
        README for ferm

        Auke Kok <koka@geo.vu.nl.


Contents:

	1. Introduction
	2. Installing
	3. Basic use
	4. Package contents


Introduction

	Ferm is a tool to maintain and setup complicated firewall
	rules. It allows to reduce the tedious task of carefully inserting
	rules and chains by a large factor, thus enabling the firewall
	administrator to spend more time on developing good rules
	then the proper implementation of the rule.

	Ferm is a simple perl program, so it's lightweight, does
	not require any compiling or building, and it's construct
	can be adapted and modified quickly, so new features should
	be easy to adopt. The fact that it's perl-based makes it
	more trustworthy as well.

	Ferm supports ipchains firewalls, ipfwadm rules and
	iptables firewalls. Changing to another system will be
	very easy, and ferm will help in the process.


Installing

	./make install

	The package does not need to be compiled, just make sure
	you have perl (which is present in any base linux system)
	and either ipchains, ipfwadm or iptables, and the according
	firewall enabled kernel installed.

	Run the make install install script as root to install the
	package in it's best location, so it can be reached from
	the command line when called. The manual page will also
	be installed.

	That's all!


Uninstalling

	./make uninstall

	Ferm can now be quickly removed from the system by issuing
	a "make uninstall" command (as root, of course). This
	will not remove any configuration files of course!


Basic use

	ferm is designed to parse structured firewall files, 
	merely it's own language (quite C-like) to describe
	firewall-rules. Look at the examples for a good idea.
	To install a firewall, create an appropriate firewall
	file that suits your needs, store it into a good spot
	like /etc/firewall.conf and execute:

		ferm /etc/firewall.conf

	ferm will read the file, translate it into your
	[ipchains|iptables|ipfwadm] rules, and install these
	into the kernel firewalling system! Read the manual and
	the examples to get the idea about the syntax of the
	firewall files.


Package Contents
	
	* README	This file
	* AUTHORS	List of people who worked on the project
	* COPYING	Copy of the GPL
	* CHANGES	A list of changes in the development of ferm
	* ferm		The program
	* ferm.1	The man page
        * ferm.txt      The man page as plain text
	* ferm.html	The man page as html file
	* examples/*	Some examples
	* Makefile	Installation Makefile


--
Auke Kok <koka@geo.vu.nl>
