Shorewall QuickStart Guides (HOWTOs)

Tom Eastep

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover, and with no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled GNU Free Documentation License.

2023/02/18


Table of Contents

Before You Start
The Guides
If you want the firewall system to handle a single public IP address
If you want the firewall system to handle more than one public IP address

Caution

Do not attempt to install Shorewall on a remote system. You are virtually assured to lock yourself out of that system.

With thanks to Richard who reminded me once again that we must all first walk before we can run.

The French Translations of the single-IP guides are courtesy of Patrice Vetsel. Updated for Shorewall 2.0 by Fabien Demassieux and for 3.0 by Guy Marcenac.

The Russian Translations are courtesy of Alex at tut.by.

Before You Start

Please read the short article Introduction to Shorewall to familiarize yourself with basic Shorewall concepts.

The Guides

These guides provide step-by-step instructions for configuring Shorewall in common firewall setups.

If you want the firewall system to handle a single public IP address

These guides are designed to get your first firewall up and running quickly in the three most common Shorewall configurations. If you want to learn more about Shorewall than is explained in these simple guides then the Shorewall Setup Guide is for you.

  • Standalone Linux System

  • Two-interface Linux System acting as a firewall/router for a small local network

  • Three-interface Linux System acting as a firewall/router for a small local network and a DMZ

If you want the firewall system to handle more than one public IP address

The Shorewall Setup Guide outlines the steps necessary to set up a firewall where there are multiple public IP addresses involved or if you want to learn more about Shorewall than is explained in the single-address guides above.