Security Features; Autosensing Ethernet Connections With Auto Uplink; Extensive Protocol Support - NETGEAR ProSAFE SRX5308 Reference Manual

ProSAFE Gigabit Quad WAN SSL VPN Firewall SRX5308

Security Features

The VPN firewall is equipped with several features designed to maintain security:
• Computers hidden by NAT. NAT opens a temporary path to the Internet for requests
originating from the local network. Requests originating from outside the LAN are
discarded, preventing users outside the LAN from finding and directly accessing the
computers on the LAN.
• Port forwarding with NAT. Although NAT prevents Internet locations from directly
accessing the computers on the LAN, the VPN firewall allows you to direct incoming
traffic to specific computers based on the service port number of the incoming request.
• DMZ port. Incoming traffic from the Internet is usually discarded by the VPN firewall
unless the traffic is a response to one of your local computers or a service for which you
have configured an inbound rule. Instead of discarding this traffic, you can use the
dedicated demilitarized zone (DMZ) port to forward the traffic to one computer on your
network.

Autosensing Ethernet Connections with Auto Uplink

With its internal four-port 10/100/1000 Mbps switch and four 10/100/1000 WAN ports, the
VPN firewall can connect to a 10-Mbps standard Ethernet network, a 100-Mbps Fast
Ethernet network, a 1000-Mbps Gigabit Ethernet network, or a combination of these
networks. All LAN and WAN interfaces are autosensing and capable of full-duplex or
half-duplex operation.
The VPN firewall incorporates Auto Uplink
senses whether the Ethernet cable plugged into the port should have a normal connection
such as to a computer or an uplink connection such as to a switch or hub. That port then
configures itself correctly. This feature eliminates the need for you to think about crossover
cables, as Auto Uplink accommodates either type of cable to make the right connection.

Extensive Protocol Support

The VPN firewall supports the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and
Routing Information Protocol (RIP). The VPN firewall provides the following protocol support:
• IP address sharing by NAT. The VPN firewall allows many networked computers to
share an Internet account using only a single IP address, which might be statically or
dynamically assigned by your Internet service provider (ISP). This technique, known as
Network Address Translation (NAT), allows the use of an inexpensive single-user ISP
account.
• Automatic configuration of attached computers by DHCP. The VPN firewall
dynamically assigns network configuration information, including IP, gateway, and
Domain Name Server (DNS) addresses, to attached computers on the LAN using the
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). This feature greatly simplifies
configuration of computers on your local network.
technology. Each Ethernet port automatically
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Introduction
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