1. Target audience and prerequisites

This guide is intended for use by system administrators and consultants responsible for network security and whose task is the configuration and maintenance of PNS firewalls. PNS gives them a powerful and versatile tool to create full control over their network traffic and enables them to protect their clients against Internet-delinquency.

This guide is also useful for IT decision makers evaluating different firewall products because apart from the practical side of everyday PNS administration, it introduces the philosophy behind PNS without the marketing side of the issue.

The following skills and knowledge are necessary for a successful PNS administrator.

SkillLevel/Description
LinuxAt least a power user's knowledge.
Experience in system administrationCertainly an advantage, but not absolutely necessary.
Programming language knowledgeIt is not an explicit requirement to know any programming language though being familiar with the basics of Python may be an advantage, especially in evaluating advanced firewall configurations or in troubleshooting misconfigured firewalls.
General knowledge on firewallsA general understanding of firewalls, their roles in the enterprise IT infrastructure and the main concepts and tasks associated with firewall administration is essential. To fulfill this requirement a significant part of Chapter 3, Architectural overview in the PNS Administrator's Guide is devoted to the introduction to general firewall concepts.
Knowledge on Netfilter concepts and IPTablesIn-depth knowledge is strongly recommended; while it is not strictly required definitely helps understanding the underlying operations and also helps in shortening the learning curve.
Knowledge on TCP/IP protocolHigh level knowledge of the TCP/IP protocol suite is a must, no successful firewall administration is possible without this knowledge.

Table 1. Prerequisites

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