Expo : ACM Expo 2005
Location : Malaysia, Selangor Mines
Date : 09 September 2005
Title : An OS-Less Linux Base Firewall

I went to a Security / Multimidia / Telco Expo today.Basically all the TelCo, network appliances and some big servers fellow are there.

I was walking and saw a booth selling / displaying SmoothWall ..The famous Linux Web-Base firewall.

I went to meet the guys from the booth and manage speak to the Technical Manager amd ask him couples of questions. My first question was .. What is the different between the commercial version and the GPL version of SmoothWall.

The Technical Manager told me ...He has READS all the source code and he found out that the GPL version of smooth wall is full of bugs ... and it is very easy to HACK. I am impress with his ability. After his finish his comment on the GPL version of SmoothWall, he told me .. the commercial version is perfect .. no bug at all. Its totally different.

I look at him and say "COOL"... "So, you did read everything on SmoothWall ?" He told me "YES". He invvited me to play around with the system. So i say .. why not.

Later i saw a Traffic shapping control module there. I ask him again .. "How did SmoothWall traffic shapping works? Do it works with HTB or CBQ ?" He says he dosen't what is CBQ and HTB ... and he say iptables is for firewall only ...

I was thinking ... "Okie, never mind." I did ask some more question and he was kind of blur and gives me some silly answer...

He looks at me and try to convience me ... and he starts his comments. He told me "SmoothWall DOES NOT NEED AN OS TO RUN !". "It runs on all the application on the KERNEL , it did not run on the OS". I look at him and say ... "So .. are you trying to tell me ... there is no OS in SmoothWall and SmoothWall dosen't need it ?". He says .. "YES".

my mind was totally blank out for sometime will my boss came to me and ask me to leave and proceed to other booth .. ... ...

END.