I am looking to fill a need for a firewall for my company. We are ~40
people (PC only shop), and currently only have dialup (28.8k) access to
the internet. I am proposing that we get a full-time ISDN connection. I
like what I have read about the Cisco PIK (proxy/firewall) product. It
looks like most any idiot (me) could figure out how to manage it, which
I dont think could be said for some of the linux/unix solutions. It also
runs ~$3k (about the cost of a good PC without any software).
It also has many of the features that I am interested in:
NAT (so I can use un-purchased IP blocks)
Realaudio/multimedia support
(i think) PPTP v-lan support for field users to authenticate and access
the LAN via a local ISP.
Online-Spare/ hot-switch backup, so it keeps on going even when it
crashes.
I was wondering if anyone has had any bad experiences with the Cisco
product they wish to share, before I put my neck on the line to suggest
it? The features and costofownership make it look attractive to me. I
have looked at and thought about the Microsoft Steelhead product, (easy
to configure, etc) but I would hate to buy something this important
without it being in the field a few years.
Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks
pd
petedavis @
usa .
net
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