Introduction to Traditional & Next Gen Firewalls
With advancement in technology and new threats being introduced in the ever dynamic IT world, security has become quite essential. And so has the need for more advanced and smarter products. One such case is that of NGFW (Next Gen Firewall).
Traditional firewalls have been there for quite long and offered protection to customer network based on controlling protocols and ports and restricting traffic to and from specific IP addresses. However, these days attacks have become more innovative and have started targeting applications and services instead of ports like 80 and 443 etc. (http and https)
- While Standard firewall had features like packet filtering, network address translation and VPN, NGFW has been made “Application Aware” i.e. capable of identifying applications and applying controls at the application layer.
- NGFW has also gone step ahead by improved decision making like using reputation services or identity services such as Active Directory.
- Another major driver for the adoption of NGFW is the benefit of reducing the complexity of managing disparate security products.
Comparison Table : Traditional Firewall vs Next Gen Firewall (NGFW)
Below table shares the difference between Traditional firewall and Next Gen firewall –
| PARAMETER | TRADITIONAL FIREWALL | NEXT GEN FIREWALL (NGFW) |
|---|---|---|
| Application Visibility and Application Control | Partial | Detailed |
| CAPEX and OPEX (considering all feature requirement) | Higher since separately need to buy and maintain | Considerable reduction since all services will be bundled into single box |
| IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) | Not Supported | Supported |
| NAT | Supported | Supported |
| Reputation and identity services | Not Supported | Supported |
| Traffic filtering (Port, IP Address and protocol based) | Supported | Supported |
| VPN | Supported | Supported |
| Application level awareness | Not Supported | Supported |
| Working Layer | Layer 2 to Layer 4 | Layer 2 upto Layer 7 |
| Throughput and performance | Lower than NGFW and drastically reduces when additional services introduced. | Much higher than traditional Firewall and doesn’t change much on introduction of additional services. |
| Reporting | Standard reports | Customized reporting upto user level giving near real time detail with plenty of additional reporting options like download format etc. |
Download the comparison table here.
Continue Reading:
Stateful vs Stateless Firewall
Web Application Firewall (WAF) vs Network Firewall
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I am here to share my knowledge and experience in the field of networking with the goal being – “The more you share, the more you learn.”
I am a biotechnologist by qualification and a Network Enthusiast by interest. I developed interest in networking being in the company of a passionate Network Professional, my husband.
I am a strong believer of the fact that “learning is a constant process of discovering yourself.”
– Rashmi Bhardwaj (Author/Editor)
