Hi, I just completed the excellent tutorial "SAMBA (Domain Controller) Server For Small Workgroups With Ubuntu 5.10 "Breezy Badger"(link here), and I want to add a Firewall following the tutorial "Set Up Ubuntu-Server 6.06 LTS As A Firewall/Gateway For Your Small Business Environment" (link here). Some background info: - There are about 30 computers in the LAN. - All computers with Windows XP Pro - Linksys Router What I would like to know is two things: Do you recommend using two different computers (one for the Samba Server and another for the Firewall) or a single PC with the following hardware: - Intel mobo - Pentium 4 3Ghz - 2Gb DDR - 100Gb SATA The question is also for security reasons (I mean, is it safe to have both servers in the same PC or is it better to have two separated computers) Thanks in advance Padmx PS: Sorry for my english, I´m from Mexico
Two computers is better than one. If the firewall is down (hardware failure, hacker, "wirefoot" ,...) the clients can work in the intranet. In other case, your clients can view mail and www while you fix the problem and the hacker cannot spy your data. Another recommedation is RAID-1 for data. Never know if you have recents backup....!! For the Firewall i use P3-600Mhz + 256MB + (2+1) ethernet
Thanks for answering, rhan You have a good point, so probably I will install two separated servers (that´s one of the many advantages of Linux, no need to buy expensive software licenses, so my boss will be happy)
