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ipMonitor 6.1 Firewalls & Proxy Servers | ||||||||||
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 Many organizations use Firewalls to protect part or all of their network from outsiders. This is particularly important on TCP/IP enabled networks where people and computers inside the organization have access to the Internet. Firewalls prevent direct communication between computers within the organization's network and computers outside the network (and vice versa). To maintain security, organizations route network conversations through Proxy Servers which decide whether data can be forwarded both to and from the organization's network. Proxy servers often provide such features as document caching and access control. Depending on your network, you may have to modify your network configuration in order to monitor and report the status of some or all network computers, services, resources and devices. In most cases network configurations fall into the following metaphor: Safe zone and Militarized zone. A Safe zone is an area considered to be protected against probing and attacks. All devices in the Safe zone are trusted, and do not directly communicate outside the safe zone, in fact they are put behind a barrier. The Militarized zone is an area of network that is vulnerable to possible probing and attack. The devices that are on this part of the network are designed to withstand any such possibility since these are considered to be environmental factors. In most cases any such machines must be available "directly" for the purpose of their application. Network traffic that must somehow bypass the Safe zone barrier is handled by a trusted device (two examples are a Bridge and a Proxy Server). Bridges and Proxy Servers are usually members of the both the safe and the militarized zone (both networks). For each network to which they belong, a unique network address exists. Bridges route, or allow network traffic through zones, without modification. Proxy Servers adjust network traffic to appear as if it originated from the same zone (or network). Devices in the Militarized zone are usually production machines that must always run, subsequently the must be closely monitored. Three ways to setup ipMonitor so that both the safe and militarized zones are monitored:
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