Facts About Network Security Group.
Network security groups (NSGs) are a type of firewall that allows you to control access to specific IP addresses or ports within your organization. They allow you to define rules that determine who has access to your network resources.
You might be wondering what NSGs are and why they matter. In this article, we’ll explain what they are, how they work, and how you can use them to secure your network.
What Are Network Security Groups?
Network security groups are a type of firewall that you can use to control access to your network. They allow you to define rules that determine who has access to your network resources and which ports they’re allowed to access.
NSGs are also sometimes called network security policies or network security filters. They have the same effect as IPsec VPNs, but they’re simpler to set up, less expensive, and easier to troubleshoot and maintain.
NSGs have been around since Microsoft released Windows Server 2012. In Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016, you can use the Windows Firewall with an Advanced Security console to create NSGs. The Group Policy Management Console is also capable of creating and managing NSGs in Windows Server 2016.
NSGs vs. Firewalls
Both firewalls and NSGs secure your network by controlling access to it, but there are some key differences between them:
Firewalls protect from outside threats. A firewall is a device that protects an entire network from outside threats like viruses, worms, hackers and other intruders. Firewalls work at the perimeter of a network, shielding it from external attacks while allowing users within the perimeter to connect with resources on the internet as needed.
NSGs protect from inside threats. An NSG is a part of your firewall that allows a user or computer within your network to connect with a resource on the internet on an as-needed basis rather than all of the time.
This makes NSGs more manageable than firewalls because they cover only those ports required for outgoing connections from your servers rather than all ports on all computers in your network. Because of this, it’s easier to set up rules for NSGs than for firewalls.
NSG vs. VPNs
Both NSG and VPNs can be used interchangeably in certain cases, but there are some key differences between them:
NSGs are less expensive.
A VPN requires you to purchase a third-party software solution such as Cisco’s AnyConnect or Juniper Pulse Secure. Both of which require additional licensing fees. Or build a custom solution using standard VPN technologies such as L2TP/IPSec or SSTP protocols and IPsec protection.
However, isn’t easy or cheap (unless you’re already familiar with these technologies). In contrast, creating an NSG is free with Windows Server 2016.
And, as we mentioned earlier, NSGs are simpler to set up and maintain than VPNs. For example, configuring an NSG to allow your users to connect with a server on the internet is as simple as creating a rule that allows them to access a specific port on that server.
In contrast, configuring a VPN requires you to set up certificates, configure network address translation (NAT), manage remote access clients, configure routing and configure other settings.
NSG vs. Port Filtering
If you’re already familiar with port filtering, you might think that NSGs are nothing more than port filtering applied at the network layer rather than at the transport layer. However, there are some key differences. For example, Port filtering doesn’t allow you to control specific ports and protocols. With port filtering, you can block or allow traffic on all ports by using either wildcard addresses or specific addresses.
With NSGs, you can block or allow traffic on specific ports and protocols only. As such, NSGs offer more granular control over which ports and protocols are blocked or allowed than port filtering does. For example, if you want to block all traffic from one IP address except for HTTPS traffic from a different IP address, you could use an NSG. You couldn’t do this with port filtering.