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Important! R80 and R80.10
End Of Support around the corner (May 2021)
User-space Firewall (USFW) is a stable and mature infrastructure that allows Check Point Firewall instances to run in user-space mode, It has been used for several years now on VSX.
As such, Check Point decided to gradually move appliances to utilize USFW starting R80.30 3.10
The motivation for the USFW infrastructure development:
FAQ:
Q: Which Security Gateways/Appliances can utilize USFW?
A: For the list of Security Gateways and appliances that support USFW refer to sk167052
Q: My Gateway is running only 4 cores / VM, why is my machine running in USFW?
A: USFW will gradually become the default mode in future releases, new appliance models are designed and shipped configured to use USFW as the default mode.
Q: Most of my traffic is handled through the SecureXL Fast path, will I benefit from USFW?
A: SecureXL on USFW mode runs in kernel mode, traffic will be accelerated (in kernel) efficiently similar to the Kernel Mode
Q: Is there any reason to switch back to Kernel mode?
A: Check Point is gradually transferring to USFW mode. It is preferred and best practice to keep the security GW in its default mode, yet it will be possible to switch to kernel mode – please see SK167052 for more details.
Q: How do I determine if the Security Gateway runs using USFW?
A: Run “cpprod_util FwIsUSFW” (1 = USFW)
Q: Does a USFW work the same as it works with VSX? Do the same limitations apply?
A: Although USFW is using a similar infrastructure as used with VSX, the limitations are different. Refer to sk167052 for USFW known limitations.
For any additional questions, feel free to tag me in your USFW posts.
@shais, may you please clarify how is USFW affecting CPU usage ? There were reports that on some appliances enabling USFW causes much higher processor utilization compared to KSFW.
Just to mention that in theory with USFW enabled it should be possible to replace relevant fw modules without OS reboot 🙂
@HristoGrigorov, what are you trying to say?
@_Val_ I mean that it is possible to replace and reload user space binaries without OS reboot. With some downtime of course but still it will be much quicker. It is at least technologically possible.
USFW should not impact the CPU, we've identified few USFW specific cases that cause excessive CPU utilization and they were fixed and integrated to our Jumbo hotfixes.
If we still have such issues, please contact support and allow us to investigate the issue.
As for your input regarding replacement of FW modules without reboot - You are correct that USFW open this possibility for us and we indeed taking this into consideration and validation
Hi,
We have a newly installed 6700 firewall cluster which came installed with User mode disabled. We have noticed high CPU spikes causing high CPU and affecting user experience. Does changing from kernel mode to User mode will have any adverse effect for 12 core firewall. Is there any sk on how to change on a 6700 appliances?
Thanks
You must first investigate what is the reason for these CPU spikes. USFW is not really faster than KMFW. In fact it is a bit slower. It has other advantages though, supports large number of CPUs and system does not reboot in case of fwk crash.
@Pentesec_Suppor USFW only makes sense, from a performance perspective, with systems having more than 40 cores. Not your case.
Hi @shais
I noticed, that in R80.30 USFW was supported on open servers, but with R80.40 it's only supported on machines with 40+ cores. Is that an appliance sales push decision or a technical one? Val is also stating, that performance gains are only observable on machines with more than 40 cores.
What about HTTPS inspection? If I understand correctly TLS 1.3 native support (without downgrading to TLS 1.2) is only possible in USFW. Does that mean there will be no realistic possibility to have native TLS 1.3 support on open servers?
Best regards
Borut
@Borut It always helps to tag people you mention 🙂
I believe, the limitation of support with R80.40 and up comes mostly from QA effort. We can only support what's being tested thoroughly. If you have an actual and important use case, raise it with the local CP office as RFE.
Concerning the general plans to support TLS 1.3 on open servers with less than 40 cores, I have reached out to R&D. I will let you know when they answer.
Sorry @_Val_ 🙂
No use cases yet, since majority of the internet still supports TLS 1.2. Just wondering about the times when that isn't the case anymore.
Thanks
@Borut The mentioned SK is now in review and may be changed, as the info there is not 100% accurate. We do plan to make USFW mode default in the upcoming releases, for all platforms.
Once again, if you have a need to run TLS 1.3 on open server today, reach out to the local office and raise a request. Should be relatively easy to handle. If you need any further assistance, feel free to PM me any time.
I think no assistance is necessary right now, since it does not brake anything. Thanks for the inquiry and your time.
No problem, we are here to help
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