The concept of the firewall is often linked to the notion of routing, i.e. the transiting of network flows between different machines.
As a result, firewalls are usually installed on routing equipment, of which they are an integral part. This means that routing can be modified by a firewall decision, and that the firewall will apply different filtering rules depending on the origin and destination of the traffic. This is the firewall’s main function.
Firewalls can also be used in a more qualitative, more refined role, such as determining the bandwidth authorised for a particular application in a particular context.
The open source firewall market is very complete, with products like Packet Filter, netfilter and pfSense.
| Solution | Views | Global Rating |
|---|---|---|
| pf (Packet Filter) | 3.5 5 | |
|
4.5 5 | |
|
3.6 5 | |
| NuFW | No rating | |
| Uncomplicated Firewall | No rating | |
| Firewall Builder | 2.2 5 | |
| Ferm | No rating | |
| ShoreWall | 3.5 5 | |
|
3.6 5 |