Just about every small to midsize business has high speed internet and requires that connection to be fast, reliable and safe from the outside world. Chances are they've invested hundreds of dollars in a router/firewall appliance which came highly recommended from their IT vendor. Perhaps a Sonicwall, Cisco ASA or some other big name branded router.
Any size business get more bang for their buck by deploying a pfSense open source firewall platform on a old PC with two ethernet cards. Old PCs are piling up in almost every office we enter and pfSense will run fast and reliably on an old pc platform.
pfSense will provide the network with the following features and benefits:
- Firewall
- Router
- VPN (site to site or road warrior) using IPSEC or OpenVPN
- Content filtering, Virus Scanning, Anti Spam, Intusion Detection.
- Traffic shaping, Qos for VoIP
- Network monitoring and analysis tools (Graphs, reports and more)
- Web based management and administration. Easy.
- No annual fees for updates and maintenance
- Recycle and re-purpose old PC
- Runs on FreeBSD for high availability.
- Supported by a global community of dedicated developers and professionals.
If you like you can even deploy pfSense on a dedicated appliance for maximum reliability and energy conservation. So the next time your IT guy suggests a new router, ask them about pfsense.org or call Telecom Global Services at 908 272 2008 for a free consultation and analysis.
