RE: a good firewall/router?

[James Eaton-Lee <james.mailing () gmail com>]

On Mon, 2005-10-24 at 11:58 -0700, enine wrote:
> How does using something like IpCop or IPchains (or another Linux besed firewall router) compare to one of the little 
> linksys/d-link/whomever routers?  
> Of course the Linux based should have more reporting and filtering functionality but how about throughput or security 
> or stability?

Very favourably, if administrated properly - in my experience, most
problems related to security and stability with linux-based
routers/firewalls have more to do with either setup or maintenance than
anything - in this respect, a box setup explicitly as a router (whether
a SOHO router from linksys or a preinstalled ipcop firewall) will tend
to win simply because of the planning and forethought which has gone
into the system setup.

Obviously, this distinction, then, has less to do with the underlying OS
and more to do with how it's treated - this could just as well apply to
(for instance) an install of Microsoft ISA Server performed by someone
unfamiliar with ISA and how to harden it vs. one of the commercially
available pre-packaged ISA Server appliances (yes, such things do exist
- http://www.microsoft.com/isaserver/hardware/default.mspx)

Interesting to note, then, that many linksys/d-link/whomever routers
actually run linux - http://www.seattlewireless.net/index.cgi/WAP54G,
for instance.

Hope that helps!

 - James.

> ---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
> From: "Caleb" <tech2 () helpess org>
> Date:  Mon, 24 Oct 2005 09:20:18 -0600
>
> > I have been using IpCop with great success on my network which is almost
> > identical to your own. You can get the ISO from www.ipcop.org  IPCop also
> > has built in IDS (using Snort) and VPN capabilities. IPCop uses https for
> > remote control using a pretty neat UI, would be my first recommendation.
> >
> > Cheers,
> > C S
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: pimp mastermind [mailto:gbchustla () gmail com] 
> > Sent: Friday, October 21, 2005 4:08 AM
> > To: security-basics () securityfocus com
> > Subject: a good firewall/router?
> >
> > Hello all,
> > I would like to know what kind of router is the best solution for a
> > little private network. Lets say i have 15 PC and 2 linux servers.
> > What kind of router can i
> > use ?I am thinking about some routers but i just want to collect the
> > best information i can. Thank you in advance guys! :)
>  
>
>
>
>
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