Table of Contents
What is context-aware traffic management in a stateful Azure Firewall?
Learn about the stateful firewall capabilities in Azure Firewall. Understand how it tracks the state of active network connections to perform context-aware traffic management and filtering, enhancing security by distinguishing legitimate from unsolicited traffic.
Question
What is the primary function of the “Stateful Firewall Capabilities” feature in Azure Firewall?
A. It automatically grants unrestricted access to all network traffiC:
B. It tracks active connections for context-aware traffic management.
C. It primarily focuses on improving network speed and reducing latency.
D. It only provides detailed reports on network traffic without actively managing or filtering it.
Answer
B. It tracks active connections for context-aware traffic management.
Explanation
The information explicitly states that “Stateful Firewall Capabilities” tracks active connections for context-aware traffic management. For more information, please refer to the “Azure Firewall” lecture.
A stateful firewall, like Azure Firewall, maintains a state table that tracks the status of all active network connections passing through it. This “state” includes information such as the source and destination IP addresses, ports, and the sequence numbers of the TCP connection.
The primary function of this capability is to provide context-aware traffic management. When a client inside the network initiates an outbound connection, the firewall records the session in its state table. When the external server sends a response, the firewall checks its state table. Because it finds an existing entry for that session, it recognizes the incoming packet as legitimate return traffic and allows it through. This process is more secure and efficient than a stateless firewall, which inspects every packet individually against a rule set without any context of previous packets. It allows the firewall to automatically permit return traffic for established connections while blocking unsolicited inbound traffic that doesn’t correspond to a known active session.
Analysis of Incorrect Options
A. It automatically grants unrestricted access to all network traffic. This statement describes an open network, not a firewall. The purpose of a firewall is to restrict and control traffic based on defined security rules.
C. It primarily focuses on improving network speed and reducing latency. While stateful inspection can be more efficient than other, more intensive inspection methods for established connections, its main purpose is security enforcement, not performance optimization.
D. It only provides detailed reports on network traffic without actively managing or filtering it. This describes a passive network monitoring tool, not a firewall. Azure Firewall actively filters and manages traffic in real-time based on its rules and the state of connections. Logging and reporting are secondary functions that support its primary filtering role.
Microsoft Security Solutions Capabilities certification exam assessment practice question and answer (Q&A) dump including multiple choice questions (MCQ) and objective type questions, with detail explanation and reference available free, helpful to pass the Microsoft Security Solutions Capabilities exam and earn Microsoft Security Solutions Capabilities certificate.