General configuration tab

NOTE
Refer to the section Allowed names to find out which characters are allowed and prohibited in various fields.

General configuration

Firewall name This name is displayed in the firewall’s main window and is used in alarm e-mails sent to the administrator. It can also be used as the DNS name of the captive portal if it was enabled and the option Use firewall name was selected. The maximum supported length of the firewall name is 127 characters.
Node name (HA)

This name can be particularly useful in a high availability configuration, as it allows you to easily identify the cluster member to which you are connected (web administration interface or SSH console).

By default, this name is not defined (value: none).
Firewall language (logs)

Choice of language that the firewall uses for logs, syslog and the CLI configuration. The available languages are: French and English.
Keyboard (console) Type of keyboard that the firewall supports. The available languages are: English, French, Italian, Polish or Swiss.

Cryptographic settings

Enable regular retrieval of certificate revocation lists (CRL) If this option is selected, every 6 hours, the firewall will check the validity of each CRL downloaded from the distribution points that were specified in the PKI. When a CRL is close to its expiry date or has expired, an alarm will then be generated.
Enable "Diffusion Restreinte (DR)" 2021 version compliance mode The Enable "Diffusion Restreinte (DR)" 2021 version compliance mode option forces the firewall to comply with the ANSSI’s (French national information security agency) recommendations on the use of coprocessors and cryptographic accelerators on products to be qualified. It is an imperative on networks that fall under the “Restricted” classification.
This mode relies in particular on the use of software versions for asymmetric and symmetric cryptographic algorithms and random key generation algorithms. As for symmetric encryption algorithms, "AES-NI" instructions available on certain products are exempt as they are made up only of “simple acceleration instructions” of certain cryptographic operations.

When “ANSSI Diffusion Restreinte (DR)" mode is enabled in SNS 5.1.1 EA, the following will occur:
  • IPsec: only certificate-based authentication is allowed.
  • IPsec: the certificates used (from the end user certificate to the common trusted CA) must comply with the following specifications: ECDSA or ECSDSA signature on an SECP or Brainpool curve, SHA256 as the hash algorithm, and key size of 256 bits.
  • IPsec: the module will check whether the firewall is using version 2 of the IKE protocol.
  • IPsec: the module will check whether the Peer ID has been entered.
  • IPsec: the module will check whether the encryption algorithms used belong to DH19 and DH28 groups (SECP and Brainpool 256).
  • IPsec: the module will check whether the encryption algorithm used is either AES_GCM_16 (AEAD: Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data; AES_GCM_16 is therefore not associated with any authentication algorithm), or AES_CTR, which must be associated with SHA256.
  • IPsec: the verification of certificate revocation must be enabled.
  • IPsec: the size of the anti-replay window must not be zero.
  • IPsec: the Pseudo-Random Function (PRF) algorithm must be SHA256.

    • IMPORTANT
    If any of the above conditions is not met, the non-compliant IPsec configuration will be disabled and the following message appears:
    “ANSSI ‘Diffusion Restreinte' mode disabled the non-compliant IPsec VPN configuration”.
    The aim of this message is to prompt the administrator to modify the IPsec policy so that the configuration can be enabled.

  • On firewalls equipped with Intel processors, the “ANSSI Diffusion Restreinte (DR)" mode will allow the use of the coprocessor's cryptographic hardware instruction sets. On firewalls equipped with other types of processors, the “ANSSI Diffusion Restreinte (DR)" mode will force such instruction sets to be disabled, causing performance to slow down during encryption.
  • The “ANSSI Diffusion Restreinte (DR)" mode restricts the encryption suites that can be used on the authentication portal and on SSL VPN: only AES, SHA256, SHA384 and GCM encryption suites are allowed.

NOTE
Enabling the “ANSSI Diffusion Restreinte (DR)” mode requires rebooting the firewall.

Password policy

The indicated parameters apply to all passwords and pre-shared keys defined on the firewall (PPTP VPN, IPsec VPN, internal LDAP directory, etc.).

Minimum password length Indicate the minimum number of characters required for each password defined on the firewall.
Mandatory character types Select the mandatory types of characters to be included in each password:
  • None: the password is not required to contain any alphanumeric or special characters,
  • Alphanumeric: the password must contain at least an alphabetical character and a number,
  • Alphabetic and special: the password must contain at least an alphabetic character and a special character (‘#’, ‘@’, etc…),
  • Alphanumeric and special: the password must contain at least an alphanumeric character and a special character (‘#’, ‘@’, etc…).
Minimum entropy

Entropy is a parameter that makes it possible to define the required robustness of a password. Higher entropy means that the password must be more robust.
When it is defined, it will be factored into the calculation of randomly generated passwords, e.g., for temporary accounts, as well as manually defined passwords.
Entropy takes into account the length of the password and the number of different characters in the password.


The formula to calculate it is as follows:
Entropy = (Length of password)*(Log(Number of different characters in the password )/Log(2)).

 

The entropy value suggested by default is: 20.
When its value is 0, entropy will be ignored when passwords are automatically generated or manually defined.

Date/Time settings

Manual mode With this option, the firewall’s date and time can be manually set.
Synchronize with your machine This option makes it possible to set the firewall’s date and time according to your computer’s settings.
Synchronize firewall time (NTP)

This option makes it possible to synchronize the firewall's local clock through NTP (Network Time Protocol) servers. Complete this configuration by referring to List of NTP servers and List of NTP keys.
Date This field appears only if the Manual mode option was selected. Select the desired date from the calendar.
Time This field appears only if the Manual mode option was selected. Enter the desired time in HH:MM:SS format.
Time zone Time zone defined for the firewall (GMT by default). The firewall must be restarted if the time zone is changed.

NOTE
The date and time set on your Stormshield Network firewall are important: they allow you to locate events in the log files. They are also useful in scheduling configurations.

List of NTP servers

This grid appears only if the option Synchronize firewall time (NTP) was selected.

IMPORTANT
The NTP servers used must be compatible with NTPv4.

NTP servers (host or group-address range) (max 15) Shows the NTP servers used to synchronize the firewall's local clock.
To add an NTP server, click on Add and select from the drop-down list the object representing the NTP server that you wish to add. If this object does not exist, click on the object creation icon to create it.
To delete an NTP server from the list, select it and click on Delete.
Authentication key (ID)

You can enter a key if access to an NTP server requires one for authentication. In this field, select an authentication key from the list of NTP keys already created. Each ID is associated with a value representing the NTP authentication key. To create a new key ID, or to view the list of NTP keys already created, refer to List of NTP keys.

List of NTP keys

This grid appears only if the option Synchronize firewall time (NTP) was selected.

Authentication key (ID)

Shows the list of NTP authentication keys. These IDs can be selected in the Authentication key (ID) column in the List of NTP servers.

To add an NTP key ID, click on Add and give it a unique ID between 1 and 15 inclusive. To delete an ID from the list, select it and click on Delete.
Value

Shows the value of NTP keys. If you add a new NTP key ID, enter the value of its key in this field (maximum 8 characters). Double-click on an existing value to change it.
Key type Shows the algorithm used for the NTP key. You can change this option by selecting the desired algorithm from the drop-down list.

Advanced properties

Idle timeout monitoring (watchdog)

Idle timeout timer (watchdog)

This device tests the activity of the firewall’s system. This test is conducted on the:

  • Virtual firewall (EVA) software,
  • Physical firewall hardware and software.

The frequency of tests is defined by this timeout.
When the system is idle, this watchdog will reboot the firewall and raise a system event (24).
To stop monitoring, select Disable.

Captive portal

Redirect to the captive portal This option allows you to choose the name of the firewall used when generating URIs that redirect to the captive portal. There are four possible values:
  • Use firewall's IP address
  • Use firewall's name.
    This refers to the name indicated in the Firewall name field in the General configuration section or the firewall's serial number if no name was specified in this field.
  • Use the captive portal's certificate.
    This refers to the name of the firewall specified in the portal's certificate.
  • Specify a domain name (FQDN).
Domain name (FQDN) Enter a fully qualified DNS name for the firewall (e.g.: firewall.company.org). This field can only be accessed when the Specify a domain name (FQDN) value was selected in the previous field.

Telemetry

NOTE
When the administrator who looks up this module is logged in with an account other than the admin (super administrator) account, this section will be grayed out and named Telemetry (require admin privilege).

Allow usage data to be sent to Stormshield (anonymous)

When this checkbox is selected, your firewall will send usage data to Stormshield's cloud (over port 443) for statistics.

By sending such data, which is completely anonymous, you will be helping Stormshield to refine the parameters of the proxy’s performance and the dimensions and restrictions on future hardware platforms and SNS versions.

The list of telemetry probes can be found in the section Data reported through the telemetry feature.

Bypass - Industrial firewalls

To ensure service continuity in an industrial setting, SNi20 and SNi40 model firewalls are equipped with a hardware bypass function. When it is enabled, and if the firewall breaks down, it allows network traffic to pass through without being analyzed.

NOTES
  • This mechanism cannot be enabled on firewalls in a high availability configuration,
  • This mechanism can only be enabled on the first two interfaces of the firewall.

Operating and enabling bypass mode

Two of the firewall's operating modes are available:

  • Security mode: this mode prioritizes network security and protection. The bypass mechanism cannot be enabled. This is the firewall's default operating mode.
  • Safety mode: this mode prioritizes service continuity. The bypass mechanism will be enabled whenever the firewall breaks down or there is a power outage.

Whenever Safety mode is enabled, one of three types of bypass may be activated:

  • SystemOff bypass: activated when the firewall experiences an electrical failure or when there is a power outage.
  • JustOn bypass: it will be activated when the appliance is restarted and will then be disabled.
  • OnTimer bypass: when the product has to handle too many connections, this bypass will be activated after a period defined in the configuration of Safety mode. Once the bypass is activated, the firewall administrator can then reset Safety mode.

IMPORTANT
The proper operation of network traffic must be verified immediately after a manual reset. The firewall will not recognize connections initiated during the active bypass phase and will reject them every time.

When bypass is activated, the firewall interfaces in question will be represented as follows:

 
Enable safety mode

When this option is selected, you will be enabling the firewall's bypass mechanism.

All three activation modes will be automatically available.

Safety mode timeoutSelect the period after which the OnTimer bypass must be activated. The various possible values are:
  • 1 min
  • 1 min 30 sec
  • 2 min
  • 2 min 30 sec
  • 3 min
  • 3 min 30 sec
  • 4 min
Reset safety modeWhen the OnTimer bypass is activated, you can click on this button in order to disable it and return the firewall to Safety mode.