Hardware Vs Software?

[armshount]

What do you prefer more when routing and firewalling in a network?

Software or Hardware?

I prefer IPTABLES software firewall. IF you use it please tell me what you think of it. What do you think of Hardware vs Software based routers and firewalls.

[sgosnell]

I use a router. I have to have one anyway, to connect all my computers to one internet connection, so it makes sense to use the built-in firewall. Routers are secure if you configure the properly, and far easier to configure and get working than iptables for most people.

[Lazydog]

What do you prefer more when routing and firewalling in a network?

Software or Hardware?

I prefer IPTABLES software firewall. IF you use it please tell me what you think of it. What do you think of Hardware vs Software based routers and firewalls.

I laugh when people refer to firewalls as 'hardware' or 'software' firewalls. Lets face it they are both running software to make them work and software can have bugs/holes in it so the 'hardware' could be just as faulty as the 'software' one.

I guess a better definition would be dedicated or shared.

That being said, I like IPTABLES for my firewall. Does what I want when I want it to. I have a system here wioth 4 interfaces that does my firewall and routing.

I use a router. I have to have one anyway, to connect all my computers to one internet connection, so it makes sense to use the built-in firewall. Routers are secure if you configure the properly, and far easier to configure and get working than iptables for most people.

Most of the home internet routers are NAT boxes not true firewalls. They NAT the traffic leaving the device for the internet. That is why they are easier to configure.

I have not looked into it but I have often wondered if someone was able to get the ports you were using if they could somehow break into your network because it is NAT box?

[Hal343]

I usually use a Nat and iptables on the boxes themselves.