Testing the Limits of Firewall Performance and Flexibility

Nov 08, 2023
5 minutes
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5 New Firewall Platforms Extend the Palo Alto Hardware Portfolio for New Use Cases

Cyberthreats are increasing in volume and complexity, making it difficult for network defenders to protect their organizations. Threat actors are evolving their tools and techniques, finding new ways to avoid detection and exploit vulnerabilities. More than ever, cybersecurity innovation is needed, and Palo Alto Networks has never been in a better position to deliver for our customers.

Today, we’re proud to announce five new ML-Powered Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs), including the industry’s first firewall to exceed 1.5 Tbps App-ID performance, bringing industry-leading performance and security to emerging use cases in our customers’ environments. These new platforms dramatically increase performance from prior generations of hardware, ensuring that you’re able to stop highly evasive threats and protect every part of your organization – from the smallest branch offices to the largest campuses, data centers and 5G service provider networks.

New Hardware Platform Releases

Our latest PAN-OS 11.1 release expands the portfolio of our firewalls by adding five new hardware platforms built with our Single Pass Architecture, which ensures predictable performance when security services are enabled. Register for our PAN-OS 11.1 Cosmos launch event to learn how our newest innovations are pushing the boundaries of network security.

Cosmos product launch and registration link.

Meet the PA-7500 — The World’s First Layer 7 Firewall to Exceed Over 1.5 Tbps App-ID Performance

The world’s fastest Layer 7 firewall is here. The PA-7500 includes the new FE400 ASIC, custom silicon developed by Palo Alto Networks, that enables over 1.5 Tbps App-ID, low latency performance and over 400M concurrent Layer 7 sessions. This flexible, scalable design supports up to seven data processing cards or up to seven networking cards for maximum processing or throughput.

PA-7500

The PA-7500 delivers high performance and flexibility to the modern enterprises:

  • Multisite data center protection.
  • CSP virtual network segmentation.
  • 5G service provider network protection.

Meet the PA-5445: High Performance in a Fixed 2RU Appliance

If you’re looking for compact, high-performance security for your enterprise, look no further. For large campus locations and data centers, we are launching the highest performing ML-powered NGFW in a 2 RU (rack units) design. The PA-5445 delivers 2.5X threat performance and 50% higher session capacity compared to the previous generation PA-5260.

PA-5445

The PA-5445 sets a standard in the industry for performance per data center rack space, delivering high throughput in a fixed chassis, 2RU form factor. The PA-5445 provides:

  • Up to 71 Gbps of threat prevention performance.
  • Over 93 gbps app aware performance.
  • 48 M session capacity.

Meet the PA-450R: Rugged Performance for the Harshest Environments

Customers in the oil and gas, utility, mining and manufacturing industries often need ruggedized firewalls that function outside of the normal operating environment of the PA-400 Series appliances, due to environmental factors. Normal appliances fail in challenging environments, and they need ruggedized appliances that can withstand these harsh conditions. You can deploy the PA-450R at the top of Mount Everest or the bottom of Death Valley; it will continue to provide unmatched Layer 7 threat prevention.

PA-450

 

Our customers need a higher performing ruggedized appliance in a 1U form factor, that supports data pass through in case of power failure. Centralized management with zero touch deployment makes setting up NGFWs in harsh environments much easier than competitive installations.

With over 2 Gbps of throughput and supporting over 200 thousand concurrent sessions, the PA-450R is the fastest and most comprehensive ruggedized next generation firewall on the market.

Meet the PA-415-5G: Integrated 5G Connectivity

More than ever, businesses need reliable, redundant connectivity. For mid-sized companies, failure of the primary broadband connection means lost connectivity and the inability to make transactions. Organizations need a reliable secondary connection that is affordable to achieve business continuity. And with the promise of high throughput from 5G connections, organizations increasingly view 5G as a primary connectivity option for small branches and other remote locations.

The PA-415-5G is the first Palo Alto Networks firewall that has integrated 5G connectivity, which can be used for either primary or backup connectivity, and also for ISP load balancing. The 5G cellular interface has dual SIM support and SIM switchover capability that can be automatic or set manually. It is similar to our PA-415 and has PoE, optional redundant power, for both Distributed Enterprise and mid-sized business budgets looking for additional service connectivity options.

PA-415-5G

 

The PA-415-5G offers:

  • Over 1.5X of Layer 7 App-ID performance compared to PA-220.
  • Max session capacity of 64 thousand.
  • Integrated 5G/4G connectivity for use as either primary or backup connection.

Meet the PA-455: Flexibility and Performance for Securing the Branch

Cybersecurity professionals increasingly want more hardware features and higher performance in firewalls suited for small and medium branch offices. The PA-455 has up to a 3x session capacity increase over the PA-220. So go ahead, deploy them all.

PA-455

 

The PA-455 is similar in performance to the PA-450, but has the extra SFP data port offering redundancy for remote offices, POE with up to 91 W power, and an optional redundant power supply. The PA-455 has up to a 6X of Layer 7 App-ID performance compared to the PA-220.

Industry Leading ML-Powered NGFWs for Every Use Case

Centralized management with zero touch deployment makes setting up NGFWs in distributed and small business environments much easier than competitive installations, and offers increased flexibility for remote offices.

These new platform innovations will be available for order over the next 60 days.

To learn more about our newest innovations and how we’re pushing the boundaries of enterprise security, check out our new software and register for our launch event, Introducing PAN-OS 11.1 Cosmos, on February 13, 2024.


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