Dictionary · Defensive Security
DMZ
DMZ — Demilitarized Zone
Design · Intermediate
A network zone that hosts services reachable from a less trusted network, separated from the internal network by firewall policy.
The public website can live here so a compromise of that server is not automatically a route to payroll. The value depends on the firewall rules on both sides.
Example: A web server sits in a DMZ. Internet clients can reach it on the encrypted web port, but it cannot open a connection to the internal database tier directly.
Common misconception
- The name does not mean the zone is unprotected. It is a controlled buffer with rules on both sides.