The Basics Of Network Perimeter Security

A network administrator's goal of network perimeter security is to protect any of the computers allowed on the network. It's that simple, in concept at least.

At one point in time, network perimeter security was fairly cut and dry. Firewalls and VPNs were the major components in network perimeter security. There weren't really any ways for information to leave your computer network, unless it went through the perimeter. You were in charge of whatever went in and out of the network. And, network perimeter security was an easy matter to tackle.

However, along came the age of technical devices. With all the current technology, information just tends to go around the network perimeter. Items like flash drives, laptops, iPods and smart phones allow information to avoid any perimeters. This is when administrators needed to find additional solutions to network perimeter security issues.

Firewalls have always been ideal solutions and the first point of defense for the computer network. The firewall is a "gatekeeper." It keeps intruders out and keeps them from browsing your network.

One thing that administrators need to give thought to is how to select the firewall software that will protect the network perimeter security. There are a number of firewall solutions for Windows machines, and it takes some time to compare and contrast the programs.

Firewalls let you set any rules for deciding the traffic that will be getting in and out of the network. Administrators can set it up to restrict web traffic based on certain criteria. They can use anything from domains to IP addresses to the types of ports used.

There are also several basic mechanisms used by firewalls in the network perimeter security system to restrict traffic.

Four Mechanisms to Protect and Restrict Traffic on the Web 1. Circuit-level gateway. This blocks any traffic that's coming in to the network. 2. Proxy server. Even though this exists to help a network's performance, it can also work like a firewall. 3. Packet filter. This grabs any information going in and out of the network system. It lets you disallow or allow traffic from IP addresses that you decide. 4. Application gateway. This is actually another type of proxy server.

As with anything, there are disadvantages as well as advantages to each of these mechanisms for network perimeter security. The application gateway is more secure, however, it is also usually slower because it takes up more memory and uses additional power from the processor. The packet filter mechanism for network perimeter security is more vulnerable to attacks but is faster than the other options.

While there can be multiple solutions to any problem with network perimeter security, it does take time to properly configure the programs and work out all the bugs. Network perimeter security is an important matter and should be taken seriously no matter what the business.

Network Security Checklist