Departmental Firewalls Workgroup Submits Report

A campuswide departmental firewalls workgroup has prepared draft guidelines for campus units that are considering the use of network firewalls. The guidelines outline the benefits and disadvantages of network firewalls, architectural alternatives, procedures for coordinating the implementation of a network firewall, and a memorandum of understanding between the campus unit and IET that defines service parameters. The workgroup report will also include a set of basic firewall rules for departmental implementation. (See also the Department Firewalls Workgroup report). In addition to developing the guidelines, members of the workgroup participated in discussions with IET to examine the feasibility of a central network firewall that could support campus unit requirements. These discussions focused on the performance, support, scalability and cost considerations of several design alternatives. It was concluded that the firewall solution for the campus will require both central support of network firewalls in selected network locations and the continued use of department-administered firewalls. The campus will also be examining possible standardization of the platform of department network firewalls. Standardization would promote broader support and recoverability of department network firewalls.