Hi, I don't know whether this is right list for my question.
I am facing basic problem while convincing to users. I
have implemented IPTABLES firewall on my Linux 8.0
server. I am frequently asked by users which
firewall/security measures are taken for my network.
My competitors use Checkpoint Firewall. Can somebody guide me how to convince my users that
Linux IPTABLES Firewall is technically at par with
commercial Firewall such as checkpoint.
Also if same security policies are adopted for IPTABLES and checkpoint, Is IPTABLES technically at par with commercial FIREWALLs?
Thanks
__________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search http://shopping.yahoo.com
netfilter is best suited for configurations in small to medium enteriprises IMHO (it is also an excellent host based firewall). Commerial firewalls have significant advantages...they come out of the box with top-notch gui management capabilities, fail-over, vpn and application-level services which support multiple authentication sources. Some of this can be accomplished on a netfilter box, but not without significant effort to configure and maintain.
The greatest advantage netfilter has is that it runs on a Linux box which gives it a tremendous amount of flexibility. You can do some things on a Linux box that you wouldn't dream of on a commercial firewall. Of course, some see this as a distinct disadvantage compared to an appliance;-)
Anymore, I'm having a tough time recommending a PC running Linux versus some of the entry level commercial firewalls, like a Pix, that can be had for under $1000, if for no other reason that it will be FAR less likely to have a hardware failure. If you're customers aren't satifisfied with your using netfilter on Linux, buy an inexpensive cisco Pix...I'm sure the name "Cisco" will impress them;-)
Goodluck, Matt
