Getting started with SmoothWall
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OK, I'll get an ER-X. Thanks for the advice.
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@Carnival-Boy said in Getting started with SmoothWall:
OK, I'll get an ER-X. Thanks for the advice.
For the office, most of us spring for the bigger ERL. But the ERX will do.
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I'd hate to throw another monkey wrench into all of this. I am really considering VyOS, but was wondering if the Sophos UTM should be a consideration. I'm getting the free home version. Also, how does their other home firewall compare?
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@NerdyDad said in Getting started with SmoothWall:
I'd hate to throw another monkey wrench into all of this. I am really considering VyOS, but was wondering if the Sophos UTM should be a consideration. I'm getting the free home version. Also, how does their other home firewall compare?
This is for home? Is your goal to have something fancy or to learn skills for work? If you want to learn valuable IT skills, VyOS obviously. If you just want a pretty GUI for home use, doesn't really matter what you pick.
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@scottalanmiller said in Getting started with SmoothWall:
@NerdyDad said in Getting started with SmoothWall:
I'd hate to throw another monkey wrench into all of this. I am really considering VyOS, but was wondering if the Sophos UTM should be a consideration. I'm getting the free home version. Also, how does their other home firewall compare?
This is for home? Is your goal to have something fancy or to learn skills for work? If you want to learn valuable IT skills, VyOS obviously. If you just want a pretty GUI for home use, doesn't really matter what you pick.
There are multiple reasons here:
- Learn some valuable networking/firewall skills .
- Learn more about Linux. Again, trying to surround myself with Linux server in order to force myself to learn Linux server.
- Gain more control over the amount of Internet time the kids have.
- VPN into my network while I am out and about.
- Just protect the family with something a little bit more robust.
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@NerdyDad said in Getting started with SmoothWall:
@scottalanmiller said in Getting started with SmoothWall:
@NerdyDad said in Getting started with SmoothWall:
I'd hate to throw another monkey wrench into all of this. I am really considering VyOS, but was wondering if the Sophos UTM should be a consideration. I'm getting the free home version. Also, how does their other home firewall compare?
This is for home? Is your goal to have something fancy or to learn skills for work? If you want to learn valuable IT skills, VyOS obviously. If you just want a pretty GUI for home use, doesn't really matter what you pick.
There are multiple reasons here:
- Learn some valuable networking/firewall skills .
- Learn more about Linux. Again, trying to surround myself with Linux server in order to force myself to learn Linux server.
- Gain more control over the amount of Internet time the kids have.
- VPN into my network while I am out and about.
- Just protect the family with something a little bit more robust.
All of those tell you to use VyOS, right? SmoothWall has a GUI and won't teach you anything Linux whatsoever, it's an appliance. VyOS is the only one that really meets your criteria at all. So Sophos, Smoothwall, pfSense... none even were actual considerations according to this list.
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@scottalanmiller said in Getting started with SmoothWall:
@NerdyDad said in Getting started with SmoothWall:
@scottalanmiller said in Getting started with SmoothWall:
@NerdyDad said in Getting started with SmoothWall:
I'd hate to throw another monkey wrench into all of this. I am really considering VyOS, but was wondering if the Sophos UTM should be a consideration. I'm getting the free home version. Also, how does their other home firewall compare?
This is for home? Is your goal to have something fancy or to learn skills for work? If you want to learn valuable IT skills, VyOS obviously. If you just want a pretty GUI for home use, doesn't really matter what you pick.
There are multiple reasons here:
- Learn some valuable networking/firewall skills .
- Learn more about Linux. Again, trying to surround myself with Linux server in order to force myself to learn Linux server.
- Gain more control over the amount of Internet time the kids have.
- VPN into my network while I am out and about.
- Just protect the family with something a little bit more robust.
All of those tell you to use VyOS, right? SmoothWall has a GUI and won't teach you anything Linux whatsoever, it's an appliance. VyOS is the only one that really meets your criteria at all. So Sophos, Smoothwall, pfSense... none even were actual considerations according to this list.
No, the last point is not natively covered by VyOS.
- Just protect the family with something a little bit more robust.
I mean yeah, VyOS is a great firewall/router, but the implication of that statement is for IDS/Content Filtering.
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@JaredBusch said in Getting started with SmoothWall:
I mean yeah, VyOS is a great firewall/router, but the implication of that statement is for IDS/Content Filtering.
VyOS uses Squid if you want it, same as pfSense, Smoothwall, Untangle, etc. So content filtering you can do just the same. Most people using VyOS don't use it for the same reasons that you and I do not put that on our routers, but if the goal is to do that, it enables it the same as those other products but with an opportunity to learn it rather than have it just magically appear.
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For IDS, you can put that on a Linux VM. Which you can with Squid, too. VyOS might not directly meet the one need (IDS) but it doesn't disable it, either. It just forces you to do it in a better way.
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@scottalanmiller said in Getting started with SmoothWall:
@JaredBusch said in Getting started with SmoothWall:
I mean yeah, VyOS is a great firewall/router, but the implication of that statement is for IDS/Content Filtering.
VyOS uses Squid if you want it, same as pfSense, Smoothwall, Untangle, etc. So content filtering you can do just the same. Most people using VyOS don't use it for the same reasons that you and I do not put that on our routers, but if the goal is to do that, it enables it the same as those other products but with an opportunity to learn it rather than have it just magically appear.
Did not realize that they had squid baked in. Iassumed it had tobe added.
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@JaredBusch said in Getting started with SmoothWall:
@scottalanmiller said in Getting started with SmoothWall:
@JaredBusch said in Getting started with SmoothWall:
I mean yeah, VyOS is a great firewall/router, but the implication of that statement is for IDS/Content Filtering.
VyOS uses Squid if you want it, same as pfSense, Smoothwall, Untangle, etc. So content filtering you can do just the same. Most people using VyOS don't use it for the same reasons that you and I do not put that on our routers, but if the goal is to do that, it enables it the same as those other products but with an opportunity to learn it rather than have it just magically appear.
Did not realize that they had squid baked in. Iassumed it had tobe added.
Baked in, but off by default. So we all ignore it
