Hi, I have exposure to all the FW products you have listed in a commercial environment. One that you have missed, and really should consider is netscreen. http://www.netscreen.com/main.html
I, personally would ISA as a proxy, only a proxy, sitting behind a firewall of some sort. - CheckPoint - big $$, need to really know what yr doing when configuring. I like it - Cisco PIX - do you know cisco command line? if not forget it. The GUI is a after thought and you cannot configure everything from the GUI - Netscreen - easy configuration, reasonable priced, great features - linux ipchains - is a packet filter, use iptables its stateful. You really need to know what yr doing with this, its no easy task, but its free! If you want any further info contact me off list cheers Ivan Coric IT Security Officer Information Technology WorkCover Queensland Ph: (07) 30066414 Fax: (07) 30066424 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 03/07/03 06:04am >>> I am in charge of researching a firewall to replace what we currently have. At my previous job I had used Microsoft ISA in a low-security environment, and was happy with its features, and its integration with the Windows environment there. However, at my current job, security is a much greater concern, and I have to admit, I am somewhat uneasy running a Microsoft firewall product on top of a Microsoft OS. We also had investigated Checkpoint as well as Cisco Pix, and found that for our needs, the Pix at least seemed to need _many_ separate components for the same functionality. My question is what are your experiences with using ISA from a security standpoint? Usability issues? From the Mac end? Or would we be better off pursuing the Checkpoint or the Pix solution? We also plan on implementing VPN over whatever we choose, so if you recommend something other than these, it should support at least PPTP and perhaps eventually IPSec/L2TP. We have also considered placing ISA behind a Linux (or BSD) IP Chains firewall and our perimeter network to block some of the traffic from getting to ISA. Any comments here? Thanks to everybody in advance! *************************************************************************** Messages included in this e-mail and any of its attachments are those of the author unless specifically stated to represent WorkCover Queensland. The contents of this message are to be used for the intended purpose only and are to be kept confidential at all times. This message may contain privileged information directed only to the intended addressee/s. Accidental receipt of this information should be deleted promptly and the sender notified. This e-mail has been scanned by Sophos for known viruses. However, no warranty nor liability is implied in this respect. **********************************************************************