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CS682. Session 6 Prof. Katz. Firewalls. An intelligent router? Used as a traffic control mechanism Based on information in the Layer 3 and 4 headers Administrator builds tables of what is and is not allowed For NCSA compliance, anything which is not specifically allowed is denied.
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CS682 Session 6 Prof. Katz
Firewalls • An intelligent router? • Used as a traffic control mechanism • Based on information in the Layer 3 and 4 headers • Administrator builds tables of what is and is not allowed • For NCSA compliance, anything which is not specifically allowed is denied
Classifications • Packet-Filtering • Stateful Inspection • Proxies
Packet-filtering Firewalls • Each packet is compared to a static list of rules defined by the administrator • No information is stored from one packet to the next
Implementing a Packet Filter • Sections • Input - Packets are checked against these rules when they arrive at the interface • Forward (not always implemented) – Packets are checked against these rules when they need to be routed by the kernel • Output – Packets are checked against these rules when they being outputted to the Interface.
Implementing (cont) • Rules • Each rule will specify one authorized connection • The most used rules should be first
Proxy firewall • Proxy: to do something on behalf of someone else (I.e. voting by proxy) • Operate at Layer 7 only • Require software to specifically support the proxy • Can be made somewhat transparent through the rewriting or winsock.dll
Proxy implementation • Request from client is made to proxy server • Proxy server makes request to remote server • Proxy server routes data back (through layer 3) to client • (Client only ever talks to proxy!)
Proxy servers • Socks common proxy: can proxy any protocol that supports SOCKS protocol • HTTP proxies can only proxy HTTP and HTTPS data • Specific proxies required for all other protocols (POP3, SMTP, NNTP, telnet
Protects the secure network from direct attack Allows for filtering based on Layer 7 rules Usually an inexpensive solution Slows down the network because data must travel to layer 7 Software must support the proxies Requires additional protection for the proxy server itself Advantages Vs. Disadvantages
Stateful Inspection • Keeps information on the state of the connection (SYN sent, SYN/ACK received, etc) • Rules need to be setup only to allow the first packet (SYN), the rest are assumed to be allowed
State Table • Maintained to hold the information on the connections • Contains socket information as well as sequence and acknowledgement numbers • If a packet which was not expected is received it will be dropped and the connection will be closed
Benefits of Stateful inspection • Less rules = less administrative headache • Usually can simplify NAT and Layer 7 rules as well • Can protect against SYN floods and other attacks • Faster than Proxies
Disadvantages of SI • Usually very expensive • Difficult to maintain in a cluster • Slower than packet filtering • Requires more RAM to maintain the state tables