# Setting up a dedicated firewall machine on a switch



## cosmic_cow (Jan 28, 2012)

I recently got a networking position, and I'm a bit of a noob. I was given a "do it at home" project to help me get familiar with network setups and protocols; this company uses Vyatta firewalls, which are dedicated boxes. So I was sent home with a Dell PowerConnect 5448 (a 48 port switch) with the project of getting a similar setup going with the computers i have at home. 
So I have the switch set up, everything's on VLAN1, management IP is 192.168.2. 255.255.255.0, Default Gateway is 192.18.2.254, and the switch is properly sharing the my internet connection between three computers. That part was easy. So now, one of them is going to be either reformatted and set up with Vyatta, or I'm going to virtualize it. Either way, I need to route all the traffic through that firewall box before it goes to anything else on the switch so I can have a functional firewall. How do I go about doing that?
Also, the end goal is to set up a VPN connection that I (or the guy teaching me) can access remotely, so if there are any considerations that need to be taken to that end, that would be helpful, too, but at the moment my primary concern is the firewall.
Thanks,
Colin


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## cosmic_cow (Jan 28, 2012)

In case the first message was unclear, I just need to know how to put a physical firewall in one of the ports on the switch and have all the traffic go through it (so that it can filter traffic like a good little firewall).


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## cosmic_cow (Jan 28, 2012)

For more clarity, here's the setup in Visio form:


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## hoyin007 (Dec 7, 2011)

How does your internet connected? I never see a firewall with only 1 network connection, it usually sit between Lan/Wan to filter traffic.


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

cosmic cow your diagram is incorrect for a firewall.
proper config is
router<>firewall<>switch<>pcs

if software firewall you would have two nics in the host with one going to the internet and one going to the switch.

ask yourself this question: if you want to filter internet traffic, just like you would filter coffee with a coffee filter, how are you going to filter when the traffic isn't going THRU the firewall?


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## cosmic_cow (Jan 28, 2012)

I understand that, but this is the way I was asked to set it up in order to learn some networking techniques.
What I'm doing is setting up two VLANs on the switch and routing traffic accordingly. It's working fine.
Colin


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## cosmic_cow (Jan 28, 2012)

hoyin007 said:


> How does your internet connected? I never see a firewall with only 1 network connection, it usually sit between Lan/Wan to filter traffic.


I'm virtualizing a second interface on the Vyatta box.


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