[K12OSN] Minimum specs for firewall/filter

[David Trask]

Hi Steve!

IPCop is good, but SME is more flexible and very easy as I showed you in
Feb.  The specs essentially depend on how many machines you'll be
servicing.  Since the SME box will also be a proxy server you'll want fast
HD's in there...nothing slower than 7200 RPM.  The faster you can spin the
faster you can serve up the data.  Processor for the most part is a
non-issue.  Get a run of the mill processor such as a higher-end Celeron
or a P4....even AMD.  Put in one or two HD's....not too big.....40 gb or
80 gb should be way more than enough.   Put in some RAM (I tend to load up
on RAM even if I don't need it so that I have options with using the
server for something else in the future)....I run a gig of RAM in mine.  I
serve nearly 300 machines with a Pentium 3 with 80 gb 7200 RPM drive and a
gig of RAM.  This machine is my
gateway/firewall/proxy/router/DNS/DHCP/DansGuardian filter all rolled into
one and it does a phenomenal job!  Using the dungog modules makes the
whole thing a snap to operate and configure from anywhere.  The nice thing
is that it's very fast to set up.....I think Joe told me he was down to 18
minutes from bare metal....and that's normal....I've had it down to 16
minutes, but I had practiced a lot :-)  Very easy to duplicate and lately
I have been setting them up for people remotely from where I sit....all
they do is load the CD and run the install.....then they give me temporary
ssh access and I configure the rest.  

SME also has an awesome and very easy to install SpamAssassin and ClamAV
(anti-virus) set up that is a breeze to set up and run...and you can run
it in conjunction with your FirstClass server.....It does a fantastic job
of screening spam and virus scanning.

"Support list for opensource software in schools." <k12osn at redhat.com>
writes:
>We're hoping to replace our firewall/filtering solutions with an SME
>server.  Could someone recommend the minimum specs for an SME server
>used only as a firewall and filtering server.
>Thanks!
>Steve
>
>Steve Kossakoski, Ph.D. 
>Assistant Superintendent, Technology
>SAU 16 24 Front Street Exeter, NH  03833 
>Ph:  603-775-8678 Fax:  603-775-8673 
>http://www.sau16.org 
>http://www.spdc.org  


David N. Trask
Technology Teacher/Coordinator
Vassalboro Community School
dtrask at vcs.u52.k12.me.us
(207)923-3100