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Firewalls: A Hammer in Search of a Nail
5/29/2008
So how do you run H.323 video? The H.323 protocol requires a number of UDP and TCP dynamic ports to complete a successful connection. While configuring a connection behind a firewall can be done with extensive configuration and testing in some cases, a simpler approach is to put the codec outside the firewall, sometimes called a DMZ (after "demilitarized zone"), and take some precautions such as turning off FTP, Telnet, Web, and SNMP. For more information, go to MOREnet's technical support Web site.
Grid Computing
Grid computing is another advanced application that frequently encounters difficulties when run between networks protected by firewalls. This is particularly true for for grid applications with huge bandwidth demands running over single data stream. A good description of the challenges of running grid applications in firewall-protected networks can be found in the 2006 Open Grid Forum document Firewalls Issues Overview. The article explains why grid-related systems often end up positioned outside an institutional firewall, in the "DMZ," or connected via a dedicated high-performance link.
Conclusions
Perhaps the time has come to reconsider our reliance on firewalls for network security and to consider the importance of network usability and the concept of the network as a big dumb pipe. A good place to start is to join the discussions on Salsa (Security At Line Speed) and NetGuru.
Doug Gale is president of Information Technology Associates, LLC (www.it associates.org) an IT consultancy specializing in higher education. He has more than 30 years of experience in higher education as a faculty member, CIO, and research administrator.
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