Explicit web proxy or firewall rule?

[Ian_Harrison]

Hi

Just a simple question, what is the advantage of using the explicit web proxy function compared to a firewall rule?

I have a Fortigate 3240C with explicit web proxy set-up and have configured a collector agent to monitor AD logins for the Fortigate.  At the moment all users are going through the explicit proxy and have different web filters depending upon their FSSO group.  However if I set-up a rule on the firewall based upon the FSSO group and source IP it works the same, in fact internet access is a lot quicker.  I have also noticed that via the proxy SSL deep inspection does not always work correctly in that the Fortigate is still inspecting sites that are in the SSL bypass list. However when I user the firewall rule with exactly the same SSL inspection rule it all ways works fine.

So what if any issues would I face if I put all users through the firewall rule instead of the proxy?

Thanks for any advice

Ian Harrison