Firewall Advice
 

Need to get a firewall for the small company I work for. Probably 15 computers in all. Thinking about the Sonicwall TZ170. I'm kind of put off by the node count this device has. I might just buy it anyway. Anyone have and thoughts?

Budget= around $300-500

The WatchGuards are decent, and they include VPN access, which I think is crucial...

I just installed one of these today, looks like a good deal on a Cisco router/firewall/VPN

http://cgi.ebay.com/Cisco-1700-Series-Router-Model-1710_W0QQitemZ320027277470QQihZ011QQcategoryZ67307 QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Just about any old pentium or greater computer, many older macs, etc. too, and a Linux or BSD install cd - i'd go with debian personally. Then get a good fw script like gShield. Cost should be about $100 of old hardware, maybe a couple of network cards, and a hour or two of time.

Cisco PIX 501 firewall.

I believe they can be had for between 400-500.

While definately the solution with cool/geek factor, you probably won't have dual power supplies for redundancy. Plus you have to have someone around AFTER the current admin splits to support it. Knowing how we tend to customize and put our personal flair on things, it would most likely be semi non-standard.

I would stick with a purpose built appliance. The Cisco PIX is a good call too, did not realize you could get one for that price point :) Since Cisco is the de facto standard, you'll always have good support and will be able to find an admin.

Just some thoughts..