Re: Application Firewall

["ॐ aditya mukadam ॐ" <aditya.mukadam () gmail com>]

Definition of firewall would change depending on the which Layer of
TCP/IP you are at . I agree BlueCoat is an application proxy as its
name suggests 'BlueCoat Proxy ! You can do quite lot of things with it
and also configure rules based on the source IPs,Destination IPs,
Services etc. You can even integrate this with Websense. It is quite a
powerful device.( Disclaimer: These are my personal views based on my
experience and I donot intend to market this product through this
mailing-list :-) )

Thanks,
Aditya Govind Mukadam



On Fri, Jul 18, 2008 at 8:50 PM, Bryan S. Sampsel
<bsampsel () libertyactivist org> wrote:
> Actually, that's not quite true.  The BlueCoat is a specialized device
> that protects one thing.  However, I would not deploy it in the open on
> its own, as I would a Borderware or Sidewinder firewall.
>
> It's an application proxy, but it is not a full firewall in and of itself.
>
> A Sidewinder, even before they added packet filter capabilities, does
> qualify as a firewall.  As did the old Raptor and Gauntlet firewalls.
>
> The Cisco ASA is a stateful packet inspection firewall, but does not
> protect the upper areas of the OSI model.  Nor does it present a hardened
> IP stack between two ends of a protected connection.  It  filters the
> connection, but when a connection is allowed, it is directly connected to
> the end point.
>
> Whereas, with the Sidewinder Firewall, if an FTP proxy is sitting between
> the client and server, the client connects to the proxy and hardened IP
> stack of the Sidewinder.  The Sidewinder's proxy, which does have some
> additional protections/limitations that can be configured, then initiates
> the connection to the server on behalf of the client.  Even when using a
> "generic" proxy, at the very minimum, the client is protected by the
> hardened IP stack of the Sidewinder.
>
> While a straight packet filter firewall has its place, it does not protect
> to the same extent.
>
>
> ? aditya mukadam ? wrote:
> > Application level firewalls are actually not firewalls but can be
> > called as intelligent proxies. Cisco ASA is a stateful firewall.
> >
> > I know BlueCoat proxy which would categorize as application level
> > firewall.