Conference noted::seal

1923.0. "What is a DMZ these days?" by CHEFS::zkodhcp-29-48-237.zko.dec.com::PITT (Gone with the winsock ...) Fri Apr 18 1997 14:53

What is a DMZ?

I used to understand what a DMZ was, in firewall terms.  It
used to be the red lan, didn't it?  That was reasonable when
access to that lan by packets was controlled from each side -
both the ISP router and the gate were screening what's trying
to get to that lan.

Nowadays, I think the term is useless because there's no common
meaning for the term across the industry.  The red lan is no
longer a DMZ in a single machine firewall, particularly if you
let everything hit the outside of the firewall.

I've seen the network connecting gatekeeper and gate in a two
node firewall called a DMZ.  I think that is valid, since 
absolutely nobody goes into that network.  But this doesn't
map onto the one node firewall.

I've seen green net called a DMZ.  I've even seen the immediate
blue lan called a DMZ, when this was simply a cable connecting
to a dozen internal routers to the real blue network.

So, what is a DMZ these days?  Is it still a useful term?

T

Tony,

I think that useful or not, DMZ is a term which has stuck.

I believe it to be the green net idea, but as you point out the others are 
possibly valid also.

Stu