[Techtalk] BSD/Linux - firewall questions

[Michelle Murrain]

At 04:48 PM 11/21/2001, jenn at simegen.com wrote:
>Get a couple of cheap 486s, install one of the *BSDs with a built in 
>firewall. (Ok, Linux can do it too.) Put one between your server and the 
>Internet. Put the other between your server and the rest of your
>home network.

I don't want to start a *BSD vs Linux flame war (not that we often have 
flame wars) but I'd really like to get folks' opinion on some issues:

I'm likely getting a Fractional T1 in the next couple of months - and it 
provides an opportunity for me to totally re-work my network. Right now, I 
have a router/nat box attached to my cable-modem, and a (against policy) 
web server off of that, running IPchains and snort.

So - my plan is to create a DMZ, with 2 firewall boxes  - and the question 
is, should I go Linux, BSD? And is a 486 truly enough to do the trick?

I've never used any BSD ('cept Mac OS X - but I haven't really gotten into 
it much), although I keep hearing how secure it is. But I know Linux well, 
and if I can make Linux as secure as BSD, which I suspect I can, I'd rather 
go that route.

.Michelle

---------------------------------------
Michelle Murrain, Ph.D.
tech at murrain.net
AIM:pearlbear0
http://www.murrain.net/public_key.html for pgp public key