On Mon, 2002-11-11 at 14:44, Robert P. J. Day wrote: > far better to get a cable/dsl router (possibly 4-port), most of which are > configurable via a browser. any decent one already has some firewalling > capability, they're smaller, more reliable, do NAT automatically, etc, > etc. My home is out in a rural area for which there is no cost effective broadband solution. For me, the cost of 2 way satellite is still a little too steep. I'm using a good old-fashioned 56.6 modem connection. Yes, there are routers that have 56.6 modems built in, but they are hard to come by now. I happened to have a good bit of old hardware laying around doing nothing and the time/knowledge/will to recycle a P100 for the job of dialup router/firewall. I learned a lot about firewalls that I didn't know while working on the project. Should everyone press an older model computer into service as a router/firewall? No. If *all* you want to do is NAT and basic firewall between you and a DSL or Cable internet service, an appliance is going to be your best bet. If you have special needs that an appliance can't do and/or want to broaden your skills a little, it's a good experience. Linux is like everything else. Use the right tool for the job. Your mileage may vary, -- Philip A. Chapman Application Development: Java, Visual Basic, VB for Applications, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MSSQL Linux, Windows 9x, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP
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