What does "High Availability" refer to in PAN firewalls?

High Availability in Palo Alto Networks firewalls refers to a configuration that ensures continuous operational performance. This is crucial for maintaining service availability in environments where downtime can lead to significant operational disruptions or financial loss.

In a High Availability setup, multiple firewalls are deployed in a pair or cluster, allowing one to take over in case the other fails. This redundancy minimizes the risk of service disruption, as traffic can seamlessly switch to the backup firewall without noticeable downtime for users. High Availability configurations often involve synchronized settings, session information, and real-time monitoring to provide a robust and fault-tolerant infrastructure.

This concept goes beyond just maintaining functionality; it ensures that systems are not only operational but are consistently performing within expected parameters, thus providing reliable service and contributing to overall network resilience.