Policy Planner Workbench

What Is FireMon Policy Planner Workbench?

FireMon Policy Planner Workbench is the new interface for building Change Plans within Policy Planner. Its unified, table-based editor displays policy rules and objects in context, giving engineers one workspace across supported vendors to design changes manually or refine automated recommendations. Agentic AI is built into the Workbench experience, while engineer review and existing approval workflows remain in place.

Workbench is not a separate product or a replacement for Policy Planner’s underlying capabilities. It changes how engineers interact with Change Plans. Saving a plan records proposed changes; it does not deploy them to a firewall.

Key Takeaways

• Inspect rules and objects in one Change Plan Editor with the full, normalized policy context visible.
• Start a change plan manually or refine an automated recommendation across supported vendors.
• Track proposed changes by device in a real-time Change Plan drawer.
• Use agentic AI within Workbench while retaining engineer review and approval.
• At general availability, process only Access Request tickets while Workbench is turned on.

Why Workbench Matters

Designing a firewall change requires more than translating an access request into a rule. Engineers must identify the devices involved, decide which rules and objects to change, and account for vendor differences without introducing new risk. Workbench brings those decisions into one editor, with the existing policy in view throughout the design process.

One policy editor across supported vendors gives engineers a consistent design workflow. They can create or modify rules and objects directly, or review and refine automated recommendations before advancing a plan through Policy Planner.

How Workbench Works

The Change Plan Editor shows all rules and objects in a policy in a unified, table-based view. Engineers can begin with a blank plan or an automated recommendation, keeping the full, normalized policy context visible as they work.

A real-time Change Plan drawer lists every design change attached to the ticket, grouped by device. It remains visible and updates as engineers add, edit, or remove changes. Bulk delete removes multiple design changes in one action. Status badges and filters in the Requirements List show which requirements already have change plans without opening each one.

Agentic AI capabilities are available inside the Workbench interface, where engineers make design decisions. Engineers still review and approve the plan, and the existing approval workflow remains in place.

From Design to Approval

Start with the requested access and the relevant policy context. Design the required changes manually or refine an automated recommendation. Review the proposed rules and objects, check the changes grouped by device, and save the plan.

Saving does not implement the changes. The plan continues through the applicable Policy Planner workflow, including configured assessments and required approvals before implementation. Workbench changes the design interface; it does not change the Policy Planner backend, existing custom workflows, or the order of workflow tasks.

Workflow Support and Activation

At general availability, Workbench supports the Access Request workflow. While Workbench is turned on, only Access Request tickets can be processed. Turn Workbench off to process tickets from other workflows.

Workbench is optional and is turned on or off with an API call. Contact FireMon Support for guidance on activation in your environment.

Policy Control Within the Change Process

Network security policy management requires proposed changes to be understood, reviewed, and governed before implementation. Workbench provides the design workspace within Policy Planner, keeping policy context and practitioner decisions connected to the change process.