Network Firewalls

Network firewalls protect an entire network by guarding the perimeter of that network. Network firewalls forward traffic to and from computers on an internal network, and filter that traffic based on the criteria the administrator has set. Network firewalls come in two flavors: hardware firewalls and software firewalls. Hardware-based network firewalls are generally cheaper than software-based network firewalls, and are the right choice for home users and many small businesses. Software-based network firewalls often have a larger feature set than hardware-based firewalls, and might fit the needs of larger organizations. Software-based firewalls can also run on the same server as other services, such as email and file sharing, allowing small organizations to make better use of existing servers. Network firewalls often include additional features that aren’t necessary for host-based firewalls, as described in the following sections.