is important to remember that at the end of the day, it depends on the configuration.

For special functionality, you are going to have some exceptions. However, for the well-known functionality, it is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable in that the performance is good and you don't need a large cluster to operate it.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support is good. The team is responsive and they gave us the right information at the right time to solve the difficulties and complexities that we were experiencing.

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

We also sell products by Cisco and there are some differences between them. Palo Alto is more expensive and the performance is better. With Cisco, the documentation is better and it is easier to install. There is a lot more information available for Cisco products.

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

This is an expensive product, which is why some of our customers don't adopt it.

What other advice do I have?

My advice for anyone who is implementing the Palo Alto Next-Generation firewall is to take the training that is available. This will allow them to better work with the technology.

This is an ambitious company with a good security roadmap. The product is being continuously developed and they are professionals who are focused in this area of technology. It is the firewall that I personally recommend.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer1290441 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cyber Security Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Jul 26, 2020
Offers innovative, advanced threat protection
Pros and Cons
  • "Innovative, advanced threat protection is the most valuable feature."
  • "Innovative, advanced threat protection is the most valuable feature."
  • "The user interface is probably not as slick as it could be."
  • "The initial setup was complex. It's not very intuitive."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case was for perimeter protection.

What is most valuable?

Innovative, advanced threat protection is the most valuable feature. 

What needs improvement?

I don't see any specific room for improvement.

The user interface is probably not as slick as it could be.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Palo Alto for three years. 

We're on-premises primarily at the moment, but also a cloud product. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is generally pretty good. I haven't heard any complaints from our customers around Palo Alto's stability. It's one of the reasons why they're the leaders in this space.

We've got our own team for maintenance. My company is a large multinational with 20,000 employees.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have contacted their support once. It's very good support. They help me to fix our problem quickly.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was complex. It's not very intuitive. You need to know what you're doing for the initial setup, you need to be a Palo Alto expert.

If you compare it to their competitor Fortinet, Fortinet's FortiGate product is a lot easier to install, if you're not an expert.

The time it takes to deploy depends on how complex the deployment needs to be for the client. If it's a basic deployment, is going to take around two days. 

What other advice do I have?

My advice would be to make sure the firewall is configured properly.

I would rate it an eight out of ten. Not a ten because you have to be really excellent before you get a ten out of me.

In the next release, I would like to have the ability to auto-generate rule and policy, based on known traffic, based on the baseline. That is a feature that I think Palo Alto should be able to have in some form or fashion to auto-generate and propose a policy and rules set, after putting the file into a learning mode for some period.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Assistant Manager at Net One Systems
Real User
Jul 26, 2020
Security is a lot easier than its competitors and it has well-integrated software
Pros and Cons
  • "I like that it has high security."
  • "Palo Alto is a lot easier especially in regards to security."
  • "The whole performance takes a long time. It takes a long time to configure."
  • "The whole performance takes a long time. It takes a long time to configure."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case was to configure our PSAs for our customized configuration. 

What is most valuable?

I like that it has high security. 

What needs improvement?

The whole performance takes a long time. It takes a long time to configure. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Palo Alto for six years. 

How are customer service and technical support?

I contact Palo Alto by email or by phone. Their support is good. 

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

I have previously worked with Cisco ASA. Palo Alto is a lot easier especially in regards to security. It is a well-integrated software.

How was the initial setup?

The difficulty of the deployment depends on our clients' environment and their requests.

We require a two-member team for support. 

In terms of how long it takes to deploy, again, it depends on the customers' environment. If the request is easy, it can take around two weeks.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Palo Alto a nine out of ten. 

In the next release, they should simplify the deployment process. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Integrator
PeerSpot user
Sr. Solution Architect at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
Reseller
Jul 9, 2020
Good interface and dashboards with excellent application visibility
Pros and Cons
  • "The interface and dashboards are good."
  • "The application visibility is excellent, and there is no other solution that does it quite as well, with Palo Alto definitely having an edge in that sense."
  • "The pricing could be improved upon."
  • "The pricing of the solution is quite high. It's too expensive, considering there's so much competition in the space."

What is most valuable?

The solution has many great features. I don't know if there's one single one that stands above and beyond everything, however.

The application visibility is excellent. There is no other solution that does it quite as well. Palo Alto definitely has an edge in that sense.

The ability of the security features to adapt is also very good. They offer great DNS protection.

They include everything from a network point of view and a security perspective. For the most part, the endpoints are great.

The interface and dashboards are good.

What needs improvement?

The GSW needs some improvements right now.

The endpoints could use improvement. The solution is mostly a cloud solution now, and there are a lot of competing solutions that are playing in the space and may be doing things a bit better.

The pricing could be improved upon.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been dealing with the solution for the last four or five years at least.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of the solution is good. It's quite reliable. I haven't experienced bugs or glitches that affect its performance. It doesn't crash.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

If you size everything appropriately, you shouldn't have any issues with scaling. It's quite good. Users can scale it up if they need to.

How are customer service and technical support?

I'd say that technical support is excellent. They are very helpful. We've quite satisfied with the level of support we got from the company.

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

I've never dealt with Huawei, however, our company has worked with Cisco, Dell, and HP among other solutions.

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

The pricing of the solution is quite high. It's too expensive, considering there's so much competition in the space.

There aren't extra costs on top of the standard licensing policy. Still, Palo Alto seems to be adding some premium costs that competitors just don't have.

What other advice do I have?

While we mainly deal with on-premises deployment models, occasionally we also do hybrid deployments.

We're not a customer. We're a systems integrator. We're a reseller. We sell solutions to our clients.

Palo Alto is very good at policymaking. It's like they have a single policy that you can use. Other solutions don't have single policy use, which means you have to configure everything. There may be many consoles or many tasks that you'll have to worry about other solutions. Multiple task configuration should not be there, and yet, for many companies, it is. This isn't the case with Palo Alto. Palo Alto is easy compared to Fortinet. 

It's overall a very solid solution. I would rate it nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. reseller
PeerSpot user
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Updated: March 2026
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Download our free Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.