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How to create a firewall instance

To get started, ensure you have at least one dedicated server. Follow the instructions below to begin the setup process:

  1. Log in to the customer portal and navigate to Firewalls from the left-hand menu

  2. Click Create

  3. In the Location field, select the location that matches the one where your dedicated servers are provisioned

  4. In the Host section, select the dedicated servers to which the firewall rules will be applied

  5. Configure firewall rules

    The Inbound rules and Outbound rules sections allow you to define traffic rules for your firewall instance. Here is how the elements in both sections work:

    • Select the protocol for the rule (e.g., TCP, UDP, ICMP)

    • Port range. Specify a port or range of ports for allowed traffic (e.g., 22 for SSH, 80 for HTTP, or 0-65535 for all ports)

    • Source/Destination. Define the IP addresses or networks. In Inbound rules, this specifies the source of traffic, while in Outbound rules, it specifies the destination. By default, All IPv4 allows traffic from or to any IPv4 address

    • Add a short description to identify the rule (e.g., TCP for SSH or UDP for DNS)

    • Add rule button. Use this button to create a rule based on predefined presets. For example:

      • Selecting IMAPS in Inbound rules adds a rule with protocol TCP and port 993

      • Selecting HTTPS in Outbound rules adds a rule with protocol TCP and port 443

        Once created, rules appear in their respective lists and can be edited or deleted using the icons in each row

  6. Enter a firewall instance name. This name will help you distinguish between multiple instances

  7. Click Create

  8. In the opened window, confirm your action by clicking the Proceed button

Your firewall instance will be created.

Firewall setup best practices

A firewall is an essential security tool for protecting against external threats and malicious activity. The level of security directly depends on proper configuration which should block unauthorized traffic while maintaining optimal network performance. We've collected below the key points and recommendations for using the firewall service from servers.com.

Key points

  • Default rules are applied automatically. When a new firewall instance is created, default rules are automatically applied to restrict all traffic to any destination and from any source

  • Firewall blocks all traffic if no rules are defined. If all rules, including default ones, are removed, the firewall will block all traffic by default

  • Unspecified ports are blocked. If rules are applied only to specific ports, traffic for other unspecified ports will be blocked. For example, if rules are applied for ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS), port 22 (SSH) will be blocked

Recommendations

  • Allow only necessary ports, such as 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS) for public services, and block all other ports

  • Restrict access to remote connection ports 22 (SSH) and 3389 (RDP) from specific trusted IP addresses

  • Leave outbound traffic rules as default if no filtering is required

  • Avoid rule duplication

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