Comparative Evaluation of the Impact of Traditional Firewalls versus IDS/IPS Based Solutions in Home Networks with IoT Devices

Comparative Evaluation of the Impact of Traditional Firewalls versus IDS/IPS Based Solutions in Home Networks with IoT Devices | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Comparative Evaluation of the Impact of Traditional Firewalls versus IDS/IPS Based Solutions in Home Networks with IoT Devices Bryan Eduardo Cisneros Andrade, Karen Lissette Ponce Astudillo, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8990429/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Residential IoT ecosystems are increasingly besieged by advanced application-level exploits capable of bypassing conventional perimeter security measures. This study quantitatively compares the defensive efficacy and computational overhead of a standard Layer 3/4 packet filter (iptables) against a Layer 7 Intrusion Prevention System (Suricata) deployed within a virtualized residential testbed. We simulated a spectrum of nine specific threat vectors targeting IoT communication standards, including MQTT DoS, HTTP fuzzing, SQL injection, and unauthorized firmware injection. Results: The traditional firewall demonstrated a complete inability to identify or mitigate application-layer incursions (yielding a TPR of 0%), rendering the network defenseless. Conversely, the IPS configuration attained absolute mitigation success, recording a 100% Blocking Effectiveness (PDB) across every evaluated scenario. Significantly, performance metrics revealed a paradox: during high-velocity attacks (e.g., Port Scanning and Fuzzing), the standard firewall suffered from CPU saturation (reaching 27% due to I/O stress), while the IPS maintained operational stability (4--8% peak load) by preemptively rejecting hostile packets at the interface level. Conclusion: We demonstrate that L3/L4 firewalls are insufficient for IoT security, not only due to their blindness toward Layer 7 threats but also their susceptibility to resource depletion under stress. Consequently, the implementation of Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) via an IPS is validated as a superior and more resource-efficient strategy for hardening domestic IoT infrastructures. IoT Security Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) Suricata Firewall Performance Virtualization Deep Packet Inspection MQTT Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 18 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 13 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 09 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 27 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 06 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 06 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 27 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8990429","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":614493745,"identity":"cbc5abae-606d-4821-b166-b486306c4715","order_by":0,"name":"Bryan Eduardo Cisneros Andrade","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universidad Politecnica Salesiana","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bryan","middleName":"Eduardo Cisneros","lastName":"Andrade","suffix":""},{"id":614493746,"identity":"31c701d8-a22d-4801-a2f4-0ae1aaa2576a","order_by":1,"name":"Karen Lissette Ponce Astudillo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universidad Politecnica Salesiana","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Karen","middleName":"Lissette Ponce","lastName":"Astudillo","suffix":""},{"id":614493747,"identity":"d90eee5d-7316-45b8-a1b7-afdff54d6266","order_by":2,"name":"Miguel Arcos-Argudo","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAxElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYPACGwjFQ4KWNNK1HCZBi2772YcfPvw5n7id/wDjg7dtDHL8DQS0mJ1JN5ac2XY7ceeMBGbDuW0MxhIHCGk5kMbGzNtwO3HDDQY2ad42hsQNhBxmdv4ZGzPPn3OJG84fYP8N1FJPWMsNoC08bAcSNxxIAFrXxpBgQFjLM2agX5KNd85IbJacc07CcAZBv5xPYwSGmJ3sdv7DBz+8KbORJxhicGDAwAhSK0GserCWUTAKRsEoGAU4AACNtT43PgWHDwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Universidad Politecnica Salesiana","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Miguel","middleName":"","lastName":"Arcos-Argudo","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-27 17:09:10","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8990429/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8990429/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105904096,"identity":"8ae27913-b2dd-4315-ab92-e8b834f9d933","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-01 10:04:01","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":652828,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ArcosCisnerosPonce.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8990429/v1_covered_7ba53d3a-6e5a-4e4f-82d9-2df89b60116f.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Comparative Evaluation of the Impact of Traditional Firewalls versus IDS/IPS Based Solutions in Home Networks with IoT Devices","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-internet-of-things","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"diot","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Internet of Things](https://www.springer.com/journal/43926)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Discover Internet of Things","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"IoT Security, Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), Suricata, Firewall Performance, Virtualization, Deep Packet Inspection, MQTT","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8990429/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8990429/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Residential IoT ecosystems are increasingly besieged by advanced application-level exploits capable of bypassing conventional perimeter security measures. 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