Re: are firewalls limited to only protecting ehternet connections?

[Darren Reed <darrenr () reed wattle id au>]

In some email I received from JSK, sie wrote:
> Wow...there's a new one for the list!  The closest thing I have heard of to
> those kinds of speeds (and no where near HIPPI) is ATM firewalls running at
> OC-3 with at least a promise of going to OC-12 'someday'.  You could check out
> Network Systems Group of StorageTek (ATLAS ATM Firewall) and then talk to them
> to see if they have that on the drawing board or not.  I'd be real curious to
> know the answer too if anyone cares to post on this issue.  Thanks,

FW-1 works with IP over ATM using LANE (at least to 155mbit).

But it is `limited' to IP filtering, none for ATM...

> R. DuFresne wrote:
>
> > Howdy folks,
> >
> > Here's the question and concern.  High bandwidth pipes, newer ones, we're
> > talking HIPPI pipes.  Are there any firewall implentations that can manage
> > such a connection?  Or is this too BIG a pipe and perhaps too new, and so
> > not available in existing implementations?

I think your limitations are going to be host based - what speed is your
backplane rated at or in the case of a firewall, what's your system bus
rated to, how fast can you move data around, including in and out of the
CPU ?  I can't see what would be so difficult aside from keeping up with
the speed.