Prisma Access Upgrade Types
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Prisma Access

Prisma Access Upgrade Types

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Prisma Access Upgrade Types

Learn about the types of upgrades that are available with Prisma Access.
Where Can I Use This?What Do I Need?
  • Prisma Access (Managed by Strata Cloud Manager)
  • Prisma Access (Managed by Panorama)
  • Prisma Access license
Palo Alto Networks upgrades its cloud-based infrastructure without any intervention required from you. Some upgrades require that you perform an action, such as install a new plugin.
The following list includes the different types of Prisma Access upgrades:
  • Infrastructure Upgrade—Palo Alto Networks upgrades the Prisma Access infrastructure, also known as the Prisma Access Control Plane, which includes the underlying service backend, orchestration, and monitoring infrastructure.
    You can expect to receive infrastructure upgrades 4 to 6 times a year.
  • Dataplane Upgrade—Palo Alto Networks upgrades the Prisma Access dataplane that enables traffic inspection and security policy enforcement on your network and user traffic.
    You use the app to sign up for dataplane upgrade email alert notifications and indicate your upgrade preferences.
  • Prisma Access Scheduled Maintenance—Prisma Access reserves a window every two weeks to perform maintenance related to hotfixes and emergency bug fixes to the infrastructure.
  • (Panorama Managed Deployments Only) Cloud Services Plugin Upgrade—When a new plugin release becomes available, your network administrator will need to upgrade the Cloud Services plugin on the Panorama appliance that manages Prisma Access.
  • (Panorama Managed Deployments Only) Panorama Software Version Upgrade—An upgrade of your Panorama software might be required to ensure continued compatibility with Prisma Access.
The following table shows you what is included with each release, including the maintenance window we provide and any impact to your Prisma Access service.
Upgrade TypeMaintenance Window Impact
Infrastructure Upgrade
2-8 hours
No impact to network traffic; however you cannot perform commits during the maintenance window.
Palo Alto Networks schedules the upgrades at a local time that is minimally disruptive to business functions.
Dataplane Upgrade
72 hours
Palo Alto Networks uses this window to upgrade the dataplane for all customers. You can make configuration changes and commits during this window. Our goal is to minimize impact to network traffic, but in some cases there may be a brief interruption. See Prisma Access Dataplane Upgrades for more information.
You use the app to sign up for dataplane upgrade email alert notifications and indicate your upgrade preferences, including the preferred time window for your upgrade.
Cloud Services Plugin Upgrade (Panorama Managed Deployments Only )
You install the plugin when it becomes available.
Prisma Access might require you to upgrade all tenants to a specific plugin version to maintain backward compatibility and supported software versions.
During the plugin upgrade, you cannot make configuration changes and commits in Panorama.
Panorama Software Version Upgrade (Panorama Managed Deployments Only )
You schedule and perform the upgrade on the Panorama that manages Prisma Access.
When Prisma Access upgrades its infrastructure and dataplane after a major release, the upgrades can be incompatible with earlier Panorama versions. Because of the fast-paced release of Prisma Access and the Cloud Services plugin, the software compatibility (end-of-support) dates for Panorama are shorter than the software end-of-life dates for Panorama releases and apply to Panorama version compatibility with Prisma Access only. For more information, including end-of-support dates for Panorama when used with Prisma Access, see Prisma Access and Panorama Version Compatibility in the Palo Alto Networks Compatibility Matrix.