Network Access Rules - SonicWALL TELE3 SP Administrator's Manual

7 Network Access Rules

Network Access Rules are management tools that allow you to define inbound and outbound
access policy, configure user authentication, and enable remote management of the
SonicWALL.
By default, the SonicWALL's stateful packet inspection allows all communication from the LAN
to the Internet, and blocks all traffic to the LAN from the Internet. This behavior is defined by
the "Default" stateful inspection packet rule enabled in the SonicWALL:
• Allow all sessions originating from the LAN to the WAN.
• Deny all sessions originating from the WAN to the LAN.
Additional Network Access Rules can be defined to extend or override the default rules. For
example, rules can be created that block certain types of traffic such as IRC from the LAN to
the WAN, or allow certain types of traffic, such as Lotus Notes database synchronization, from
specific hosts on the Internet to specific hosts on the LAN, or restrict use of certain protocols
such as Telnet to authorized users on the LAN.
The custom rules evaluate network traffic source IP address, destination IP address, IP protocol
type, and compare the information to rules created on the SonicWALL. Network Access Rules
take precedence, and can override the SonicWALL's stateful packet inspection. For example, a
rule that blocks IRC traffic takes precedence over the SonicWALL default setting of allowing this
type of traffic.
Note: The ability to define Network Access Rules is a very powerful tool. Using custom rules
can disable firewall protection or block all access to the Internet. Use caution when creating or
deleting Network Access Rules.
Viewing Network Access Rules
The Services window displays a table of defined Network Access Rules. Rules are sorted from
the most specific at the top, to less specific at the bottom of the table. At the bottom of the
table is the Default rule. The Default rule is all IP services except those listed in the Services
window. Rules can be created to override the behavior of the Default rule; for example, the
Default rule allows users on the LAN to access all Internet services, including NNTP News.
However, LAN access to NNTP can be unblocked by deselecting LAN Out corresponding to the
NNTP News service.
Network Access Rules Page 67