Re: High Speed Firewalls

["Carric Dooley" <carric () com2usa com>]

I have seen specs stating 160Mb throughput for a Nokia IP650... that would just barely cover an OC3.  This number may 
be inflated however.. we have Smartbit cards here but only for layer 2 testing (damn,damn!!).  Anyone done any 
independent testing?


Carric Dooley
Network Security Consultant

"A little inaccuracy sometimes saves a ton of explanation. " 
- H. H. Munro (Saki) (1870-1916) 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: ddhumphr <david () bbn com>
To: <firewall-wizards () nfr net>
Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2000 8:28 AM
Subject: Re: High Speed Firewalls


> Hmmm.  Aside from the I/F nomenclature misunderstanding, I'd suggest you talk to a
> Netscreen rep..  Their ASIC design looks interesting, their rules are very
> reasonable, their admin. interface is very usable, and their large server is heavy
> throughput.  And no, there is no reason that most people would think to use such a
> high speed device.
>
> ...but then most people don't work at ISP's.  Nor do they operate part of the
> national backbone.  So most people won't see the need for one of these.  That does
> not, however mean it does not exist, believe me.
>
>
> Ace
>
>
> Robert Graham wrote:
>
> > I think their may be some confusion between "gigabit" and "gigabyte".
> >
> > Also, from your description, it sounds like you don't need a "firewall" but
> > basic packet filtering. A Cisco router can handle gigabits/second and can carry
> > out this basic level of filtering.
> >
> > A high-end commercial firewall is good when you have a huge series of security
> > needs that you want centralized: dynamic filters, VPN, NAT, proxy, etc. It is
> > an extremely poor solution if you need high-speed, basic static packet filters.
> > Any commercial firewall is overkill for such simple needs; you'll like find
> > what you need in a packet-filtering router.
>
> --
> David Humphrey
> Network Consultant
> Professional Services
>
> GTE Technology Organization
> 10 Fawcett St.
> Cambridge, MA 02138
> e-mail: david () bbn com
> tel: 617 873 7548
> Pager:  888 548 5834 (5485834 () skytel com)