Re: Proverbial appliance vs software based firewall

["Marcus J. Ranum" <mjr () ranum com>]

Dominic Malig wrote:
> any updates on the
> proverbial firewall appliance vs software firewall
> 'which is better' discussion(aside from the usuals re
> hardened OS, cost, etc.)  

It amazes me that the topic comes up at all!!! :)

Inside every "appliance" is an operating system. Inside
every ASIC or "embedded processor" is software. There's
really no difference other than the packaging. I like
the "appliance" approach because it lets the vendor
guarantee a compatible and well-balanced hardware/software
solution. But it amazes me when someone says "well, it's
an appliance so it must be more secure/reliable/faster"
uh. no.

mjr.
---
Marcus J. Ranum                         http://www.ranum.com
Computer and Communications Security    mjr () ranum com

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