Graphical tools for firewall configuration

Conclusions

The firewall GUIs discussed here are all suitable for securing IT infrastructures. However, the individual tools focus on different user groups and scenarios: Gufw is somewhat out of the ordinary, because it primarily targets desktop systems. PeerGuardian is not a classic firewall interface but is limited to working with blocklists. The software does not let you implement complex rule constructs, but it is useful as a firewall extension.

Fwbuilder, firewalld, and Shorewall primarily target server systems and therefore have far more features. Fwbuilder is also suitable for use in heterogeneous environments with various server operating systems and even with some manufacturers' appliances. The software can compile appropriate configuration files depending on a firewall's syntax. On the other hand, Shorewall can be configured with Webmin and thus managed from remote computers.

Thus, you are spoiled for choice (for an overview of features, see Table 1). In the end, your choice depends on your distribution and network security requirements.

Table 1

An Overview of Firewall GUIs

Feature

firewalld

fwbuilder

Gufw

Shorewall

Requirements

Netfilter

Netfilter and iptables

Netfilter and iptables

Netfilter and iptables

Cross-Platform

No

Yes

No

No

Remote Host

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

IPv4/IPv6

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Yes/Yes

Zone Model

Yes

No

Yes (profile)

Yes

Chain and Control Model

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Dynamic

Yes

No

No

No

Application Integration

No

No

Yes

Limited

Logging

Limited

No

Yes

Yes

Wizard

No

Yes

Limited

No

Primary Application

Server

Server, desktop, cluster, appliance

Desktop

Server, desktop, appliance

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