When you open up the Windows Firewall applet on Windows Server 2008, you will see an interface similar to that in Figure 1.įigure 1: Windows Server 2008 Windows Firewall applet. Windows Server 2008 is relatively new, but it still has some older interfaces which are just not fully developed and this is especially true for the “network” configurations. Windows Server 2008: Control Panel – Windows Firewall applet
Since most organizations are moving to Windows Server 2008 and Server 2008 R2, as well as Windows 7 for the desktop, we are going to focus on these three operating systems. Of course, with the changes in the names and overall GUI for Windows Firewall over the past operating systems, each operating system will look a bit different. Generally, you will find these settings within the Windows Firewall applet via the Control Panel. From the same location of Windows Firewall configuration, you can find the “network” settings for which you need to configure how the computer is connecting to “a network”. There are multiple locations where you can find the “network” settings associated with Windows Firewall. After this article, I hope that you will be able to configure Windows Firewall settings for your servers and desktops, knowing that they will all function properly no matter what “network” they are apparently connected to. I felt it was necessary to clarify when you would configure each setting and what each setting actually does. Ever since Microsoft has released the latest versions of their Windows Firewall, there has been confusion as to “which network” should I configure and when? To make things worse, Microsoft changed the names of these configurations, but not the definitions.