[Snort-users] Newbie question: needed PC specs and performance

Hello.
I want to set up a router, firewall and snort on a dedicated machine.
In addition I want to have an OpenSSH Server running on my "Entrance to
my LAN". And all that on a DSL line (low speed 700 soemthin kBit
downstream, 128 kBit upstream). This is for a web server running and
normal traffic. I play huge graphics games over the net and I get tons
of emails.

I have a spare computer for this purpose, with a 10 MBit Ethernet Card
on board and an 100 MBit Card added but I am not quite shure wheather
this machine will have enough speed for my needs: Its a 8 Year old
Apple Power Macintosh 7600 with 132 MHZ and 80 MByte Ram.

On the other hand there are Computer on PC base with 2 GHZ for about
500 Euros and there are Linux OSes like SuSE which can be configured
graphically. Obviously my Mac won't run any X-Server since that would
be veeerrrry slow, although I havn't tried. And I use Debian which has
the oldest Kernel I ever seen (2.2 out of the box, 2.4.18 built
myself).

BTW would the 2.4.18 Kernel be recent enough concerning security and
stability?

So I am not quite shure wheather to buy a new PC in the lower price
segment or to stay with my Mac. Since I am student, I would rather like
to buy books instead computer hardware but on the other hand I don't
want to sit on a museum with the oldest hardware one has ever seen and
building, configuring and compiling Linux software takes days just to
reveal that the hardware is outside "recommendations".

What do you think?

Suggestions greatly welcome,
Robert Welz



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