Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth Step-by-Step Explanation:Terraform is an Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) tool that automates the provisioning and configuration of infrastructure, including Palo Alto Networks firewalls. The Palo Alto Networks Systems Engineer Professional - Software Firewall documentation specifies which firewall products support Terraform integration for deployment and automation in cloud and virtualized environments.
VM-Series firewall (Option B): Terraform can be used to deploy VM-Series firewalls in public clouds (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP), private clouds, or on-premises virtualized environments. Palo Alto Networks provides Terraform modules and scripts (available on GitHub) to automate VM-Series deployment, configuration, and integration with cloud-native services, ensuring scalability and repeatability. The documentation highlights Terraform as a key automation tool for VM-Series, aligning with DevOps practices.
CN-Series firewall (Option C): CN-Series firewalls, designed for containerized environments, can be deployed using Terraform in conjunction with Kubernetes. Terraform scripts automate the provisioning of infrastructure (e.g., Kubernetes clusters in AWS, Azure, or GCP) and integrate with CN-Series for securing container workloads. The documentation notes Terraform’s role in automating CN-Series deployments, leveraging Kubernetes manifests and cloud-native integrations.
Options A (PA-Series firewall) and D (Cloud NGFW) are incorrect. PA-Series firewalls are physical appliances, not virtual or software-based, and do not support Terraform deployment, as Terraform focuses on cloud and virtualized infrastructure, not hardware. Cloud NGFW is a cloud-native managed service in AWS and Azure, and while it can be managed or deployed through automation, it does not use Terraform directly for deployment, as it relies on cloud provider APIs and native scaling mechanisms, not IaC tools like Terraform.
References: Palo Alto Networks Systems Engineer Professional - Software Firewall, Section: Automation and Integration, Terraform Documentation for VM-Series and CN-Series, GitHub Repository for Palo Alto Networks.