> Does anybody know any Firewall solution on NT platform. Any
> idea on the secure level of using a NT as Firewall as comparing
> the one using UNIX ??
Oh no, not the holy wars again. :-0
NT is potentially a good firewall host. The OS is very stable (assuming you
run it on HCL listed hardware). NT was designed for C2 security. I am not
sure as to the state of it's C2 evaluation by the government, but I think it
has passed the evaluation. I've found NT not to be the typical bong-water
product that MS is known for.
You can tightly secure an NT system, especially if all the drives are
formatted as NTFS. Some people find the security confusing, but experienced
Windows users generally get the hang of it rather quickly.
As an internet host, I wouldn't hesitate to use one. It's easy to setup
common Inet services on NT, most of the services are provided with the NT
resource kit or are included with NT OS. (You can download the resource kit
software from ftp.microsoft.com) FTP server comes with NT, HTTPS, WAISS,
GOPHERS, and DNS services are on the resource kit. The Remote Access Service
can provide dial-in PPP-access as well as IPX and NetBEUI, over telephone
and ISDN.
Microsoft runs their webserver, public and private FTP servers and gopher
server all on NT3.5 Server platforms. At least one internet provider I know
of uses NT running on DEC Alpha's as their main network
platform.(http://www.netropolis.net).
Now firewall is a different topic. What exactly do you mean by firewall? If
you are looking for packet filtering, proxy services and such; it really
isn't available yet. You can build a internet<->lan connection with NT and a
packet filtering router that provides a good level of security, especially
if you don't have any Unix machinery on your lan (say just Wintels and Mac's).
OB-Unix-worship. Unix is great, unix is free, the Dallas Cowboys run Unix,
thou shalt have none other gods but Unix. (lay off, eh? I didn't say Unix
was bad, I said NT might be a good choice for some people)
Larry Barras
Merak Projects, Inc.
(713) 850-1633
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