Web Gateway 7.1.5 Product Guide - McAfee

About rule sets
Rules and rule sets
About rule sets 4
Web security rules are grouped and contained in rule sets on the appliance. This section provides some
general information about these rule sets and the rule set systems they are included in.
After the initial setup, a system of rule sets is implemented on the appliance. If you use the policy
creation wizard, this system will match your selections. Rules, rule sets and filter lists are then
implemented according to the type of your organization, your region, and the strictness you want to
impose on the users of your network. If you choose not to make such selections, the default rule set
system is implemented.
In both cases, you can review and modify what has been implemented. You can modify rule sets and
individual rules, including the filter lists, the settings of the modules used in the filtering process, and
the settings of the actions that are triggered when rules apply.
You can edit or delete all these items, move rules and rule sets to different positions, copy rules to
insert them into other rule sets, and create new items of all types. You can also import rule sets from
the internal library, move them to other positions, and modify them.
Rules in rule sets
A rule cannot stand on its own, it must be included in a rule set. A rule set can include just a single rule
or several of them or one or more nested rule sets. If it includes nested rule sets, it can, but need not
include individual rules on the same level as the nested rule sets.
Rule sets usually include rules that work together to provide a particular function for ensuring web
security. For example, a virus and malware filtering rule set might include a rule that blocks infected
rule sets and one or several others that whitelist objects to let them skip the blocking rule and ensure
users can access them.
Another rule set might filter URLs and include rules for blocking individual URLs and URL categories, as
well as whitelisting rules.
You can modify the implemented system and group rules in rule sets to build functional units in
whatever way is suitable for your network.
Rule set cycles
Rule sets are processed, with their rules, in the three cycles of the filtering process. A rule set can be
processed in any combinations of these cycles, for example, only in the request cycle, in the response
and embedded objects cycle, and also in all three cycles.
The cycles of a rule set are at the same time those of the individual rules contained in it. A rule cannot
differ with regard to cycles from its rule set.
Rule set criteria
Like rules, rule sets have criteria and are applied if these match. A rule set has criteria in addition to the
criteria of its individual rules and usually these criteria differ from each other. For a rule to apply, both
its own criteria and the criteria of its rule set must match.
Rule set library
The rule set library provides rule sets for you to import into your implemented rule set system. You can
do this to add a function that is missing in your system or when the implemented rule sets do not suit
your network in all respects.
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