3.6. Schedules
3.6. Schedules
In some scenarios, it might be useful to control not only what functionality is enabled, but also when
that functionality is being used.
For instance, the IT policy of an enterprise might stipulate that web traffic from a certain department
is only allowed access outside that department during normal office hours. Another example might
be that authentication using a specific VPN connection is only permitted on weekdays before noon.
Schedule Objects
NetDefendOS addresses this requirement by providing Schedule objects, or simply schedules, that
can be selected and used with various types of security policies to accomplish time-based control.
This functionality is in no way limited to IP Rules, but is valid for most types of policies, including
Traffic Shaping rules, Intrusion Detection and Prevention (IDP) rules and Virtual Routing rules.
including Traffic Shaping rules and Intrusion Detection and Prevention (IDP) rules. A Schedule
object is, in other words, a very powerful component that can allow detailed regulation of when
functions in NetDefendOS are enabled or disabled.
Multiple Time Ranges
A Schedule object also offers the possibility to enter multiple time ranges for each day of the week.
Furthermore, a start and a stop date can be specified that will impose additional constraints on the
schedule. For instance, a schedule can be defined as Mondays and Tuesdays, 08:30 - 10:40 and
11:30 - 14:00, Fridays 14:30 - 17:00.
Example 3.18. Setting up a Time-Scheduled Policy
This example creates a schedule object for office hours on weekdays, and attaches the object to an IP Rule that
allows HTTP traffic.
CLI
gw-world:/> add ScheduleProfile OfficeHours Mon=8-17 Tue=8-17 Wed=8-17 Thu=8-17
Now create the IP rule that uses this schedule. First, change the current category to be the main IP rule set:
gw-world:/> cc IPRuleSet main
Now, create the IP rule:
gw-world:/main> add IPRule Action=NAT Service=http SourceInterface=lan
Important: Set the system date and time
As schedules depend on an accurate system date and time, it is very important that the
system date and time are set correctly. This is also important for some other features
such as certificate usage in VPN tunnels.
Preferably, time synchronization has also been enabled to ensure that scheduled
policies will be enabled and disabled at the right time. For more information, please
see Section 3.8, "Date and Time".
Fri=8-17
SourceNetwork=lannet DestinationInterface=any
DestinationNetwork=all-nets Schedule=OfficeHours
name=AllowHTTP
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Chapter 3. Fundamentals