Network Security Principles and Practices

Positioning of Firewalls

Positioning a firewall is as important as using the right type of firewall and configuring it correctly. Positioning a firewall determines which traffic will be screened and whether there are any back doors into the protected network. Some of the basic guidelines for positioning a firewall are as follows:

• Topological location of the firewall— It is often a good idea to place a firewall on the periphery of a private network, as close to the final exit and initial entry point into the network as possible. The network includes any remote-access devices and VPN concentrators sitting on the its periphery. This allows the greatest number of devices on the private network to be protected by the firewall and also helps keep ...