[ale] OT: Firewall purchase

[Jonathan Rickman]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: ale-bounces at ale.org [mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org] On 
> Behalf Of David Hamm
> Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2004 7:32 PM
> To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts
> Subject: Re: [ale] OT: Firewall purchase
> 
> Sure, the network be hind the firewall is Frame-Relay, all 
> the remotes come back through the firewall for internet 
> access.  I chose ospf since there were version conflicts with 
> RIP.  Now that OSPF is up and running I've found I like it.  
> Its faster and more flexible.  

Do you need a DMZ port?
How much total throughput do you need?
3DES or DES?
VPN Throughput?
Number of clients?
Number of remote VPN sessions?

A Cisco PIX will take care of your needs handily and you'd be surprised at
how robust the entry level units are. A lot of folks shy away from the PIX
because of percieved expenses. PIX solutions start in the $400 range. Many
folks skim right past the 501 and 506 because they can't believe that that
itty bitty wittle box can handle their big manly network. :) Sure, pricing
is high from the 515 on up, but the entry models fit the bill nicely for
some pretty big networks. In my opinion, if the network you are describing
is so big/busy that a PIX 501 or 506 can't handle it, then you can afford to
come off the dime. Of course, this does mean that user licensing comes into
play, but it is not really that bad overall. If you can answer those
questions definitively, I'll give you the exact model number and price. 

--
Jonathan