Self-service Firewall rules?

[BulgingEyes]

Wondering if the NGFW are capable of automation. Automation as in, if someone has a set of firewall rules that needs to implemented and they know their source, their destination, their port, they can implement the rule themselves. 

[LukeBullimore]

Hi @BulgingEyes,

This is definitely possible! Using the XML-API you can send a HTTP POST for example with the known information like you mention to create a rule, then send a commit job afterwards.

https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/documentation/80/pan-os/xml-api

https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/documentation/80/pan-os/xml-api/get-started-with-the-pan-os-xml-api

Thanks,

Luke.

[BPry]

@BulgingEyes,

Yup. As @LukeBullimore already pointed out the XML-API actually allows you to do a lot of this, and depending on what you are doing setting up security rules with address-groups will likely be to your advantage. 

Currently I have a few groups that can add addresses via a scripts that utilizes the API to add address objects for development and testing servers as an address with a 'Test-Server' or 'Dev-Server' tag that are then a part of a dynamic address-group that gets used in security policies to allow the Dev and Server folks access to newley created machines. 

[pulukas]

And note that once you dig into the api and start working on this.  There is a separate forum here to ask questions.

https://live.paloaltonetworks.com/t5/Automation-API-Discussions/bd-p/TechnologiesSDKsDiscussions

[Remo]

@BulgingEyes

Depending on your actual goal, keep in mind that this can be extremely complex to implement. At least if you also need custom workflows with approvals, logging for audit and compliance reasons, building a usable webinterface for your users and so on. So depending on your needs, the time you want to invest, and the knowledge you/your company already has, it could make more sense to buy something that already does this for you.