I forgot to post some stuff in the last mail: The firewall depends on the securitiy the machine has from internal. So you have to build a secure distribution, like debian or gentoo linux or manipulate SuSE linux that it is secure (minial installation +secumod +compardment +security level setup +services you need). If time is money here are some firewall solutions that you can install in ~1/2 hour: SuSEfirewall on CD http://www.suse.de/de/business/products/suse_business/firewall/index.html transtec firewall hardware http://www.suse.de/de/business/products/suse_business/firewall_hardware/inde... Astaro Security linux / Mailserver, firewall, proxy, virus protected content, each module costs a bit :-( www.astaro.com The last one I tested and I was impressed of the features (intrusiondetection, live logview, portscan checks, proxy, webconfiguration, rulesets ...). The config can be copied to a disk. If your server gets intruded you format the disk, reinstall it and copy your configuration back. The webinterface is very intuitive and userfriendly, but you must have knownledge of iptables and rulesets. Philippe