The Gauntlet software is designed to be easy to set up and operate quickly, even if you are not familiar with the system. If you are an experienced IRIX system administrator, you may prefer to undertake managing the system directly, without using the administrative interface. Remember, though, that once you do so, you effectively give up the use of the browser-based interface for making future changes.

Running a firewall requires a certain amount of expertise. As a firewall system becomes more established, local needs may require its further customization. It is impossible to predict what form local customizations will take, so it is assumed that eventually your Gauntlet system will appear different than the default configuration.

Administrators who wish to move away from relying on the Gauntlet administration tools may use them as a reference, since they are primarily implemented as shell scripts. By convention, modifications against the base IRIX system are retained with the original file renamed to <file>.old.### where ### is the process ID. This is to help you determine the differences between a Gauntlet system and a system not yet configured for Gauntlet. You are encouraged to explore the system and to become familiar with its tools and how it operates. The best way to acquire confidence in a security system is to understand its operation and general principles. For that reason, the Gauntlet firewall is designed to be easy to understand as well as operate.