September 2007
Intermediate to advanced
336 pages
9h 7m
English
Good network security begins with a properly configured firewall that is only as permissive as absolutely necessary in order to allow basic network connectivity and services. Firewalls are inline devices and are therefore well positioned to apply filtering logic to network traffic. In the context of computer networking, an inline device is any piece of hardware that lies in the direct path of packets as they are routed through a network. If a hardware or software failure develops within an inline device and affects its ability to forward network traffic, network communications cease to function. Example inline devices include routers, switches, bridges, firewalls, and network intrusion prevention systems (IPSs).[36