: PA-7500 Series Firewall Management Processing Card (MPC)
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PA-7500 Series Firewall Management Processing Card (MPC)

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PA-7500 Series Firewall Management Processing Card (MPC)

Learn about the PA-7500 Series Firewall Management Processing Card.
The Management Processing Card (MPC) provides the firewall with a management interface, first packet processing, logging interfaces, and inter-chassis HSCI ports. The MPC must be installed in slot 5 of the chassis.
The following image shows the PA-7500 MPC and the table below describes each labeled component.
Item
Component
Description
1
LED Indicators
Eight LEDs that indicate the status of various hardware components. For details on the LEDs, see Interpret the PA-7500 Series Firewall Interface Card LEDs
2
USB Port
One USB port that accepts a USB flash drive that contains a bootstrap bundle (PAN-OS configuration) that enables you to bootstrap the firewall. Bootstrapping enables you to provision the firewall with a specific configuration, license it, and make it operational on the network.
3
RJ-45 Console Port
Use the RJ-45 console port to connect a management computer to the firewall using a 9-pin serial-to-RJ-45 cable and terminal emulation software. The console port has a baud rate of 115,200 8-N-1.
The console connection provides access to firewall boot messages, the Maintenance Recovery Tool (MRT), and the command line interface (CLI).
4
Micro USB Console Port
Use the Micro USB console port to connect a management computer to the firewall using a standard Type-A USB-to-micro USB cable and terminal emulation software. The console port has a baud rate of 115,200 8-N-1.
The console connection provides access to firewall boot messages, the Maintenance Recovery Tool (MRT), and the command line interface (CLI).
5
Management Ports
Two SFP/SFP+/SFP28 management ports providing 1Gbps/10Gbps/25Gbps connectivity that are used to access the management interface. MGT-1 and MGT-2 are bundled by default as a single logical interface called bond0. The two bonded ports provide redundancy, which enables the management interface to remain active if one interface goes down.
To manage the firewall, change your management computer IP address to 192.168.1.2, connect an SFP+ cable from your computer to one of the MGT ports and browse to https:// 192.168.1.1. The default login name is admin and the default password is admin.
6
HSCI-A and HSCI-B (High Speed Chassis Interconnect) Ports
QSFP-DD interfaces used to connect two PA-7500 Series firewalls in a NGFW clustering configuration. Each port offers 100Gbps or 400Gbps connectivity and is used to maintain a dual active data plane with a single active control plane.
In a typical installation, HSCI-A on the first firewall connects directly to HSCI-A on the second firewall and HSCI-B on the first firewall connects to HSCI-B on the second firewall. The purpose of HSCI-B is to provide redundancy.
The lower port, HSCI-B, may be harder to access if HSCI-A has an installed optic.
7
Logging Ports
Two QSFP28 logging ports that offer 40Gbps or 100Gbps connectivity and are used as log interfaces. If both ports are up, LOG-1 becomes the active interface and LOG-2 becomes the standby interface.
You must Configure Log Forwarding to forward logs from the log interface to one or more log collectors. If the log interface is not configured, the management interface is used to forward logs instead.
8
Logging Drive Covers
Secure the two logging drives in the MPC. By default, the MPC does not have a logging drive installed. For information about installing a logging drive, see Replace a PA-7500 Series Firewall Logging Drive.
9
Ejector Tabs
Push tabs that are used to insert or replace the interface card.