I got permission to use a Dell Dimension P4 for testing so this morning I was able to load Astaro Secure Linux 5.1 to kick the tires. The text-mode installation went as smooth as can be, finishing in a little over 10 minutes.
The box has only one NIC so all I was able to do was explore the GUI, but so far I am very impressed. Aside from a full feature set, Astaro's interface is well-designed and pretty intuitive.
I'm going to see if I can round up a second NIC so that I can do a real test. I'm not sure if this will require a reinstall although given how easy the install is, I don't really mind if that's required.
Obviously this isn't a real review but I thought I'd share my favorable initial impression.
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3 comments:
Dave,
I've been using Astaro for both my day job and for my outside customers, and I have to say it is the best I've found in terms of ease of use/capabilities. In one case, a customer had a main office in Central Florida, and a branch in Charlotte, NC. I was returning to FL from Charlotte (for an unrelated event), when the hard disk in the NC firewall died. I was able to walk the relatively computer illiterate office manager through loading and configuring enough of Astaro to get the external NIC working, so I could restore the config backup. Did I mention that I was traveling down I-95 at high rates of speed at the time :-)
With my day job, we use the content filtering at the headquarters, and connect to three remote offices via VPN. Works like a champ.
Bobby,
This is just the kind of feedback I like to get on technical topics. so far, my test box has been running quite well and the admin interface is one of the best -- maybe the best -- that I've ever used.
That being said, my side-business is also an Astaro Reseller.
I've got one customer that has a remote location, connected via Astaro-to-Astaro VPN's, where all the terminals are Windows Terminal Services thin clients, and all the phones are Toshiba VoIP handsets. The only wires into the building are data T1, and power. They also supply most of the watermelons to Wal-Mart in the Southeast.
If you've got any questions about fun and stupid Astaro tricks, let me know and I'll e-mail you.
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