Monitoring and Compliance

Cloud providers offer comprehensive monitoring capabilities for firewall activities:

# AWS CloudWatch monitoring
import boto3
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

cloudwatch = boto3.client('cloudwatch')

# Get firewall metrics
def get_firewall_metrics():
    metrics = cloudwatch.get_metric_statistics(
        Namespace='AWS/NetworkFirewall',
        MetricName='DroppedPackets',
        Dimensions=[
            {
                'Name': 'FirewallName',
                'Value': 'web-server-firewall'
            }
        ],
        StartTime=datetime.now() - timedelta(hours=1),
        EndTime=datetime.now(),
        Period=300,
        Statistics=['Sum']
    )
    return metrics

# Azure Monitor query
from azure.monitor.query import LogsQueryClient
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential

credential = DefaultAzureCredential()
logs_client = LogsQueryClient(credential)

query = """
AzureNetworkAnalytics_CL
| where SubType_s == "FlowLog"
| where DeniedInFlows_d > 0 or DeniedOutFlows_d > 0
| summarize TotalDenied = sum(DeniedInFlows_d + DeniedOutFlows_d) by bin(TimeGenerated, 5m)
"""

response = logs_client.query_workspace(
    workspace_id="workspace-id",
    query=query,
    timespan=timedelta(hours=1)
)

Cloud firewall solutions provide powerful, scalable protection for web servers with advantages impossible in traditional deployments. Understanding each provider's capabilities and best practices enables effective security implementation while leveraging cloud-native features. As cloud platforms evolve, firewall services continue expanding capabilities, making regular review and updates essential for maintaining optimal protection.## Firewall Best Practices for Production Servers

Implementing firewalls in production environments requires more than technical knowledge—it demands a comprehensive approach that balances security, performance, availability, and operational efficiency. This chapter consolidates industry best practices, learned from real-world deployments and security incidents, providing actionable guidance for maintaining robust firewall protection throughout your web server's lifecycle.