Upgrading PAN OS from 7.1.X to PAN OS 8.0.X

[Ghafar]

Hello ;

We have been using PAN OS 7.1.x for months and now due to some requirements I am planning to upgrade our PAN OS to 8.0.x but not sure what the possible problems will be. Therefore, will be good if you share your ideas and comments on 8.0X and what problems you faced during the use so I can consider all these steps before taking any action.

We use the following features : What problems you faced on the following features in PAN OS 8.0.X
=> SSL Decryption

=> NAT

=> Application / Port Filtering

=> User ID Configuration

=> GlobalProtect

I may consider the following features as well in PAN OS 8.0.X
=> Split Tunneling

=> SSL VPN    (Does it require to purchase a new license to use this feature ? )

=> Site 2 Site VPN

What version of PAN OS 8.0.X is most stable to be used for large organizations ?

Thank You !

[BPry]

@Ghafar,

You would be fine with running 8.0.8, and likely by the time you actually perform the update 8.0.9 would move into recommended status. 

Process:

Upgrade to latest 7.1.x maintenance release.  (Download and install)

Upgrade to 8.0.0 base image. (Download and install)

upgrade to 8.0.8/9. 

We use the following features : What problems you faced on the following features in PAN OS 8.0.X=> SSL Decryption

=> NAT None

=> Application / Port Filtering None

=> User ID Configuration None (Considerations if updating user-id agent to 8.1.* release)

=> GlobalProtect None 

I may consider the following features as well in PAN OS 8.0.X=> Split Tunneling

=> SSL VPN    (Does it require to purchase a new license to use this feature ? ) So...GlobalProtect. 

=> Site 2 Site VPN None

8.0.* is a perfectly stable release at this point that shouldn't cause you any issues if running the recommended release. 

[jdprovine]

@BPry

The global protect feature is still free on 8 isn't it

[RyanGates]

Yeah you should be in good shape moving to 8.0.8. We went from 7.1.6, I think, to 8.0.6 and have since moved to 8.0.8. 8.0.8 so far has seemed very stable.

[BPry]

@jdprovine,

All of the features that you could utilize without a GlobalProtect subscription you will still have access to. 

[jdprovine]

@BPry

whew, we never got the mobile subscription cause it was so expensive so that is good to know