Summary

Having completed this module, students should be familiar with virtual firewalls, and how they allow the PIX Security Appliance to be separated into multiple independent firewalls called security contexts. Students should be able to discuss how security contexts can be managed and configured independently of one another.

Students should also be familiar with methods of PIX Security Appliance failover, why it is necessary, and how to configure it. Failover options and their configurations were discussed. Also discussed in this module was the transfer of state information between failover peers. hardware-based and stateful failover were discussed, and precautions about the type of interconnection between the peers were introduced.

This module also discussed the configuration of a PIX Security Appliance as a layer 2, or transparent, firewall. The student should be able to discuss the configuration and available features of a PIX Security Appliance that is in this mode.

Remote access techniques for maintenance of PIX Security Appliances were introduced. This included the use of SSH and Telnet as access methods. The command authorization system was discussed, along with how to assign users to levels and levels to commands words.