Bindings: Attaching Rules to Firewalls

Rules and ACLs are attached to firewalls and cloud platforms in different ways, depending on the device type.

• Check Point rules are attached to a management server (SmartCenter or CMA) through policies
• Cisco rules, also known as access control entries (ACEs), are attached to the firewall itself
• Palo Alto, Fortinet, Juniper and Forcepoint (formerly McAfee) rules are attached to the firewall itself (if monitored directly) or to a manager (such as Panorama, FortiManager, SMC) through zone based policies
• AWS and Azure rules are attached to their platforms through Security Groups

The collections of rules which are attached to devices are generally referred to as Bindings. Rule resources will also have a bindings section, which describes how the rule is attached to its management server or firewall.