March 26, 2001, 11:13 AM —
Security has always been a critical issue for computer networking, and firewalls are an essential ingredient for network security. In this series, I will show you how Linux offers you freedom of choice in this area. There are many firewall solutions for Linux. Most are open source applications, but some excellent commercial products have been ported to Linux. I'll also show you how the Linux kernel can be used to build a highly integrated hardware firewall. (Click here to find out more about the system we used for the tests in this article.)
Setting up a firewall on Linux
Many companies and ISPs use Linux machines as an Internet gateways. These machines often serve as mail, Web, news, or dialup servers. In addition, they also often work as network firewalls, enforcing access control policies between the Internet and corporate networks. That functional flexibility makes Linux an attractive alternative to commercial, proprietary network operating systems.
