A parallel packet screen for high speed networks

The paper demonstrates why security issues related to the continually increasing bandwidth of high speed networks (HSN) cannot be addressed with conventional firewall mechanisms. A single packet screen running on a fast computer is not capable of filtering all packets traversing a Fast/Gigabit Ethernet. This problem can be addressed by using parallel processing methods to implement a fast, scalable packet screen for Ethernets. The paper shows how hardware may be utilized to distribute the network load among such parallel packet screens. Empirical results using 'off-the-shelf' equipment indicate that this approach is usable.