* [Blog](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog)
* [Palo Alto Networks](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/corporate/)
* [Data Center](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/category/data-center-2/)
* Igniting Your Cloud

# Igniting Your Cloud

[](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paloaltonetworks.com.au%2Fblog%2F2012%2F09%2Figniting-your-cloud%2F)  
[](https://twitter.com/share?text=Igniting+Your+Cloud&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paloaltonetworks.com.au%2Fblog%2F2012%2F09%2Figniting-your-cloud%2F)  
[](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paloaltonetworks.com.au%2Fblog%2F2012%2F09%2Figniting-your-cloud%2F&title=Igniting+Your+Cloud&summary=&source=)  
[](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com//www.reddit.com/submit?url=https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/2012/09/igniting-your-cloud/&ts=markdown)  
\[\](mailto:?subject=Igniting Your Cloud)  
Link copied  
By [Palo Alto Networks](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/author/palo-alto-networks-staff/?ts=markdown "Posts by Palo Alto Networks")  
Sep 13, 2012  
3 minutes  
[Data Center](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/data-center-2/?ts=markdown)  
[Ignite](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/ignite/?ts=markdown)  
[Cloud Computing](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/tag/cloud-computing/?ts=markdown)  
[data center](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/tag/data-center/?ts=markdown)  
[Ignite2012](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/tag/ignite2012/?ts=markdown)  
[virtualized environment](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/tag/virtualized-environment/?ts=markdown)

[](http://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/7046360465/)  
[![](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/7046360465_783996a2f7_c-500x323.jpg "http://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/7046360465/")](http://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/7046360465/)

VMWorld 2012 wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. Thank you to all of you who stopped by our booth to speak to us. We were excited to share our recent validated design for security in a [FlexPod](http://connect.paloaltonetworks.com/download?doc_id=79) environment, and happy to see security and compliance is an important topic for many VMWorld attendees.

One of the most common questions I received at this conference was what our next-generation firewall offers in terms of cloud integration. As you know, one of the key characteristics of cloud computing environments is the ability to automate and orchestrate features. I write about the importance of security automation and orchestration in this week's [Security Week article](http://www.securityweek.com/virtualized-data-center-security-part-1-orchestrating-security-your-cloud), and how it cannot lag the provisioning of virtual machines because this slows down the cloud ecosystem, and can lead to security risks.

In fact, our next-generation firewall offers a powerful XML management API that enables external cloud orchestration software to configure Palo Alto Networks firewalls. The exhaustive and fully-documented REST-based API allows configuration parameters to be seen, set and modified as needed. If you haven't already leveraged the REST API for your virtualized and cloud computing environments, you should check it out. Our customers are using it today to ensure the orchestration of security features is keeping pace with the orchestration of other components in the cloud ecosystem.

In addition to security zones that can provide appropriate segmentation of resources in the cloud, our firewalls also support multi-tenancy features, important in cloud environments where multiple tenants or groups within an organization take advantage of common pools of resources. Virtual systems provide full, logical management segmentation between customers. Virtual systems resource control includes the ability to enforce limits on the number of sessions, policies and VPN tunnels. Bandwidth controls via QoS can appropriately prioritize traffic for one customer versus another.

If you're interested in learning more about the features we offer for virtualized data centers and cloud computing environments, attend the [Ignite Conference](http://www.paloaltonetworks.com/news/events/ignite/). These are key topics we will be exploring further at the Ignite Conference. We'll be sharing best practices for deploying security in the evolving data center, when a physical or virtualized firewall is appropriate and our customers (your peers) will be sharing real-world deployment scenarios of what they are doing to secure virtualized and cloud environments. One of the most interesting sessions that I'm looking forward to at Ignite is by **Jean-Marc Mazzoni** , the lead security architect at **Wyse**. He'll be discussing from a cloud provider context how he's leveraging next-generation firewalls in a Zero Trust architecture to secure his network.

*** ** * ** ***

## Related Blogs

### [Announcement](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/announcement/?ts=markdown), [Cloud Network Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/cloud-network-security/?ts=markdown), [Cloud NGFW](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/network-security/category/cloud-ngfw/?ts=markdown), [Guest Post](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/guest-post/?ts=markdown), [Hybrid Cloud Data Center](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/network-security/category/hybrid-cloud-data-center/?ts=markdown), [Partners](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/partners/?ts=markdown), [Products and Services](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/products-and-services/?ts=markdown)

[#### Untangling Hybrid Cloud Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/2025/12/untangling-hybrid-cloud-security/)

### [AI Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/ai-security/?ts=markdown), [Announcement](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/announcement/?ts=markdown), [Ignite](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/ignite/?ts=markdown)

[#### AI-Driven, Quantum-Ready Network Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/2025/10/network-security-ai-powered-quantum-ready/)

### [AI Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/ai-security/?ts=markdown), [Announcement](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/announcement/?ts=markdown), [Ignite](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/ignite/?ts=markdown), [Products and Services](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/products-and-services/?ts=markdown)

[#### Prisma AIRS 2.0 Is Powering the Next Wave of Secure AI Innovation](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/2025/10/prisma-airs-powering-secure-ai-innovation/)

### [AI Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/ai-security/?ts=markdown), [Ignite](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/ignite/?ts=markdown), [Partners](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/partners/?ts=markdown)

[#### Secure the AI Factory with Palo Alto Networks \& NVIDIA](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/2025/10/secure-ai-factory-palo-alto-networks-nvidia/)

### [Healthcare](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/healthcare/?ts=markdown), [Partners](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/partners/?ts=markdown)

[#### Curb Healthcare Costs --- Can Cybersecurity Platformization Help?](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/2025/02/curb-healthcare-costs-can-cybersecurity-platformization-help/)

### [Announcement](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/announcement/?ts=markdown), [Partners](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/category/partners/?ts=markdown)

[#### Experience Next-Generation Cloud Security at AWS re:Invent 2024](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/cloud-security/aws-reinvent-2024/)

### Subscribe to the Blog!

Sign up to receive must-read articles, Playbooks of the Week, new feature announcements, and more.
![spinner](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/wp-content/themes/panwblog2023/dist/images/ajax-loader.gif) Sign up  
Please enter a valid email.  
By submitting this form, you agree to our [Terms of Use](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/legal-notices/terms-of-use?ts=markdown) and acknowledge our [Privacy Statement](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/legal-notices/privacy?ts=markdown). Please look for a confirmation email from us. If you don't receive it in the next 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.  
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) and [Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms) apply.  
{#footer} {#footer}

## Products and Services

* [AI-Powered Network Security Platform](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security?ts=markdown)

* [Secure AI by Design](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/precision-ai-security/secure-ai-by-design?ts=markdown)

* [Prisma AIRS](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/prisma/prisma-ai-runtime-security?ts=markdown)

* [AI Access Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/ai-access-security?ts=markdown)

* [Cloud Delivered Security Services](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/security-subscriptions?ts=markdown)

* [Advanced Threat Prevention](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/advanced-threat-prevention?ts=markdown)

* [Advanced URL Filtering](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/advanced-url-filtering?ts=markdown)

* [Advanced WildFire](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/advanced-wildfire?ts=markdown)

* [Advanced DNS Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/advanced-dns-security?ts=markdown)

* [Enterprise Data Loss Prevention](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/enterprise-data-loss-prevention?ts=markdown)

* [Enterprise IoT Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/enterprise-device-security?ts=markdown)

* [Medical IoT Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/medical-device-security?ts=markdown)

* [Industrial OT Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/medical-device-security?ts=markdown)

* [SaaS Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/saas-security?ts=markdown)

* [Next-Generation Firewalls](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/next-generation-firewall?ts=markdown)

* [Hardware Firewalls](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/hardware-firewall-innovations?ts=markdown)

* [Software Firewalls](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/software-firewalls?ts=markdown)

* [Strata Cloud Manager](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/strata-cloud-manager?ts=markdown)

* [SD-WAN for NGFW](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/sd-wan-subscription?ts=markdown)

* [PAN-OS](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/pan-os?ts=markdown)

* [Panorama](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/panorama?ts=markdown)

* [Secure Access Service Edge](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase?ts=markdown)

* [Prisma SASE](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase?ts=markdown)

* [Application Acceleration](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/app-acceleration?ts=markdown)

* [Autonomous Digital Experience Management](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/adem?ts=markdown)

* [Enterprise DLP](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/enterprise-data-loss-prevention?ts=markdown)

* [Prisma Access](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/access?ts=markdown)

* [Prisma Browser](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/prisma-browser?ts=markdown)

* [Prisma SD-WAN](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/sd-wan?ts=markdown)

* [Remote Browser Isolation](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/remote-browser-isolation?ts=markdown)

* [SaaS Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/saas-security?ts=markdown)

* [AI-Driven Security Operations Platform](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex?ts=markdown)

* [Cloud Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cloud?ts=markdown)

* [Cortex Cloud](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cloud?ts=markdown)

* [Application Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cloud/application-security?ts=markdown)

* [Cloud Posture Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cloud/cloud-posture-security?ts=markdown)

* [Cloud Runtime Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cloud/runtime-security?ts=markdown)

* [Prisma Cloud](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/prisma/cloud?ts=markdown)

* [AI-Driven SOC](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex?ts=markdown)

* [Cortex XSIAM](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cortex-xsiam?ts=markdown)

* [Cortex XDR](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cortex-xdr?ts=markdown)

* [Cortex XSOAR](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cortex-xsoar?ts=markdown)

* [Cortex Xpanse](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cortex-xpanse?ts=markdown)

* [Unit 42 Managed Detection \& Response](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/managed-detection-and-response?ts=markdown)

* [Managed XSIAM](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/managed-xsiam?ts=markdown)

* [Threat Intel and Incident Response Services](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42?ts=markdown)

* [Proactive Assessments](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42/assess?ts=markdown)

* [Incident Response](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42/respond?ts=markdown)

* [Transform Your Security Strategy](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42/transform?ts=markdown)

* [Discover Threat Intelligence](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42/threat-intelligence-partners?ts=markdown)

## Company

* [About Us](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/about-us?ts=markdown)
* [Careers](https://jobs.paloaltonetworks.com/en/)
* [Contact Us](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/company/contact-sales?ts=markdown)
* [Corporate Responsibility](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/about-us/corporate-responsibility?ts=markdown)
* [Customers](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/customers?ts=markdown)
* [Investor Relations](https://investors.paloaltonetworks.com/)
* [Location](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/about-us/locations?ts=markdown)
* [Newsroom](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/company/newsroom?ts=markdown)

## Popular Links

* [Blog](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/?ts=markdown)
* [Communities](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/communities?ts=markdown)
* [Content Library](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/resources?ts=markdown)
* [Cyberpedia](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cyberpedia?ts=markdown)
* [Event Center](https://events.paloaltonetworks.com/)
* [Manage Email Preferences](https://start.paloaltonetworks.com/preference-center)
* [Products A-Z](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/products/products-a-z?ts=markdown)
* [Product Certifications](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/legal-notices/trust-center/compliance?ts=markdown)
* [Report a Vulnerability](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/security-disclosure?ts=markdown)
* [Sitemap](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sitemap?ts=markdown)
* [Tech Docs](https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/)
* [Unit 42](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/)
* [Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information](https://panwedd.exterro.net/portal/dsar.htm?target=panwedd)
  ![PAN logo](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/etc/clientlibs/clean/imgs/pan-logo-dark.svg)
* [Privacy](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/legal-notices/privacy?ts=markdown)
* [Trust Center](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/legal-notices/trust-center?ts=markdown)
* [Terms of Use](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/legal-notices/terms-of-use?ts=markdown)
* [Documents](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/legal?ts=markdown)

Copyright © 2026 Palo Alto Networks. All Rights Reserved

* [![Youtube](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/etc/clientlibs/clean/imgs/social/youtube-black.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/user/paloaltonetworks)
* [![Podcast](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/content/dam/pan/en_US/images/icons/podcast.svg)](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/podcasts/threat-vector?ts=markdown)
* [![Facebook](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/etc/clientlibs/clean/imgs/social/facebook-black.svg)](https://www.facebook.com/PaloAltoNetworks/)
* [![LinkedIn](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/etc/clientlibs/clean/imgs/social/linkedin-black.svg)](https://www.linkedin.com/company/palo-alto-networks)
* [![Twitter](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/etc/clientlibs/clean/imgs/social/twitter-x-black.svg)](https://twitter.com/PaloAltoNtwks)
* EN  
  Select your language