Re: [Sheflug] Where do I start?

[zzzz <nospam [at] zapata.freeserve.co.uk>]

Steve Tickle wrote:
> 
> Can you let me have some (sensible) suggestions on this please?
> 
> We currently run a mostly Windoze network of around a dozen PCs here. We
> have a dialup account to our ISP which is done from a Win95 based box
> running a firewall/proxy server which also handles mail forwarding. The
> reason behind us still using this system is that although it's a little
> inflexible and doesn't do everything the way we want it, it's reasonably
> easy to configure and I have a working familiarity with it. Ideally, I'd
> like to replace this with a Linux system but I don't know the first thing
> about the principles behind firewalls etc nor have I any first hand
> knowledge of procmail/sendmail etc.

> All help welcomed and appreciated.
> 
> Steve


You can phone a friend or ask the audience (usenet). This will be a low-
cost solution, which might as well work very well, and you learn a lot
in the process.


To go 'the corporate way', with some kind of warranty:

* buy a boxed version of your favorite Linux distribution. This will set
  you back about 100 pounds
* make sure phone and web support comes with the box. Most Linux
distributions
  come with 30 days *unlimited* phone support on sendmail, apache, etc.
  (as a comparison: NT4.0 costs 700 pounds and you have to pay for
support)

Optional:
* buy advanced support (140 pounds) to build your firewall, or use
  gnome-lokkit from Alan Cox (free, included in Red Hat 7.0, or
downloadable).

Optional:
Some linux distributions allow you to buy an annual server support
contract
for about 650 pounds (with not only installation, but also configuration
support).

There are also small companies around that do firewall setup. You can
hire
one of these. It'll cost you about 500 pounds, but you get a working
system
in a day.

Jules
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