Untangle your network

Untangle it’s a software appliance (based on Debian) that can help you in managing your network from content security to web caching, remote access to policy enforcement, all from one simple, drag & drop command center.

Untangle is a privately held company that provides an open source network gateway for small businesses. They offer the core modules (12) as GPL software and others at payment, the cost depend on number of “client” and which modules you want to install, to start (or for home use) the Lite Package (free to download and use) is enough.




The Lite Package includes the following modules:

• Spam Blocker
• Spyware Blocker
• Web Filter Lite
• OpenVPN
• Protocol Control
• Phish Blocker
• Intrusion Prevention
• Attack Blocker
• Virus Blocker
• Routing & QoS
• Reports
• Firewall

Hardware Recommendations

These are the official hardware requirements, Untangle sells also hardware appliance

Resource	Processor	Memory	Hard Drive	NICs	Notes
Minimum	Intel/AMD-compatible Processor (800+ Mhz)	512 MB	20 GB	2
1-50 Users	Pentium 4 equivalent or greater	1 GB	80 GB	2 or more
51-150 Users	Dual Core	2 GB	80 GB	2 or more
151-500 Users	2 or more Cores	2 or more GB	80 GB	2 or more
501-1500 Users	4 Cores	4 GB	80 GB	2 or more	64-bit
1501-5000 Users	4 or more Cores	4 or more GB	80 GB	2 or more	64-bit

WebGui

The nice thing of this software it’s that is completely manageable by a graphic interface (a webGUI).

Untangle’s webGUI can be divided into two main parts, the Navigation Pane on the left and virtual Racks on the right. The Navigation Pane contains two tabs – Apps is used to install applications into your racks, while Config is used to configure various general settings within your Untangle. Applications are installed into racks and filter the traffic that flows through them. Each application has a faceplate with a Settings button to configure it, blingers to show you current status information, and a power button to toggle it on or off. Across the top of the webGUI there is a dropdown to switch racks or use the Session Viewer, network speed statistics, a count of open sessions, and CPU, memory and disk information.

The Lite Package only includes the ability to use one rack; if you need the ability to create multiple racks you’ll need the Policy Manager.

Applications

There are two types of Applications:

• Filter Applications: All the Applications above the Services pane in the interface can have unique configurations, which you can apply to specific virtual racks. Virtual racks enable you to create different policies for different sets of users.
• Service Applications: All the Applications below the Services pane are services and are “global.” Each has a configuration that applies to all virtual racks. As such, if you remove any service from any rack, you will remove that service from all racks.

Conclusions

Untangle it’s an easy to setup software appliance that can allow you to build up complex network services without much effort. The interface is really user friendly and all is built with the ease of use in mind. The documentation area is well organized with clear documentation and there are modules that cover the main network aspects.

So i must say that, while i’m a terminal lover, this appliance can really improve the life of many system/network administrators.

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