What Is A Shorewall?
What Is A Shorewall?
Shorewall (Shoreline Firewall) is a firewall software with open source license system built on the Netfilter (IPtables / IPchains) of the Linux kernel, to simplify the management of complex network configurations.
Using an analogy understandable to programmers: Shorewall is to IPtables, such as the C language is to assembly. They provide both a higher level of abstraction to describe the rules using text files.
It is not because a demon is not running continuously, but it configures the kernel to allow or deny traffic through the system. Shorewall is configured through a set of configuration files and simple text does not have a graphical interface, even if there is a separate module Webmin. Network monitoring utility, included in the package Shorewall can be used to check the status of the running system or help during the testing phase.
Shorewall is used primarily in the installation of networks (rather than use as a personal firewall), since its peculiar characteristics make it very powerful in the management of zones, such as those present in the DMZ or in complex networks. Each area has different rules that may be, for example, looser for traffic within the intranet, while more stringent traffic from the Internet, providing greater security without penalty in the operation of the nodes.
The configuration files in text format are normally well-commented and easy to use, although Shorewall is relatively more complex to use for new users of other firewall systems with graphical user interface.
Study: Thanks to Wikipedia.
