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This solution note describes the Agilent N4180A NetworkTester
as a test and measurement solution to
determine the functional performance of network-based
or host-based firewalls. By functional performance,
we mean the firewall's ability to enforce an access
control policy under realistic load and overload traffic
conditions. Following accepts are covered in detail
in this solution note:
- Why firewall performance is important
- How security and performance are interrelated
- The dimensions of firewall performance
- NetworkTester as a firewall performance test solution
Various classes of firewall technology exist ranging
from simple static packet filtering to sophisticated
proxy-based implementations. This solution note assumes
that the reader is already familiar with these technologies
and concentrates on describing how to use the NetworkTester
to performance test the
firewall function.
In this solution note, we focus on performance testing
the firewall function on networking devices. That is,
we do not include the performance test of other security
functions often included with firewall functionality
on networking equipment such as Network Address Translation
(NAT), Port Address Translation (PAT), Secure Virtual
Private Network (VPN), Content, Mail and Virus Filtering,
or
Intrusion Detection.
This is done for textual simplicity: once the performance
of the firewall function is benchmarked, then performance
tests of the firewall function in combination with the
other security functions listed above can be conducted
using the NetworkTester.
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