On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 19:54:22 +0800 (SGT), Kelsey Hartigan Go <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Just to kick off a new related topic...since we are on this topic -- > What are the advantages and disadvantages of using firewall appliance > versus a linux box configured as a firewall...? > Maybe here are some reasons I would prefer a hardware solution over a software-based one (some of the time)
Advantages of hardware-based over software-based solution for the PC: 1) Less moving parts compared to a PC - better reliability than a PC 2) Generally reduced order of complexity (by virtue of being an appliance) 3) Generally better performing hardware components compared to PC parts. This becomes evident as for PC firewalls to do their stuff - their NICs must run in promiscous mode - which takes its toll on the NIC itself. Disadvantages of hardware-based over software-based solution for the PC 1) Hard to replace - you're locked with the vendor for the parts 2) Feature lock - lacks the flexibility of a software-based product when scaling it to extended needs. 3) Generally more expensive than PC-based software solutions. There are a lot of other reasons... but I'd really like Linux-based appliances to appear in more numbers. Somehow the best of both worlds :D -- Paolo Alexis Falcone [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Philippine Linux Users' Group (PLUG) Mailing List [email protected] (#PLUG @ irc.free.net.ph) Official Website: http://plug.linux.org.ph Searchable Archives: http://marc.free.net.ph . To leave, go to http://lists.q-linux.com/mailman/listinfo/plug . Are you a Linux newbie? To join the newbie list, go to http://lists.q-linux.com/mailman/listinfo/ph-linux-newbie
