PA 7k LACP over Multiple NPC

[El-ahrairah]

Hi,

I'm curious to know if it is possible to configure an AE Group of interfaces in a PA 7000 series appliances with interfaces accross multiple NPC's?

This just seems to me to be the most logical way to load share on the platform with multiple NPC's, assuming its supported.

Thanks

[jvalentine · Accepted solution]

Yes, you can create AE groups of interfaces on the PA-7000 series leveraging interfaces across multiple NPCs.  This works for both static AE as well as LACP.

An NPC doesn't necessarily have to have it's physical interfaces connected in order for it to contribute it's security processing capabilities to the chassis as a whole.  Let me explain:

The default session distribution policy "ingress-slot" assigns a security processor core to the NPC that received the first packet of a particular session.  So if you had multiple NPCs but only one had physical Ethernet connectivity, you'd end up only using the CPUs from that single slot.   

The other session distribution policies allow you to leverage the CPUs from all NPCs, regardless of physical Ethernet connectivity.  The hardware guide for the PA-7000 Series discusses the different session distribution policies on page 65:

- https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/content/dam/pan/en_US/assets/pdf/technical-documentation/hardware-g...

Hope that helps.  

[El-ahrairah]

Perfect.

Thanks for the response.

[tommyschoemans]

Does LACP also works across Gen1 and Gen2 NPC's? I can't find it in the docs...