AWS WAF vs Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series

• AWS WAF has the most developer-friendly API to create firewall rules.
• AWS WAF provides OWASP security controls, which reduces developers' burden (i.e., SQL injection and cross-site scripting).
• AWS WAF has customizable web security rules. The user can even push the rules through the API available, which is the great feature and helped me a lot.
• It protects applications at layer 7 (HTTP) of the OSI model and not just layer 4 (TCP).

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• The PA handles VPN connectivity without missing a beat. We have multiple VPN tunnels in use for redundancy to cloud-based services.
• The PA has great functionality in supporting failover internet connections, again with the ability to have multiple paths out to our cloud-based services.
• The PA is updated on the regular with various security updates, we are not concerned with the firewall's ability to see what packets are really flowing across the network. Being able to see beyond just IP and port requests lets you know things are locked down better than traditional firewalls.
• It is a great overall kit, with URL filtering and other services that fill in the gaps between other solutions without breaking the bank.

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• The documentation offered is somewhat confusing, so it would be ideal if it were much more direct and precise.
• Your initial configuration may be confusing, so the best option is to use the rule templates provided by AWS.
• Its configuration is not unified with AWS, so it must be done separately and it takes some time.
• The number of rules to be established is somewhat limited.

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• Our specific model is a bit slow and outdated and takes up to 10 minutes to commit a configuration change.
• Nested security rules would be helpful instead of a linear approach. But rule creation in general is very simple.
• Documentation gives a very straight forward answer to some items but is very vague in others.
• Support could be a little better. An issue we had a tech was insistent it was the "other guy" and it ended up being the very latest PAN OS upgrade.

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• Our applications are less exposed to cyber attacks, which prevents them from getting out of control and consume much more resources than they should.
• Saved us money by preventing attacks.
• The traffic control is much more bearable.
• App development is safer.

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• Overall, even though the device is very expensive (both hardware and licensing), the product does produce a decent ROI, given that one (or HA pair) of devices can do so many things, such as anti-virus, anti-malware, URL filtering, SSL decryption, SSL VPN, routing, etc.
• There will definitely be sticker shock when you're renewal comes up annually (or after 3 years), so be sure to look very carefully at the recurring costs of this product, with respect to licensing and hardware/software maintenance.

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