You should have a look at the first 4 parts of this tutorial series on installing, configuring, and running APF (Advanced Policy Firewall) on a Dedicated Server before proceeding here, just to be sure your dedicated server is setup correctly with APF configurations. Here is a quick list to roundup these tutorials on dedicated web hosting and APF setup:
1. Installing APF on a Dedicated Server
2. Configuring APF on a Dedicated Server
3. Configuring AntiDOS on a Dedicated Server for APF (optional)
4. Starting APF on a Dedicated Server
Now, here are some helpful commands for your Firewall Usage. With these codes and options, you can do nearly everything necessary to run APF, block IP addresses, flush the firewall, etc. Please review these APF codes below and keep them handy for future reference.
Firewall Usage
Usage /usr/local/sbin/apf [OPTION]
OPTIONS are as below
-s|–start ……………………. load firewall policies
-r|–restart ………………….. flush & load firewall
-f|–flush|–stop ……………… flush firewall
-l|–list …………………….. list chain rules
-st|–status ………………….. firewall status
-a HOST CMT|–allow HOST COMMENT … add host (IP/FQDN) to allow_hosts.rules and immediately load new rule into firewall
-d HOST CMT|–deny HOST COMMENT …. add host (IP/FQDN) to deny_hosts.rules and immediately load new rule into firewall
As an example, if you would like to deny an IP from accessing your sites, execute,
apf -d 123.123.123.123
Hopefully this tutorial series for APF on a Dedicated Server has been extremely helpful to you, but if you’re ever stuck, contact your dedicated web hosting provider and ask for Managed Hosting solutions.
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