- Part 2: Computer and Networking Hardware for a Linux Firewall
- A Guide to Securing Your Home Computer System with a Linux Firewall
- Minimum Computer Needed
- Can a Notebook Computer Serve as a Firewall?
- Ethernet: The Fastest Connection and the Lowest Cost
- Wireless: The Most Elegant Solution
- Putting It All Together
A Guide to Securing Your Home Computer System with a Linux Firewall
A Linux firewall computer requires minimal hardware. In addition to a firewall computer, you will need some networking hardware.
Whether you are building a firewall at home for a single computer or for many, you will be setting up a home network. Figure 1 shows a home network with a Linux firewall connected to the Internet through a cable modem or another device.
Figure 1 — Illustration of your home network
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The firewall sits between your home computer(s) and the connection to the Internet. The firewall system that is described in this guide is called a filtering firewall. There is another kind of firewall, a proxy firewall, but that is not covered here.
Proxy servers have greater hardware requirements because a new process is started for every user that connects. Proxy servers also require additional setup on every computer on your network. If you would like to learn about proxy firewalls, the Apache Web Server has proxy capabilities; also, the Squid Proxy Server is a full-featured proxy firewall that runs on Linux.
Filtering firewall computers does not need to be fancy or heavy-duty. But don't worry—even at the minimum level, they won't slow down your Internet connection, and they are transparent to the users on your network.