Small Business Network Topology

[beezdat]

Not sure which sub category this belongs, so admin's try not to be too harsh.

I was talking to a co worker of mine about our network topology at one of our branch offices.

basically the system goes like this:

internet > modem > firewall > router > internal network (switches nodes servers etc)

I was explaining to him that I think it's in reverse order, that it should be

internet > modem > router > firewall > internal network

he said no, think of the firewall was protecting everything inside the network.

I didn't have a rebuttal because i do not completely understand why the router should be before the firewall, I've just always known it to be that way from diagrams seen / read in articles.

So I propose this question to everyone here, what is truly the best router / firewall small business network setup and why?

 

[PhilFrisbie]

Your coworker is correct; installing the firewall just outside the router allows it to easily inspect and filter all data streams. It also helps to protect your router from hacking.

 

[beezdat]

Best answer selected by beezdat.