[WBEL-users] Layer 3 Routing

[Alon]

Hi All,

This is not a WBEL specific question, but I thought perhaps you could throw some pointers on how to address this:

I want to move to a new NOC that has all the bells and whistles that I want including a better pricing per server (if I take a full cabinet).
However, the NOC requires me to manage my own gateway and as a requirement I need to have a Layer 3 Routing box.

They love to offer various ready-out of the box solutions which are very nice and of course are very costly:

Fortigate 200A is a solution they propose. This solution offers not just Layer 3 Routing, but also adds a Firewall, SpamChild and Anti-Virus and
DDoS protection.

While all the additives are great,.. except the Firewall, there is really no added value to my specific needs.

So,. I am looking to 'build' my own Layer 3 Router with Firewall and it seems that Linux is the perfect suite for this device.

With that said,. I'm a newbie when it all comes down to Routing and IP mgmt.
Until today all my IP mgmt were basically narrowed to:  Setup --> Network Mgmt --> set IP, DNS and Gateway values.  And occionly
add few more IPs to the server, and even that was done via DirectAdmin control panel.

So,. I'm looking to learn a bit more about how to create my 'own Layer 3 Routing Gateway'.

The hardware that will be used as a dedicated box is:  Pentium 4 3.0Ghz with 2MB Cache, 1GB of RAM and 80GB SATA HD.
I'll add 2 Gbit network PCI cards to the onboard 10/100 NIC.
I was told this will probably be even an Overkill with regards of Layer 3 Routing Gateway needs.
My regular total MRTG traffic stands at about 30MB with peeks of 70MB at times.

I do want to have the active firewall present with packet stateful inspection and whatever I throw in to better protect my network.

But other than that,. I don't have any more demands.

Can you suggest of a ready made solution or give me pointers of how to approach this?

For firewall solutions I was told about:  http://ipcop.org    Has anyone had experience with this?

Thanks,

-Alon.
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