How hard is the Palo Alto NGFW Engineer exam? +
It is a professional-level exam and harder than its name suggests for engineers who only manage physical firewalls. The blueprint spans PA-Series, VM-Series, CN-Series, and Cloud NGFW, and a large share covers integration and automation with APIs, Terraform, Ansible, Kubernetes, and cloud providers. Panorama template stacks and device group hierarchy are also tested at a detailed level.
What is the NGFW Engineer exam format? +
The exam is 90 minutes of multiple-choice questions, delivered through Pearson VUE at a test center or with online proctoring. Palo Alto Networks lists the current question count and exam fee on its certification page. Questions are mostly scenario-based, asking where a setting belongs or which deployment option meets a requirement.
How is the NGFW Engineer exam scored? +
Results are reported as pass or fail. Palo Alto Networks does not promote a simple percentage target for this exam, so check its exam page for current scoring details and plan to score comfortably on practice across every domain rather than aiming for a minimum. Domain-level feedback on your result is the starting point for any retake plan.
Is the NGFW Engineer the replacement for PCNSE? +
Yes. The NGFW Engineer certification succeeded the PCNSE in Palo Alto Networks' updated certification lineup. The blueprint is organized differently, around networking configuration, device settings, and integration and automation. Reusing a PCNSE study plan leaves you spending time on the wrong areas and missing newer automation and cloud deployment objectives.
What experience does the NGFW Engineer exam assume? +
Palo Alto Networks recommends two to three years in IT security, including about two years working with its NGFWs. There is no formal prerequisite, though it suggests the Network Security Professional and Network Security Analyst certifications as preparation. Hands-on time with Panorama and at least one cloud or container deployment helps considerably.
How long should I prepare for the NGFW Engineer exam? +
Engineers with daily PAN-OS experience typically need 6 to 10 weeks. If you have never used Terraform, Ansible, or the PAN-OS API, add time for those - integration and automation is a major domain, not a minor one. Practice Panorama template and device group placement in a lab until it is second nature.