Configuring a Host Firewall

Configuring a Host Firewall.

A firewall is a hardware or software that provides a perimeter defense to the network traffic. The firewall is responsible for filtering the packets that enter or leave a given network. A host firewall helps to secure the information by ensuring authentication of the packets according to their source. Configurations to the firewall provide enhancement by blocking various ports that may be sending different packets across the network (Mateosian, 2003) .
Firewall Configuration
Access-list is a firewall configuration code for the start command. The number includes the IP number which can have a range either from 100 – 199. The permit or deny command can either allow the transmission of the packets or deny the packet transmission. However, there is the use of the different protocols such as the Internet protocol, User Datagram Protocol or the Transmission Control Protocol. The sender of the packet can have a variety of address such as any, host ipaddr or the ipaddr mask.
The address any means that the packets can originate from any given source. The host ipaddr is an address that applies to the host machine which may be an individual computer. The format of the IP address is in a decimal format which may help to extend the host configuration to serve a large number of client computers.
An example of Host configuration that can accept the incoming packets from a particular address and deny signal transmission that may originate from a specified network address.

The firewalls to Implement in a Corporate environment
It is critical to apply and deploy both the hardware and software firewalls in a corporate environment. The software firewalls can help to provide defense on a single computer while the hardware firewalls may be integrated into the networking devices such as routers hence providing perimeter defense to a large number of computer systems. The configuration of the software firewalls is much easier than configuring the hardware firewalls. The hardware firewall needs an understanding of the hardware itself unlike in the software firewall where you have to consider the different logical addresses.
The Working of a Firewall
Maintenance Requirements for the Firewalls
For a firewall to be fit, it requires the Ip address, domain names, protocols and the ports. It is, therefore, important to maintain the firewalls to enhance the level of security that they provide. The standard of the safety in an organization is crucial when it comes to information systems resources. The maintenance of the firewalls starts with the management of an organization. It is essential for the management to understand that a firewall is a tool that helps to identify threats and identifies what should be protected. The requirements of the firewall maintenance are to know what that needs to be protected and the level of the risk to the protected equipment (Pozo, Gasca, Reina-Quintero, & Varela-Vaca, 2012).
When there is a change in the firewall configuration, it is important to perform a backup which can reflect the shadow of the settings that were utilized before. For the maintenance of the firewalls, it is crucial to test firewalls and the hardware component to identify vulnerability within the system. The test can help to reduce the network traffic hence increasing efficiency and the security of the system. However, remote access to the firewalls by the vendors can also be critical in monitoring the firewalls although it may be risky without having an agreement between the organization and the vendors.
In summation, firewalls are essential to the overall network security. The firewalls help to filter the packets that may originate from unauthorized sources hence improving the network security. However, the firewalls can assist in detecting intruders hence raising the alarm for an appropriate action (Rampat, 2016).
References
Mateosian, R. (2003). Firewalls and internet security: Repelling the wily hacker, 2nd ed. [Book
Review]. IEEE Micro, 23(5), 6-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/mm.2003.1240196Pozo, S., Gasca, R., Reina-Quintero, A., & Varela-Vaca, A. (2012). CONFIDDENT: A model-
driven consistent and non-redundant layer-3 firewall ACL design, development and maintenance framework. Journal Of Systems And Software, 85(2), 425-457. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2011.09.008Rampat, A. (2016). Performing firewall maintenance. SearchWindowsServer. Retrieved 13
November 2016, from http://searchwindowsserver.techtarget.com/tip/Performing-firewall-maintenance