Do organizations need hardware firewalls when the network already has host-based software firewalls? Wouldn’t it add cost and complexity to networks? Wouldnt system protected by host-based software firewalls just as secure as having a hardware firewall if they are implemented appropriately?
“Firewalls actually come in two distinct flavors: software applications that run in the background and hardware devices that plug in between your modem and one or more PCs. Both types hide your PC’s presence from other systems, prevent unauthorized access from external sources, and keep tabs on network traffic across the firewall.” (Desmond, 2004)
The host-based software firewalls are good for the host; but not for the network that the host is connected to. A hardware-based firewall is required for:
- Network address translation (NAT) to prevent exposure of internal IP addresses,
- Port management to close unsolicited access to your host,
- Stateful packet inspection (SPI) to inspect for unsolicited incoming traffic,
- Virtual private network to support connection remote connection and the host,
- Activity logging and alerts
- Content and URL filtering
The hardware-based firewall is easy to implement and saves computing resources on the host. Malware on the host can bring down the firewall on the host, but not the hardware firewall.
While the hardware-based firewall can protect threats from outside the network, the software-based firewall helps to protect from attacks within the system. Software-based firewalls help to detect unauthorized outbound traffic from the host. A user can pick and choose which application can talk to peer hosts as well as external systems and may not be able to do this with hardware-based firewalls.
Reference:
Desmond, M. (2004, November 25). What You Should Know About Firewalls. Retrieved October 10, 2017, from PCWorld: http://www.pcworld.com/article/117557/article.html