Troubleshooting Linux(R) Firewalls

Rating:
Summary: firewalls are not trivial to run
Review: Linux firewalls are attractive to many companies because of their free nature. But free does not mean easy to understand or use. It is this need to which the book is addressed.

The authors show that linux comes with powerful, versatile firewall and intrusion detection utilities. But if you need a firewall, chances are you want it to work as best as possible in defending your subnet. So details of optimum usage matter. Starting from the top down, with an analysis of how to devise a network security plan, to implementing it in a secure firewall.

The book talks about how to best use various tools like nmap and iptables. Your linux toolbox is your arsenal. The problem is that some tools are not the easiest to use. Not helped by the fact that most are run at the command line. The latter is desirable for maximum flexibility, especially in writing scripts that use them. The book has guidelines for best practices.

The chapter on VPN is concise and accurate. But this topic is important enough in its own right that if you plan on setting one up, seriously consider getting a book devoted to it.