Open port for outbound and inbound traffic

Question

I want to send push notifications to devices through the Apple push service server (APNS). Now the APNS requires an unproxied connection to them with some ports open.

To quote Apple from this link - Push providers, iOS devices, and Mac computers are often behind firewalls. To send notifications, you will need to allow inbound and outbound TCP packets over port 2195.

Now the security team is asking why we need to open both inbound and outbound when we will only sending (outwards) the request to APNS.

Now I am no networking guy. My basic web brain tells me we will be sending a POST request (outwards as seen from my server) to APNS, and this POST request will have a response. For this response, I will need to open inbound traffic for that same port i.e. 2195. Am i right?

Answer 1

I think your network is using Statefull/ZBF (Zone Based Firewall). for getting the response of a request you need to open both inbound and outbound requests. the firewall for this port should configured on "Inspection" that lets both inbound and outbound traffic.