<div>
2 reactions, 2 diffrent opinions... well I chose to enable to firewall and set it up like it should be imo..
</div>


2 reactions, 2 diffrent opinions... well I chose to enable to firewall and set it up like it should be imo..

<div>
<div class="content wysiwyg-content">
Hello, <br />
<br />
Over the weekend I've made changes to an exchange server, all went well but when I was setting it up I noticed the Windows firewall was disabled. So I enabled it and opened the ports I needed, &nbsp;<br />
Today I get a call that some software package isn't working anymore, I immediately thought that the firewall might be blocking it, and I was right, disabling the firewall fixed it.<br />
I asked the software provider to give me a list of the ports I need to open to make their software work, but they tell me they &nbsp;always just disable the firewall..<br />
What is the best practice here? Ok, there is a router behind the server running NAT but I always tend to enable the firewall and just configure it correctly.<br />
<br />
What is your opinion?
</div>
</div>


Hello, 

Over the weekend I've made changes to an exchange server, all went well but when I was setting it up I noticed the Windows firewall was disabled. So I enabled it and opened the ports I needed,  
Today I get a call that some software package isn't working anymore, I immediately thought that the firewall might be blocking it, and I was right, disabling the firewall fixed it.
I asked the software provider to give me a list of the ports I need to open to make their software work, but they tell me they  always just disable the firewall..
What is the best practice here? Ok, there is a router behind the server running NAT but I always tend to enable the firewall and just configure it correctly.

What is your opinion?

Enable or disable server 2008 firewall after installation

Software firewalls, also known as host-based firewalls, provide a layer of software on one host that controls network traffic in and out of that single machine. Most operating systems now include firewall software, but many available software firewalls include central distribution, antivirus systems and disaster recovery.

Software Firewalls

Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, based on the Microsoft Vista codebase, is the last 32-bit server operating system released by Microsoft. It has a number of versions, including including Foundation, Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, Web, HPC Server, Itanium and Storage; new features included server core installation and Hyper-V.