Considering a secure network topology that includes a variety of protective devices, where should a network-based intrusion prevention system (IPS) be placed to optimize its effectiveness without compromising network efficiency?
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Immediately adjacent to the edge router to monitor all ingress and egress traffic.
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At the ingress of the datacenter to monitor high-volume internal traffic.
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Immediately behind the external firewall to filter authorized traffic for threats.
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Close to user workstations within the LAN to capture lateral movement and insider threats.
Placing a network-based intrusion prevention system directly behind the external firewall, yet in front of the internal routing mechanisms, enables the IPS to inspect and potentially act upon malicious traffic that has been permitted by the external firewall, but before it can reach vital internal systems. This position leverages the filtration already done by the firewall, allowing the IPS to operate more effectively and with reduced exposure to irrelevant external noise. Positioning the IPS outside of the firewall exposes it to large volumes of traffic, lessening its efficiency and increasing the possibility of false positives. Embedding it inside the LAN, near user workstations, or at the datacenter ingress might hinder performance due to potentially vast internal traffic and could allow threats through the firewall to spread before being detected.
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What are the main roles of an external firewall in network security?
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