Firewall for a small company

[ashburn]

Hello all
I'm trying to setup a firewall for a small animation studio that use mostly macs and some pc.
the office's network is sharing a T1 line for around 20-30 workstations and no server yet.
what hardware router/firewall you would suggest?
and where can i look up for some good firewire/network setup info?

thanks

[fddi1]

Hello all
I'm trying to setup a firewall for a small animation studio that use mostly macs and some pc.
the office's network is sharing a T1 line for around 20-30 workstations and no server yet.
what hardware router/firewall you would suggest?
and where can i look up for some good firewire/network setup info?

thanks

There are several options. I'd suggest a hardware firewall for easy maintnenance. CheckPoint may be a overkill. So if you want a stateful firewall, consider either Cisco's PIX 506 or SonicWALL's products.

[小麥草]

For such small network, a broadband sharing router can do a great work. If you plan to install a server which open to public, or you want the most stable and secure firewall, you may think about NetScreen. A NetScreen 5xp or 10 is enough for your network.

[oeyvind]

Yes, get a Netscreen box... they are fast and good.

[ashburn]

ok just found out.. this company will expand to 150+ workstations in the future.. so i need something that can handle these loads of network, that includes a render farm. guess something small is not gonna do it. guess i will go with cisco then.

[oeyvind]

A NS 10 box should handle that.

[ashburn]

ok.. how about a recommend for a gigabit switch?

is there a 24 ports 100baseT with a gigabit uplink switch? i'm currently looking for 24 ports 100baseT with a gigabit uplink switch and stackable 24 ports gigabit switch. but at lost for which to pick.. i really need a reliable and inexpenstive switches for the job.

are 3com and linksys any good? i found 3com to have better price compared to linksys/cisco branded switches... TIA
you guys have been great help.