Shorewall
The facts below are what the maker publishes about Shorewall, checked and dated. Our editors have not written about it yet.
Plans and prices
From Shorewall's own pricing page, checked 2 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Shorewall | Free | GNU/Linux firewall and gateway configuration tool · GPL-licensed |
The facts
Each one read from Shorewall's own pages, with the date it was checked.
Where it runs
- Application rules
- Nochecked 22 Sep 2026
- Supported platforms
- linux,windows,macoschecked 22 Sep 2026
What it does
- Centralized administration
- Shorewall can generate firewall scripts on an administrative system for Shorewall-lite installations on the firewalls it controls.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Central management
- Yeschecked 22 Sep 2026
- Connection alerts
- Yeschecked 22 Sep 2026
- Deployment
- It can be used on a dedicated firewall, a multifunction gateway, router or server, or a standalone GNU/Linux system.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Firewall functions
- Documented address and routing features include SNAT, port forwarding, one-to-one NAT, Proxy ARP, NETMAP and multiple internet links.checked 2 Oct 2026
- How it works
- It reads configuration files describing firewall and gateway requirements, then configures Netfilter and Linux networking using system utilities.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The feature page says a GUI is available through Webmin 1.060 and later.checked 2 Oct 2026
- IPv6
- The feature list includes IPv6 support, provided through the Shorewall6 package described on the download page.checked 2 Oct 2026
- License and warranty
- The site identifies Shorewall as GPL-licensed and says it is provided without warranty, including implied merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Not a daemon
- After configuring Linux networking, Shorewall exits; it does not leave a Shorewall process running.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Outbound control
- advancedchecked 22 Sep 2026
- Policy configuration
- Configuration files allow customizable rules between network zones, with support for multiple interfaces per zone and multiple zones per interface.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Shorewall is a high-level tool for configuring Netfilter firewalls on GNU/Linux systems.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Rule direction
- bothchecked 22 Sep 2026
- Security and file integrity
- The download page says packages are GPG-signed and checksummed and instructs users to verify them with the public key.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Support
- The support guide directs users to documentation and mailing lists, requires subscription before posting, and also lists an IRC channel for quick questions.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Virtualization
- The feature page lists KVM, Xen, Linux-Vserver, OpenVZ, VirtualBox, LXC and Docker support.checked 2 Oct 2026
- VPN and traffic
- The feature list includes IPsec, GRE, IPIP and OpenVPN tunnels, PPTP clients and servers, and traffic control and shaping.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Who it is for
- The introduction says Shorewall is flexible and powerful but not the easiest option, and recommends simpler alternatives for users seeking a point-and-click firewall with minimal networking knowledge.checked 2 Oct 2026
Money
- Free plan
- Yeschecked 22 Sep 2026
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