The two private cloud environments that Palo Alto Networks have deep integrations with are:

VMware NSX-T

Cisco ACI

A private cloud environment is a cloud computing service that provides infrastructure as a service (IaaS) or platform as a service (PaaS) to customers within a private network or data center. A private cloud environment requires network security that can protect the traffic between different virtual machines (VMs) or other resources from cyberattacks and enforce granular security policies based on application, user, content, and threat information. Palo Alto Networks have deep integrations with VMware NSX-T and Cisco ACI, which are two private cloud environments that provide network virtualization, automation, and security for cloud-native applications. VMware NSX-T is a private cloud environment that provides software-defined networking (SDN) and security for heterogeneous endpoints and workloads across multiple hypervisors, containers, bare metal servers, or clouds. Cisco ACI is a private cloud environment that provides application-centric infrastructure (ACI) and security for physical and virtual endpoints across multiple data centers or clouds. Palo Alto Networks have deep integrations with VMware NSX-T and Cisco ACI by enabling features such as dynamic address groups, service insertion, policy redirection, service chaining, orchestration, monitoring, logging, and automation for VM-Series firewalls and Panorama on these platforms. Dell APEX and Nutanix are not private cloud environments that Palo Alto Networks have deep integrations with, but they are related platforms that can be used for other purposes. Reference: [Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE)], [Deploy the VM-Series Firewall on VMware NSX-T], [Deploy the VM-Series Firewall on Cisco ACI], [What is VMware NSX-T?], [What is Cisco ACI?]

Using the management interface as the HA1 backup link helps avoid split brain in active-passive high availability (HA) pair deployment. High availability (HA) is a feature that provides redundancy and failover protection for firewalls in case of hardware or software failure. Active-passive HA is a mode of HA that consists of two firewalls in a pair, where one firewall is active and handles all traffic, while the other firewall is passive and acts as a backup. Split brain is a condition that occurs when both firewalls in an HA pair assume the active role and start processing traffic independently, resulting in traffic duplication, policy inconsistency, or session disruption. Split brain can be caused by network failures, device failures, or configuration errors that prevent the firewalls from communicating their HA status and synchronizing their configurations and sessions. Using the management interface as the HA1 backup link helps avoid split brain in active-passive HA pair deployment. The HA1 interface is used for exchanging HA state information and configuration synchronization between the firewalls. Using the management interface as the HA1 backup link provides redundancy and failover protection for the HA1 interface, ensuring that the firewalls can maintain their HA communication and avoid split brain. Using a standard traffic interface as the HA2 backup, enabling preemption on both firewalls in the HA pair, or using a standard traffic interface as the HA3 link do not help avoid split brain in active-passive HA pair deployment, but they are related features that can enhance performance and reliability. Reference:Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [High Availability Overview], [Configure HA Backup Links], [Configure Heartbeat Backup]

Auto scaling templates for VM-Series firewalls enable deployment of a single auto scaling group (ASG) of VM-Series firewalls to secure inbound traffic from the internet to Amazon Web Services (AWS) application workloads. An ASG is a collection of EC2 instances that share similar characteristics and can be scaled up or down automatically based on demand or predefined conditions. Auto scaling templates for VM-Series firewalls are preconfigured templates that provide the necessary resources and configuration to deploy and manage VM-Series firewalls in an ASG on AWS. Auto scaling templates for VM-Series firewalls can be used to secure inbound traffic from the internet to AWS application workloads by placing the ASG of VM-Series firewalls behind an AWS Application Load Balancer (ALB) or a Gateway Load Balancer (GWLB) that distributes the traffic across the firewalls. The firewalls can then inspect and enforce security policies on the inbound traffic before sending it to the application workloads. Auto scaling templates for HA-Series, CN-Series, and IPA-Series firewalls do not enable deployment of a single ASG of VM-Series firewalls to secure inbound traffic from the internet to AWS application workloads, as those are different types of firewalls that have different deployment models and use cases. Reference:Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Auto Scaling the VM-Series Firewall on AWS], [VM-Series Datasheet], [HA-Series Datasheet], [CN-Series Datasheet], [IPA-Series Datasheet]

Tags allow a VM-Series firewall to adapt Security policy rules dynamically in a virtual environment. Tags are labels or identifiers that can be assigned to virtual machines (VMs), containers, or other resources in a virtual environment. Tags can be used to group resources based on various criteria, such as application, function, location, owner, or security posture. A VM-Series firewall can leverage tags to populate Dynamic Address Groups and update Security policies accordingly, without requiring manual changes. Tags do not enable machine learning (ML), integrate with security information and event management (SIEM) solutions, or provide adaptive reporting, but they are related features that can enhance security and visibility. Reference:Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE), [Tagging Overview], [Dynamic Address Groups Overview]

The two routing options that are supported by VM-Series are:

OSPF

BGP

Routing is a process that determines the best path for sending network packets from a source to a destination. Routing options are protocols or methods that enable routing between different networks or devices. VM-Series firewall is a virtualized version of the Palo Alto Networks next-generation firewall that can be deployed on various cloud or virtualization platforms. VM-Series firewall supports various routing options that allow it to participate in dynamic routing environments and exchange routing information with other routers or devices. OSPF and BGP are two routing options that are supported by VM-Series. OSPF is a routing option that uses link-state routing algorithm to determine the shortest path between routers within an autonomous system (AS). BGP is a routing option that uses path vector routing algorithm to determine the best path between routers across different autonomous systems (ASes). RIP and IGRP are not routing options that are supported by VM-Series, but they are related protocols that can be used for other purposes. Reference: [Palo Alto Networks Certified Software Firewall Engineer (PCSFE)], [VM-Series Deployment Guide], [Routing Overview], [What is OSPF?], [What is BGP?]