Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Reviews

We are a service provider and I work on both shared firewall and dedicated firewall solutions for our customers. The primary focus is firewall threat protection. The rest of the features are used, albeit not too much. At this moment, it is not an overly complicated or advanced solution. 

What I like about the VM-Series is that you can launch them in a very short time. You don't have to wait for the hardware to route for them to be staged and installed. From that perspective, it's easy to launch and it's good because it is more scalable.

The product is quite responsive.

The one issue that I didn't like is that the SNMP integration with interfaces didn't record the interface counters. It seems that you really need to upgrade to the very latest version, whereas the physical one has worked for ages now. I think that it narrowly affects the Azure deployment because I remember that we were using the VMware solution before, and we didn't have such issues.

I think that the most important point for Palo Alto is to be as consistent and compatible as possible. It should be compliant such that all of the features are consistently available between the physical and virtualized deployments.

It is not always easy to integrate Palo Alto into the network management system. This is significant because you want to compare what your network management system is giving you to what Palo Alto is giving you. Perhaps in the GUI, they can allow for being able to monitor the interface traffic statistics.

The other things are pretty much great with traffic calls and sessions, but just being able to look at it on an interface physical level, would either avoid using the monitoring integration by SNMP or would create a reference, a baseline check. This would allow you to see whether your network monitoring system or tool is actually giving you correct traffic figures. You need traffic figures for being able to recognize trends and plan the capacity.

I have been using the VM-Series for almost five years, since 2016.

We have not had trouble with bugs or glitches.

The scalability is good. We haven't experienced any constraint limitations for scaling.

I have been in contact with technical support and I find them to be quite good.

In my previous work, I dealt with both physical and virtual systems. However, currently, I am only working on virtual solutions.

I have found the initial setup to be okay. But, then again, I have been using Palo Alto firewalls since 2014, so it's hard for me to say if it is difficult to become familiar with or not.

Our in-house team is responsible for maintenance.  We usually have three people who are able to work on it and do so from time to time, depending on the requirement.

I don't have too many complaints as I compare the virtualized version to the physical one. Perhaps I haven't noticed any issues because we use the proper hardware, and it was strong enough to carry the workload and remain quite responsive.

My advice for anybody who is implementing the VM-Series is to be very well prepared and test it in advance. Make sure to scope it and understand the performance implications. Also, be sure that the core features are understood and are supported on the VM. Then, test it before implementation or migration.

This is a very good product but I can't rate it as perfect because there are these little issues that are pretty common and you expect things to work, but they don't because of some incompatibilities. I think there was also some limitation on how you can do the high availability on virtualized power, in Azure in particular. If these common features were consistently working on both physical and virtual deployments then I would probably rate it a ten out of ten.

As it is now, I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

We mostly use it for threat protection. Currently, I'm working on virtual solutions, and it is deployed on the cloud. We have three people who work with this solution.

I have previously worked on the shared firewall as well as dedicated firewall solutions, where we deployed it on-premises as well as on the cloud. 

The most valuable feature is that you can launch it in a very short time. You don't have to wait for the hardware to arrive and get it staged and installed. From that perspective, it is easy to launch. It is also scalable.

It would be good if the common features work consistently in physical and virtual environments. There was an integration issue in the virtual deployment where it didn't report the interface counters, and we had to upgrade to the latest version, whereas the same thing has been working in the physical deployment for ages now. It seems that it was because of Azure. We were using VMware before, and we didn't have any such issues. We do see such small issues where we expect things to work, but they don't because of some incompatibilities. 

There also seems to be a limitation on how to do high availability in a virtualized environment. All features should be consistently available in physical and virtual environments. 

It is not always easy to integrate Palo Alto in the network management system. We would like to be able to compare two network management systems. They can maybe allow monitoring an interface through the GUI to create a reference or do a baseline check about whether your network monitoring system is actually giving you the correct traffic figures. You need traffic figures to be able to recognize the trends and plan the capacity.

I have been using Palo Alto Networks VM-Series since 2016. 

I didn't see any issues with its stability. 

It is scalable.

I found them quite good.

I found the initial setup okay. I have been using firewalls since 2014, so it is hard for me to say whether it is easy to install or not.

I would advise getting very well prepared by defining the scope and testing it in advance. Make sure that you understand the performance implications and that the core features are supported on the VM, and they are tested before the implementation or migration.

I would rate Palo Alto Networks VM-Series a nine out of ten. 

We have reduced the number of configuration lines by 90%. We need fewer number of admins right now because of it.

The best features are:

• User identification
• Application identification
• Logs and monitoring.

All areas need improvement: manufacturing, education, financial, etc.

None. Works by day with no issues.

No issues. It scales linearly with load and no issues.

I would rate the customer service as 10 out of 10: great.

I would rate the technical support as 10 out of 10: very professional.

We did have a previous solution that we used. We switched due to scalability and the other solution had too many issues.

It was easy to deploy.

The deployment works well.

We did not need a vendor team. We implemented in-house.

Our ROI is excellent.

Do not buy larges box if you do not need them. Rightsizing is a great task to do beforehand.

We evaluated Check Point, Fortinet, and others.

We use the solution for hands-on testing purposes and also for activating firewall re-entries, which is easy to accomplish. We only need to turn up the VM to the firewall. This serves users who are working at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We also utilize the solution in respect to several servers which are behind the firewall.

A valuable feature of the solution is that it is not dependent on the hypervisor so we can install it on Hyper-V Microsoft software and deploy it. We have even installed it on Nutanix 81, in which it is supported. It is not dependent on the platform and is stable. 

When we activate the solution on Amazon, instead of AWS, GCP or another type of public cloud, we encounter problems, as our engineers are not yet completely hands-on in respects of the public cloud platforms. Still, they can configure the firewall just fine. 

Integrative capabilities with other solutions should also be addressed. 

I have been using Palo Alto Networks VM-Series for the past five-and-a-half years.

The solution is reliable. 

We have tried to scale. The Western side of migration is very easy in terms of scalability. Our customers may increase their licensing counts in tandem with their increased performance requirements from the firewall. In this case, they would procure a VMP and the license. The activation of the firewall would be accomplished by the tech in the back-end. The customer would get the migration capabilities and procure the license without experiencing any downtime. 

There is room for improvement from the side of technical support. 

The initial setup was straightforward. 

The deployment takes two days. This includes installing the solution on the OVO files, upgrading the firewall panel records, activating the license and configuring basic policies and rules. However, our setup was basic and did not involve business activity, which would necessitate a technical business setup. In such case, the process from start to finish may take a customer up to 10 or 15 days. 

The VM series is licensed annually.

The option exists to procure a basic license. With this, the firewall feature comes with the application and the board, with everything in code. A subscription is included. 

The solution is cost effective in comparison to others. 

We deploy the solution on-premises for customers and organizations, although we also do so via AWS.

There are around 16 users connected to the VMP firewall. 

The security feature is really good, although there would be a bit of a learning curve when it comes to the cloud.

I rate Palo Alto Networks VM-Series as a nine out of ten. 

We use it for all next-gen firewall features such as ACLS, application monitoring, security, virtual networking, etc.

The feature that I have found the most useful is that it meets all our requirements technically. 

Its web interface is a bit outdated, and it needs to be updated. 

They can also improve the NAT functionality. We have had issues with the NAT setup.

I have been using this solution for the last five years. 

It has good stability. We haven't had any issues, and it has never been down. 

It is scalable. It has handled the network very well with our growth in the last five years. 

I haven't directly contacted them, but based on what I have heard from our network team, they are pretty quick at getting back to us. 

It was complex. We used a lot of professional service hours. 

We had an in-house team as well as a consultant. 

I would definitely recommend this solution. It comes under the top industry leaders and is comparable to other top products in this category. 

I would rate Palo Alto Networks VM-Series a nine out of ten. 

We use it to secure all traffic leaving and entering AWS.

It allows us to see all our traffic to properly secure it and only allow what is needed through the firewall.

• Full content inspection
• Visibility into the traffic in AWS.

There is work to be done on the integration side, as AWS doesn't integrate well with third-party firewalls.

I would like to see AWS have more integration with Palo Alto from a routing standpoint, so it could become a routing egress without having to redesigning it.

It is very stable, and we are not putting stress on it.

It is fairly scalable. We have a couple hundred servers already.

They are the leading next-generation firewall. I would recommend deploying a next-generation firewall.

I am using the on-premise and AWS version. They are exactly the same.

I have some financial experience with the program. We use it with Cisco and Fortinet technology, and have integrated it with NSXi.  

It has had good performance.

As an integrator, we need to understand the business case:

1. The customer's needs. 
2. The implementation phase. 
3. Provide clarity and clarify details with the customer.
4. Relate to their business's needs more than the technology system. 

I am an integrator. Palo Alto Networks has improved my position in the cyber security market here in Paraguay. It is easy to sell. Basically, I just need to implement the demo and the program starts itself. So, it has improved our position in this market. It is a program with very strong performance in an excellent position along with quality data sharing. Overall, it has improved our width. 

My clients have a group who will be on the security scheme. They now know the details about their network traffic that they did not know before: Applications that they are using and some application they did not know they were using. It has improved the retail control of their traffic and the users on their network. 

• Its strong intelligence is the feature that I like the most.
• A solid operating system with all the necessary data center security features. 
• Easy to manage.

When you have a client compare box against box, a lot of times Palo Alto is a bit more expensive, but its network firewalls have a very rich ratio.

No issues. We did integration with NSXi and the system works likes a charm. There have not been any issues in regards to the format, delivery, or management. It has worked great.

I have not encountered any problems.

I have not had to call the technical support yet, which makes me very happy.

Their pre-sale team, who assisted us initially, consists of very responsive, kind people.

We were previously Cisco partners. It is different since it is a network company.

It is very simple. They have a very unique approach to simplicity. You have to do some basic set up to some parts where it will be needed. Therefore, it is simple compared to Cisco or Check Point. Also, it is very flexible.

The licensing is pretty much like everyone else.

In each case, it depends on the expectations of the customer. 

I have worked with Fortinet, Cisco, and Check Point. However, once I began to work with the Palo Alto Networks, it became my preference for cyber security.

Compared to Cisco, Palo Alto is a much better product.

It is a great product. It is a great company, and I am very glad to work with them. 

Use the learning material that Palo Alto has free on their webpage. The customer should compare it with other products. They need to see the product and understand the power that that technology brings to cyber security. In this case, they can see the benefit against risks to your network and its capacity to prevent threats.

The tool's cloud version makes application migration easy. 

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series needs to improve its order process. 

I have been working with the solution for two years. 

I rate the solution's stability a nine out of ten. 

I rate the product's scalability a nine out of ten. 

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series' deployment is not difficult. 

The solution is expensive. I rate its pricing a three out of ten. 

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is an enterprise product because it is costly. I rate it an eight out of ten.