Firewalls and Configuration Management

Many people are uncertain of the meaning of the term Configuration Management. This paper will clarify the term configuration as applied to computer used in support of core business and answer the question of how it can but used along with a firewall to provide total system security. The proliferation of new computer-based products with attractive marketing makes the choice of business-support hardware and software difficult. Attempts to integrate packages without due regard to the existing system can lead to difficulties.

There is a widespread recognition of the need for effective management of any computer system that supports a business function, but even amongst the technocrats of the computer world there is uncertainty and suspicion about the term configuration management (CM). The term configuration is used to refer to all parts of a computer system: hardware, software, application packages, bespoke software, operating system(s) software, in-house developed and maintained software, on-screen help files and documentation manuals, working practices, communication interfaces, LANs, WANs, and all peripherals. Many computer systems supporting a commercial concern will be undergoing

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If that port usage includes the ports typical to RealAudio, then NFS may accidentally be shared with the Internet and attackers might be able to attack all files that are shared over the corporate network. The key to the secured total system is proper training of employees on security features, a proper filtration system on the firewall, and efficient configuration control. To do this, they must make judgments about what is the acceptable risk, and implement a default policy that denies everything, unless it is explicitly permitted. This once was typical because of common security issues of all UDP-based protocols. They may or may not provide a more secure remote access mechanism, but they definitely block attempts from outside to telnet to inside computers. On the other hand, a properly used firewall is a good tradeoff. The point behind configuration control of the TCB is that all changes to the TCB is approved, monitored, and evaluated to provide assurance that the TCB functions properly and that all security policies are maintained.

By combining an elaborate firewall that blocks traffic from the outside to the inside and permits users on the inside to communicate freely with the outside with a well-constructed configuration management system, a corporation can provide total security. Configuration management provides assurance that additions, deletions, or changes made to the TCB do not compromise the trust of the originally evaluated system. With a simple firewall rule against telnet, it becomes much less critical to ensure that telnet is disabled everywhere. Therefore, it may be acceptable to allow UDP packets, for example, on the port used by RealAudio. However, some UDP-based protocols are permitted, especially ones with relatively well-defined (or tunable) port usage. Among the network !

services is, of course, NFS.

Common topics in this essay:
LANs WANs, Internet Corporations, Configuration Management, RealAudio NFS, Management Firewalls, configuration management, term configuration, port usage, term configuration management, configuration control, udp-based protocols, changes tcb, hardware software, operating systems, computer system, total system,

Approximate Word count = 919
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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