RAGHAVENDRA M <cs93318 @
rohini> writes:
> Can anyone tell me why the name 'FIREWALL'? And when
> was it first developed ?
There was never any clear origin to the term. A while ago, Gene
Spafford tried to claim origin, but I found several references in my
Email, which predated his, and Brian Reid found several more
which predated that. A number of the Society of Crusty Old
Internet Hackers kicked the topic around and concluded that
nobody was sure where the term was first developed. The earliest
reference located was about "firewalling" off some bogus routes
between two networks. Paul Vixie and Brian Reid were calling
their corporate gateway at gatekeeper.dec.com a "firewall" back
in the 9600-baud IP days, when I was still learning C. :)
The meaning of the term is (I believe) from the automotive context,
in which you have a firewall between the engine and passenger
compartment, in case the engine brews up. The term is also
used in architecture: there is a firewall between my neighbor's
house and mine. Many large buildings have internal firewalls and
firedoors for the same reason that large networks have them.
I *strongly* believe that the term "firewall" was first applied to
network devices as a damage limiting device, not as a security
device. But security coopted the term.
mjr.
-----
Marcus J. Ranum, Chief Scientist, V-ONE Corporation
Work: http://www.v-one.com
Personal: http://www.clark.net/pub/mjr
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