Router/firewall advice please

Hi,

This is my first post. I hope i'm in the right forum. I am currently looking for a border router/firewall solution for my company. It is a small company that serves around 500 users. The Router will serve the current network and also a DMZ. i would also like something with multiple interfaces and must accept an SDSL Wic card as well as providing vpn termination for around 20 users.

I would grateful for any help / advice or Reccomendations that you could offer. we are based in the UK so if you could also suggest any retailers that would also be great. i hope thats enough info.

many thanks in advance.

J mac

If this is inappropriate or posted in the wrong forum please could someone let me know. If anyone can suggest another forum geared more towards discussing network solutions let me know.

Don't worry johnnymac, there is nothing wrong with your post and it's in a perfectly acceptable place given the content.
What kind of solution are you looking for? Would you prefer industy strength boxes with a commercial price tag, or are you looking to do something cheaper using perhaps open source products?

industry strength with a comercial price tag please.

Okay.
To me, what you've described sounds like two boxes. I think you need to look at a good border router with the performance and interfaces you need, and then behind it you need to put a firewall/VPN endpoint. That approach will give you maximum flexibility and let you choose the best products for each application without compromising to get it all in one box. Plus, you can have basic ACLs and filtering on the router as well so you have a layered defence for your organisation.
If you want an industry-strength router it's got to be a Cisco. Then for the firewall you have more of a choice. I've used both Checkpoint Firewall-1 and Cyberguard and they are both good.
Let's see if anyone else can be more specific in their recommendations...

I will have to agree with "TheBishop" for the network hierarachy that he has stated. I also have used the Checkpoint Firewall - 1. It is an excellent product, so is the PIX along with the new PDM 3.0, it is fairly easy to configure and maintain. The router at the border has to be at least a Cisco 2800 Series, to allow performance and scalability.
At the moment i have the same setup and it works fine for me as far as seciruty and performance is concerned.

Thanx.