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 based on 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 at ensuring security, it is not sufficient. One has to rely on other security solutions, such as 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 costs 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, to examine the data part of network packets and search for protocol non-compliance, viruses, spam, intrusions, and other statistical indicators …