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Firewalls protect networks by monitoring, filtering and controlling incoming and outgoing data based on predetermined security rules. They are strategically positioned at the network edge or in a data center to closely monitor anything that attempts to enter or leave your organization. Firewalls can be either hardware- or software-based, and they help you protect your network from common threats by establishing a boundary between trusted internal networks and untrusted external ones.

Firewall technology has evolved through different generations, and each new type of firewall features more advanced capabilities. These capabilities include rich macro- and micro-segmentation, unified policies for multiple threat types, and powerful automation.

A basic firewall inspects traffic at a lower level than other devices, and allows or blocks packets based on criteria like source and destination IP addresses, port numbers, and protocol types. They are inexpensive, easy to deploy, and effective against the majority of simple attacks.

Stateful inspection elevates firewall security by analyzing traffic on a packet-by-packet basis and evaluating them in context. This allows them to detect and prevent more sophisticated types of attacks, such as IP spoofing.

Application layer firewalls (WAFs) analyze HTTP traffic to and from Web applications to identify malicious activity and potential vulnerabilities, such as SQL injection. They also provide performance advantages by avoiding the extra overhead of proxy servers and allowing direct connections to internal web apps.