| 8.1 |  | Introduction to Firewalls |
| 8.1.3 |  | The firewall marketplace |

| There are many vendors in the firewall field. While the Cisco Firewall lineup will be the focus of this course, students should understand that other firewall options are available . A basic understanding of the PIX and IOS Firewalls should allow students to easily transition to other manufacturer firewalls if needed. While it is beyond the scope of this class to go into detail on these products, it is recommended that students familiarize themselves with each of them. Please note that these products have been broken down into two main categories, which are software-based firewalls and hardware-based firewalls. The difference between these is explained below.

Software-based firewalls
Software-based firewalls, also known as server-based firewalls, are software applications that are installed on an existing OS such as UNIX or Windows server platform . Advantages to a software firewall solution may include lower initial cost, at least for small networks, and the ability to combine the firewall with some other application such as a Web or FTP server. Software-based firewalls come in both small office/home office (SOHO) models and enterprise models. Examples of software-based firewalls include the following:

- Check Point Firewall-1
- Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server
- Novell BorderManager
- Linux ipfwadm

In addition to server-based firewalls, personal firewalls are available for the desktop PC. Typically these are used in a SOHO environment where there is no dedicated firewall. Some of the vendors include Zone Labs, McAfee, Norton, Tiny, and Internet Security Systems. Some of these are bundled with anti-virus software.

Hardware-based firewalls
Hardware-based firewalls, or dedicated firewalls, are devices that have the software pre-installed on a specialized hardware platform . The OS is often proprietary to the device, as is the case with the Cisco PIX Finesse OS. Examples of hardware-based firewall vendors include the following:

- Cisco
- NetScreen
- SonicWALL
- WatchGuard

In addition to the PIX Security Appliance, Cisco offers integrated firewall technologies in the IOS Firewall image for routers . Also, the Cisco Firewall Services Module (FWSM) provides an integrated chassis based firewall switch .

| Web Links http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ hw/vpndevc/ps2030/index.html http://www.checkpoint.com http://www.microsoft.com/isaserver/

http://www.linux-firewall-tools.com/
linux/#a_ref_firewall

http://www.netscreen.com

http://www.sonicwall.com

http://www.watchguard.com