Firewall Alignment Chart

Text on the meme

The Firewall Alignment Chart Function Purist A firewall inspects and restricts network traffic Function Neutral A firewall restricts and directs network traffic Function Radical A firewall is anything that can restrict network traffic Form Purist A firewall is a dedicated network device "Palo Alto is a firewall" "F5 BigIP is a firewall" "IPTables is a firewall" Form Neutral A firewall is a network device "WRT54G is a firewall" "Router ACL is a firewall" "Spanning Tree is a firewall" Form Radical A firewall is in the network path "Azure NSG is a firewall" "HA Proxy is a firewall" "Excavator is a firewall"

What it means

A 3×3 alignment chart categorizes increasingly broad definitions of what counts as a firewall, from dedicated security appliances to anything that can restrict network traffic. The joke is that the radical interpretations classify routers, software, network protocols, cloud security groups, proxies, and even an excavator as firewalls. It is shared as an ironic reaction to overly literal or expansive technical definitions.

Objects

firewall appliance / аппаратный межсетевой экран network router / сетевой маршрутизатор network switch / сетевой коммутатор rack-mounted server / сервер в стойке wireless router / беспроводной маршрутизатор network equipment / сетевое оборудование shield icon / значок щита network diagram / схема сети excavator / экскаватор alignment chart / таблица выравнивания