Compatible Systems manual Introduction, About the MicroRouter 2270R, A Note About Firewalls

Chapter 1 - Introduction 1

Chapter 1 - Introduction

About the MicroRouter 2270R

Congratulations on your purchase of the MicroRouter 2270R multiport wide area router with integrated Fractional/Full T1 CSU/DSU. The MicroRouter 2270R supports the IP, IPX, AppleTalk, and DECnet network protocols, with leased-line and/or dial-on-demand operation using the PPP, Frame Relay and/or SMDS wide area protocols.

A Note About Firewalls

The MicroRouter 2270R can be configured to be a very effective packet screening firewall. However, you must carefully set up your network and add packet filters in order for it to be effective in this role.

THE SHIPPING CONFIGURATION IN YOUR MICROROUTER 2270R DOES NOT PROVIDE AUTOMATIC FIREWALL PROTEC- TION. YOU MUST FIRST PROGRAM YOUR ROUTER TO WORK IN THIS ROLE ON YOUR NETWORK.

Note: Due to the nature of the IP protocol, IP packet filtering can vbe quite complicated. If you are attempting to design and implement a comprehensive set of filters, or an Internet Firewall, there are a number of references you should consult. Two good starting points are:

Building Internet Firewalls, by Brent Chapman, O’Reilly and Associates, 1995, and Firewalls and Internet Security: Repelling the Wily Hacker, by William R. Cheswick and Steven M. Bellovin, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1994.

A Note About On-Demand Internetworking

The MicroRouter 2270R can be configured to provide cost effective on-demand connections over a wide area communications link (typi- cally a voice phone line, a switched 56 line, or an ISDN line). Your network traffic and the configuration you place in the router will deter- mine how often and for how long such a link is connected.

THE SHIPPING CONFIGURATION IN YOUR MICROROUTER 2270R DOES NOT PROVIDE AUTOMATIC ON-DEMAND INTER- NETWORKING. YOU MUST FIRST PROGRAM YOUR ROUTER TO WORK IN THIS ROLE ON YOUR NETWORK.