SmoothWall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
SmoothWall is a firewall distribution based on the GNU/Linux operating system. Designed for ease of use, SmoothWall is configured via a web-based GUI, and requires little or no knowledge of Linux to install or use. SmoothWall began life as SmoothWall GPL, a freely redistributable version, in August 2000, with a proprietary version sold by SmoothWall Ltd from November 2001. It is now available in several free and paid-for versions.
According to figures released by the company[1], Smoothwall currently has over 1 million active installations worldwide.
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[edit] SmoothWall Express
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 Smoothwall Express 2.0 Welcome Screen |
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| Website: | smoothwall.org |
| OS family: | GNU/Linux |
| Source model: | Open source |
| Latest stable release: | 2.0 SP1 / December 22, 2006 |
| Latest unstable release: | 3.0 alpha "Koala" / December 22, 2006 |
| Kernel type: | Linux 2.4 |
| Default user interface: | web user interface |
| License: | GPL |
| Working state: | Current |
SmoothWall Express — originally SmoothWall GPL — is the freely distributable version of SmoothWall, developed by the SmoothWall Open Source Project team and members of SmoothWall Ltd. and released under the GNU GPL.
[edit] SmoothWall GPL
Released in August 2000, SmoothWall GPL was developed by Lawrence Manning and Richard Morrell to provide a quick and easy-to-use solution to the problem of sharing their ISDN connections with the rest of their LAN. Created using Red Hat Linux, SmoothWall GPL originally had two simple functions: control the modem to dial up and hang up, and to route TCP/IP packets from the LAN to the Internet connection, and back again. The LAN was hidden from the public network by NAT, applied using ipchains.
Beginning with 0.9 in August 2000, the SmoothWall GPL 0.9.x series went through several versions based on the 2.2 Linux kernel, culminating in 0.9.9 SE in December 2001, which was probably the most popular GPL release. Each release led to a number of improvements, including PAT (port forwarding), DMZ, PSTN and ISDN dial-up support, broadband (ADSL and Cable) support.
SmoothWall GPL 1.0 was released in December 2002, including all previously released patches and security fixes, and ended development of the 0.9.x/1.0 series, although it was supported by errata updates for another year and a half.
SmoothWall was amongst the first software appliance firewalls, including Mandrake Single Network Firewall, ClarkConnect, m0n0wall, and IPCop, which was forked from SmoothWall GPL 0.9.9 in late 2001.
[edit] SmoothWall Express 2
Developed from 2002 to 2003, the next major release of SmoothWall was intended to be numbered 1.0, but the large number of changes and improvements led the development team to term it worth a 2.0 version number. The team decided that the name "SmoothWall GPL" wasn't inclusive enough, worrying that newcomers to SmoothWall wouldn't understand the acronym. On 16 September 2003, the name was officially changed to SmoothWall Express[2] to imply speed of installation, use and operation.
Express improved on the functionality of SmoothWall GPL by using the 2.4 Linux kernel, improving the web user interface, and making many changes to existing features and adding several new ones[3].
After the 2.0 release, development and testing of the software was mainly led by SmoothWall Ltd. staff, with less work being done by outside volunteer contributors.
[edit] SmoothWall Express 3
On September 1, 2005, the fifth anniversary of the original SmoothWall firewall, an alpha version of Smoothwall 3.0 was released, code named "Grizzly", followed by "Panda" on December 23, 2005 and "Koala on December 22, 2006. Express 3 uses the 2.6 Linux kernel and a new build system developed internally at SmoothWall Ltd. As Express 3 development has continued, the team has gradually expanded to again include outside volunteers.
No firm release date has been set for Express 3.
[edit] SmoothWall Limited
| Website: | smoothwall.net |
| Company/ developer: |
SmoothWall Ltd |
| OS family: | GNU/Linux |
| Source model: | Closed source |
| Latest stable release: | AF: 2, CF: 5, CG: 5 / AF: 20 November 2006, CF: 23 October 2006, CG: 26 April 2006 |
| Kernel type: | Linux 2.6 |
| Default user interface: | web user interface |
| License: | Commercial |
| Working state: | Current |
In late 2001, Manning and Morrell, with George Lungley, formed SmoothWall Limited as a UK registered private limited company, company number 04298247. The company was formed to take the open source software and commercialise it, by expanding the software to include corporate and enterprise oriented functionality, and to provide dedicated support staff for customers to contact.
In March, 2003, Morrell left both the open source project and company to pursue other interests[4].
Based in Leeds and Southampton, the company has since inception continuously increased its product range and scope from SME to enterprise class products.
[edit] SmoothWall Server Edition
SmoothWall Server Edition was the first product from SmoothWall Ltd., released on 11 November 2001. It was essentially SmoothWall GPL 0.9.9 with support included from the company. This was — as were virtually all future products — made available to purchase on CD-ROM directly from SmoothWall Ltd. by mail order.
[edit] SmoothWall Corporate Server
Released on 17 December 2001, SmoothWall Corporate Server 1.0 was the first in a long line of separate, closed source releases from SmoothWall Ltd. Forked from SmoothWall GPL 0.9.9SE, Corporate Server included additional features such as SCSI support, and the capability to increase functionality via add-on modules. These modules included SmoothGuard (content filtering proxy), SmoothZone (multiple DMZ) and SmoothTunnel (advanced VPN features). Corporate Server was designed to become the backbone of all future products from the company, with the module functionality permitting customers to select the exact level of functionality they required.
After Daniel Barron, author of Dansguardian, joined the company in April 2002, a variant of Corporate Server called SmoothWall Corporate Guardian was released, integrating a fork of Dansguardian called SmoothGuardian. SmoothGuardian was also made available as a stand-alone module for Corporate Server customers, replacing the SmoothGuard module.
[edit] SmoothWall Home Server
SmoothWall Home Server was an aborted attempt to tap into the home and residential market, using the open source platform again as a base but including SmoothGuard, and permitting customers to make email support requests directly from SmoothWall Ltd. Although announced and priced at UKP30[5], it was never released.
[edit] SmoothWall Advanced Server
Released on 9 May 2005, SmoothWall Advanced Firewall targetted the enterprise market directly by bundling Corporate Server with all available add-on modules, and adding further functionality, including LDAP authentication and the capability to use an increased number of network interfaces.
[edit] Resellers
SmoothWall Ltd. augments their direct sales and support business by permitting authorised resellers to sell SmoothWall commercial software and also provide support in their local territories. The first resellers were announced on 3 December 2001; at time of writing, February, 2007, there were over 200 listed on the SmoothWall Ltd. website[6].
[edit] Awards
- Linux Format, Best Security Tool, 2001[7]
[edit] Press
- Information Week: Build This Cheap But Effective Firewall (2007-01-29)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ SmoothWall Product Family. Retrieved on February 25, 2007.
- ^ Beta 6 "Voyager" and a New Name ... (2003-09-16). Retrieved on February 25, 2007.
- ^ SmoothWall Express 2.0 Release Notes. Retrieved on February 25, 2007.
- ^ Co-Founder of SmoothWall Announces New Venture (2003-03-19). Retrieved on February 25, 2007.
- ^ Home Server Nearing Release, Screenshots Released (2002-01-09). Retrieved on February 25, 2007.
- ^ SmoothWall Ltd. Reseller List. Retrieved on February 25, 2007.
- ^ SmoothWall Voted Best Security Tool In Linux Format Awards (2002-04-26). Retrieved on February 25, 2007.
