Add rules — port and IP formats by example

_{Updated May 8, 2026} This page is the format reference for the Ports and Source IP fields you fill on every rule row. The model itself — what inbound vs outbound means, how rules combine, what the system Default blocks — is on Inbound vs outbound, layers, and rule format. This page is the cheat sheet.

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Port format

The Ports field accepts four shapes: Mixing list and range is allowed: 80,443,3000:4000 is a valid single Ports value. A quick note on syntax: AWS Security Groups use a hyphen for ranges (3000-4000) — Raff uses a colon (3000:4000), matching OpenNebula’s underlying format. If you copy a rule spec from AWS docs, swap the hyphen for a colon.

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Common port values

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Ports the Default Firewall blocks

TCP 135 / 139 / 445 / 5985–5986 and UDP 137–138 are always denied regardless of what you write — the system Default is layered on top of every public interface and Raff actively strips these ports out of any range you submit. Practical example: writing Range = 130:200 for inbound TCP saves as 130:134,136:138,140:200 (135 and 139 carved out). For the canonical table with per-port rationale and the dashboard screenshot, see Inbound vs outbound, layers, and rule format → What the Default Firewall blocks. If you genuinely need WinRM or SMB, run them inside a VPC and reach them via a Firewall Appliance (OPNsense) — not via a public-facing Firewall Group.

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Source / destination IP format

The third box on each rule row is CIDR. For inbound it’s “from where can traffic come”; for outbound it’s “to where can traffic go”. The /32 (single IPv4) and /128 (single IPv6) are how you allowlist exactly one address. The dialog accepts CIDR with or without explicit prefix on /32, but type the /32 for clarity.

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IPv6 examples — same shape, different addresses

If your VM has an IPv6 public IP attached (auto-assigned or reserved), the same rule rows apply — just use IPv6 CIDRs in the source field. Add a separate rule row for the IPv6 CIDR; one row carries one CIDR. A “fully open to v4 + v6” inbound on TCP/443 is two rule rows — one with 0.0.0.0/0 and one with ::/0. Same for outbound.

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Common rule recipes

Each row below is one rule row in the create dialog. Add multiple rows for combinations. Public web server (IPv4 + IPv6): Bastion host (SSH only, locked-down outbound): Database VM (only reachable from VPC): Game server (UDP-heavy):

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Limits per group

If 40 isn’t enough, split into multiple groups and attach them all to the IP — the union of allow lists applies.

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How saving / editing works

• Save creates the group as a unit — all rule rows submit together. Validation runs on the whole set; if one row is invalid (bad port format, invalid CIDR), the dialog shows the error inline and nothing saves.
• Edits update the platform record immediately — but the guest VM does not pick up the new rules until you reboot it (see the warning below).
• Default-block sanitization runs at save time — if you write 135, that exact rule is dropped from the saved set with no error. If you write 130:140, the saved rule excludes 135 and 139.

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