Next Generation Firewall or NGFW is an integrated network platform that combines a traditional firewall with other security system functionalities like an application firewall, Intrusion Prevention System or IPS, SSL/SSH interception, QoS/bandwidth management, malware inspection, etc. An NGFW includes the typical functionalities of a traditional firewall, yet it is much more powerful than a traditional firewall in detecting and preventing attacks and enforcing security.

How do traditional firewalls work?

A traditional firewall monitors incoming and outgoing network packets of a system and prevents unauthorized access depending on some pre-configured rules.

A traditional firewall filters traffic based on mainly the following parameters :

  • Source IP address and destination IP address of the network packets.
  • Source port and destination port of the inbound and outbound traffic.
  • The current stage of connection.
  • Filtering rules based on a per-process basis.
  • Protocols used.
  • Routing features.

So, though a traditional firewall is good in ensuring security, it is not sufficient. One has to rely on other security solutions like IPS, anti-malware products, content filtering packages, etc to ensure proper security.

The disadvantage of using different network security technologies separately is it increases administrative cost and degrades network performance. An NGFW combines multiple network security technologies to provide better security mechanisms while taking care of most of the disadvantages of using separate security solutions at a time.

What is the NGFW or Next Generation Firewall?

An NGFW typically includes :

  • Intrusion Prevention System
  • Malware protection
  • Filtering traffic per-application basis.
  • QoS or Quality of Service to guarantee network throughput
  • VPN
  • SSL/SSH interception

NGFW uses Deep Packet Inspection or DPI using which it can examine the data part of the network packets and search for protocol non-compliance, virus, spam, intrusions and other statistical …

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Amrita Mitra

Author

Ms. Amrita Mitra is an author, who has authored the books “Cryptography And Public Key Infrastructure“, “Web Application Vulnerabilities And Prevention“, “A Guide To Cyber Security” and “Phishing: Detection, Analysis And Prevention“. She is also the founder of Asigosec Technologies, the company that owns The Security Buddy.

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