PNS and MS can be used in several network scenarios. In the simplest case there is only a single firewall host having both PNS and MS services installed. In this case the communication between MS and the PNS management agents takes place locally, using Unix domain sockets and it does not require network communication setup. However, when the two functions, that is, firewalling and management, are separated and installed on two different machines, the initial communication channel between the two requires manual setup. After successful setup all further communication is initiated automatically without manual interaction. This channel setup is a one-time action, therefore it must be configured separately for each new PNS firewall under the authority of a MS host. This process is called bootstrapping and can be performed similarly to running a wizard. By the end of the bootstrapping process the new host is added to the host configuration database of the MS host machine.

The connection between MS and PNS can be established in the following ways.

Bootstrapping a PNS host is one of the most simple methods. Bootstrapping is similar to running a wizard, that is, answering questions and allowing the wizard to carry out the necessary configurations. Alternatively, the connection can be established manually. This method may especially be needed in troubleshooting scenarios with the help of the Recovery Connection button. Hosts can be added on a completely manual way, by selecting a site and then clicking Add in the main workspace. For more details, see the PNS Reference Guide.