Hi folks,

Looks like our "ancient" (2008) CISCO router has died.

I would appreciate the benefit of your experience regarding hardware

vs software routers/firewalls to help me evaluate replacement options.

Our current network uses 1 GB switches and has about 150 machines,

and there can be at least that many people simultaneously using the

network and our 25 mbps synchronous internet connection (including

people hooking into our internet from smart phones and tablets). Most

servers, including the domain controller, are virtualized and we are

using a SAN for storage (two identical Synology Linux NAS devices).

We have a 10 GB switch for virtual server/storage connectivity.

We do not host external (internet) email or websites on our network.

We've had slow growth in the number of machines and users (+/- 5% per

year) over the past decade.

We've always used the NAT functionality of the CISCO to provide a

firewall and we only rarely allow anything to punch through it. The

main exception would be our RDP server, which is in frequent use by

between 5 and 10 simultaneous connections.

My understanding is that a software router/firewall running on an

ordinary PC is likely to be slower than a dedicated hardware device.

However, is the difference so significant for a network like mine as

to rule out a cheaper software solution?

Do you have preferences for specific devices or software packages?

What do you all think?

Many thanks.

Ken Dibble

www.stic-cil.org

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