Firewall Change Requests
Network Engineering Firewall changes are required frequently in organizations and therefore standardized procedures are used in most organizations for efficiently handling large number of these requests. Changes to a firewall relate to opening and closing ports to and from particular nodes.
Authorization process
The authorization process of the Firewall Service Request solicits approval from the requester's manager as well as the approver of the delivery team. Notifications are sent to the service requisition user in both cases.
The
following tasks are performed as part of the authorization process
for an approved request:
- Requester manager approval
- Notify requester of approval
- Start fulfillment
- Notify requester of acceptance
The following tasks are performed as part of the authorization
process for a non-approved request:
- Requester manager approval
- Notify requester of rejection
- Delivery approval
- Close request
Fulfillment process
A firewall change is
typically a simple change, e.g., open or close a port for an application.
It is typically implemented by a single employee. The process below
requires the requester to test the changes to the firewall configuration.
It is assumed that the requester cannot be integrated into the work
management process, e.g., by using a task list. Instead, the work
management process uses e-mail to interact with the requester when
the firewall change needs to be tested.
- Review request
- Open change
- Implement
- Notify requester to test
- Receive test result notification
- Close change
Resource assignment process
- Direct assignment by analysts to specialist or the team queue.
- Notify requester to test
Role assignment
| Role | Responsibilities Related to Firewall Change Requests |
|---|---|
| Service Requisition User | Enters catalog request information for a Firewall Change. Completes verification test of update when notified by Fulfiller. |
| Requester Manager/Approver | Receives e-mail asking for an approval for a Firewall Change. Updates service request accordingly. |
| Delivery Approver | Analyzes catalog request for general information and then assigns task to a skilled available Fulfiller. |
| Network Specialist | Receives catalog request assignment, determines if detail is sufficient and completes implementation of the request. Monitors testing and when done, marks request as complete. |
Note: Alternative content fulfillment options and job plans
exist which will direct requests to the Change Process Manager.