A hardware firewall is a relatively simple piece of hardware, they are placed between the out side world (Usually the internet) and the section of the network you are needing to protect. They are specially built to block unwanted protocols and network activity from entering and/or leaving the protected network segment behind the firewall.

Firewalls use a configuration file that contains a set of rules, better known as an ACL (Access List). The ACL is much like any configuration file in the sense it contains all the information needed in order for your firewall to know what information to block and which to forward on to your back-end secure network.

One of the most important things to remember when you begin working with your first firewall is: ACL’s are read from the top down, so when you are configuring your firewall, always remember that a rule farther down in the list will NOT override an above rule. So if you block all access in line #1 and then allow access in line #2, line #2 will not allow access as in line #1 you already blocked it.

In many cases you will setup the firewall to block all incoming requests from the outside world beyond those you may want to have access. For instance, if you are running a web server you may want to block all access to the server (SSH especially) except for port 80 (http) and 443 (SSL). This way anyone trying to “hack” into your web server will have extremely little access to work with in order to breach your web server.

Now you may be wondering, “If I block all other ports, how am I going to access my server and/or network behind the firewall?” – This something that can be accomplished in a few different ways:

1) VPN – Virtual Private Network allows you to connect to your firewall via a special piece of software that adds your workstation to the network behind the firewall. You do not need to be on the actual network for this to work, only access to your firewall via the internet. So you can VPN in from your home PC over your internet connection.

Once you are logged into the VPN, your workstation or home PC will be virtually connected to your private network behind your firewall, therefore you will not have any ports or data being blocked or otherwise filtered by your hardware firewall.

2) Access List – Using the brief explanation above on what an ACL is, you may have already determined what you may need to do, however for those who may still be scratching your head, we will give some more details. So an ACL is a list of rules that firewall uses as its configuration file so it knows what to block and what not to. With that concept, you are able to configure your firewall to not block your connection to the network. So you can still block everything else from the outside world, while preserving your own access.

Now that we have a basic idea of what a hardware firewall is and what it does, we are going to take a look at who needs them and what additional security they provide over a software firewall.

Is a hardware firewall for me, in short everyone should have one, however they are not exactly a cheap thing to purchase. A good hardware firewall can range from a few hundred dollars to 10 of thousands, depending on how much throughput you will need to filter and the amount of connections you will need.

That in itself unfortunately filters out many of us, as the data we may need to protect just does not warrant the cost of the purchase. If you find yourself not able afford one, do yourself a favor and at the very least be running a software firewall on your machines.

If you do decide a firewall is worth the premium, you will have many new advantages open to you:

1) You will not be running a network appliance specifically built to protect your network from unwanted access.
2) You will now be able to access your back-end network via a VPN, allowing your to securely pass data back and forth between the network and your remote locations.
3) Access will now be filtered based on the rules you define, if you don’t want someone or something to have access, you can block it.
4) This point is one of the most advantages, you can have many many machines behind one physical firewall, so you can control how each machine communicates to the outside world.
5) Single point to control access.

While hardware firewalls are not the end all solution to network security, when used properly they the first major milestone in building up your network security and being able to rest easier at night.

If you are choosing to run a firewall for your network, you will first want to sit down with your hosting provider and go over your needs. As you will want to be sure you are getting a firewall that can meet your needs and have a skilled network team to set it up for you, as setting up a firewall is not the easiest thing.

Until next time, post your comments and ask question in our forums and we will be here to answer them.

Looking at these terms it is pretty easily to draw a conclusion as to what they are, but for those who would like a little more information on what each is, please see below:

Managed:

A managed solution in short is a service in which the host takes care of and maintains the server for you, therefore allowing professionals to take care of the dirty work and keep your time free to keep working on your web site. A managed server is usually the best place to start for anyone new to a server side of things, however there are some downsides:

1. Managed servers are usually much more expensive than a normal server (You are paying for the techs time).
2. You may not have access to the root of the server and therefore you will have to rely solely on the host for everything beyond the basics of managing your web site.
3. You have to rely on your host for just about everything, beyond the basics.
4. You may be limited to what all you can do with your server, you may nto have full control.

With the above brief of downsides you can see if any of them worry you, but don’t get discouraged, there are upsides!

1. You don’t have to worry about knowing how to manage everything on the server, thats what you pay your host for.
2. If you run into issues, you can just lodge a complaint with your host and it is up to them to devise a solution.
3. You don’t have to get your hands dirty and waste time doing updates, installing additional software modules etc.
4. You can sleep at night! - This may sound weird, but when you run into your first major issue, it all makes sense.
5. The host takes care of the security of the server.
6. Many hosts include back up solutions are part of their managed services.

The above are just the basic outlines of a managed service, you will ALWAYS need to check with the host you plan to use to see what all they are responsible for managing, some do allot more than others!

Now onto the Unmanaged!

Unmanaged:

In short, unmanaged sounds very much like it is, the exact opposite of managed.

With an unmanaged servers you are on your own, sent a drift in the wild ocean with only a small life rope to tie you back to shore. You will be responsible for everything from the Operating System up. In the case of a unmanaged solution the host is only responsible for the server hardware and network, so they are there to fix the hardware if it breaks, do Operating System reloads, keep the network up and running, and some basic troubleshooting.

As long as you have access to the machine, it is all in your hands. This is the way most people tend to go with as it gives you the most versitility and allows you to learn and test allot on the server machine that you otherwise would most likely not be able to do on a managed server.

The ups and downs:

Ups:

1. The server is all yours, you install and control everything on it.
2. Extremely versitile, you can install what you want and when you want, no need to wait on anyone.
3. Cheaper! You don’t have to pay extra for the company to manage the server.

Downs:

1. If you get stuck or break some software on the server, it will be up to fix it.
2. You are responsible for everything from the Operating System up.
3. You have to run the updates, keep the server secure.
4. You will need to learn how to operate and control the server.

Don’t let the downsides scare you, a unmanaged server is a awesome place to begin as you will be able to work and learn without having to worry about limitations. If you are worried about the uptime of your web site over you learning, it is best to stay with a managed solution where uptime is the goal and learning takes the back seat.

The discriptions above are showing the extremes of each end of the environments, it will depend on each host as far as what all they will or won’t manage. Many hosts often go far beyond what the norm, but you will need to speak with each one to find what all they are responsible for and how far out of their way they will go to keep you running strong.

The biggest thing thing to understand from these descritptions is:

Every host is different! No two host will offer the same thing in their managed and unmanaged packages. You NEED to check with the host you are considering using to see what all they are responsible for. The above are just the basic outline of each and by no means what every host offers!

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A dedicated is a excellent next step, but does come at a much higher cost than your standard shared web hosting package and in many cases is not a feasible upgrade due to just the cost of the server itself.

With that comes Virtual Dedicated Servers (VDS) or Virtual Private Servers (VPS) which are usually much more affordable for many users, starting at around $20/Month. So now you have found your upgrade path, but what is a VPS/VDS?

Virtual Private Server (VPS) and Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS) are much the same thing, just a different name for the same end result. They are a virtual server that is housed on a larger dedicated server box. You will have your own operating system and runs much like a normal dedicated server, however with just less power.

You do not share your operating system with anyone else, but you do share the dedicated server box on which your VPS/VDS is housed with other clients who are also renting their own VPS/DVS servers.

A VPS/VDS will normally give you more resources than a standard web hosting package and should meet your needs for you growing web site, atleast till you can afford your own dedicated server, but there is a downside!

The downside to having your own VPS/VDS is that you will now need to learn how to setup and manage your own web server, which for most people is a challenge to say the least. There is allot to understand and learn when trying to figure out how to setup your VPS/VDS to host your web site.

You may need to install MYSQL, Apache, Python or one of many different pieces of software that are required to host your web site.

Do not worry! There are many VPS/VDS hosts that offer a fully “managed” virtual server, where they will worry about maintaning your virtual server for you and all you will need to worry about is keeping your web site running the way you want it!

There are many VPS/VDS hosts around the world and in many cases the shared web hosting you are already with offer VPS/VDS servers and can easily migrate you to one without too much work or hiccups on your web site. If you are happy with your current web host, than it is probably a good idea to stick with them for your VPS/VDS.

If they do not offer them, you may want to look at the below hosts:

• FDCServers – www.FDCServers.net
• Surf Speedy – www.SurfSpeedy.com

There is allot more questions you will most likely have, so shoot a post up in our forums and we will get you all setup!

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