Facing a time-consuming and expensive upgrade process, Lloyd found an ideal solution: he turned to an all-in-one security product. Lloyd set up his own network at home where he downloaded a free 30-day trial of Astaro Security Linux. "To meet my own firewall requirements for my Linux- and Windows-based network, I investigated several open-source solutions. I looked at SmoothWall, IPCop and Astaro, among others, and as I investigated the features offered by each, I found that with Astaro I could turn an inexpensive server into an all-purpose security appliance", he said.

Lloyd also noted a key gap in the other open-source offerings: the lack of NAT support. "Without NAT, the other solutions may work for a single home or small office deployment, but they're inappropriate for a large network with a number of devices behind the firewall." Lloyd says that he further was won over by the fact that Astaro offers a simplified, standardized installation process, as well as providing several security features, including a firewall, packet inspection and antivirus protection, all in a single software product.

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