up vote 4 down vote favorite
4
share [g+] share [fb]

Post your favorite appliances or "all-in-one" programs. Whether it runs in a virtual machine, or on its own hardware, it all goes.

My submission is Untangle. It's an open source network gateway (their term). Essentially, it can run a plethora of things that you may otherwise end up buying another appliance for:

  • Web filtering
  • logging
  • mail spam filtering
  • phishing monitor
  • spyware blocking
  • VPN

You name it, it's all there. Best of all, it's mostly free. A few appliances have annual costs due to inherent licensing or subscription costs. If you are looking for a new network perimeter device, definitely check it out.

The underlying OS doesn't matter, because it's the application we want to praise, not the OS beneath it.

link|improve this question
1  
I'm a huge fan of my new countertop icemaker. Not only do you not have to futz around with ice cube trays, but you also don't get that freezer taste in your drink. – duffbeer703 Jul 25 '09 at 5:03
feedback

closed as not constructive by Miles Erickson, Mark Henderson♦ Dec 1 '11 at 5:24

This question is not a good fit to our Q&A format. We expect answers to generally involve facts, references, or specific expertise; this question will likely solicit opinion, debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. See the FAQ for guidance on how to improve it.

8 Answers

up vote 2 down vote accepted

I didn't use that many appliances, but of the few I used I liked pfSense.

link|improve this answer
Accepted because it rules. – phuzion Jul 24 '09 at 23:46
feedback
up vote 2 down vote

I really like mailcleaner - great spam filtering "appliance" that is easy to configure and opensource.

link|improve this answer
+1 for Mailcleaner. – John Gardeniers Jul 23 '09 at 2:12
feedback
up vote 1 down vote

OpenFiler I guess

link|improve this answer
feedback
up vote 1 down vote

physical appliance would have to be riverbed. it works wonders for a WAN with very little interaction.

virtual appliance would be aep network netilla. it's an ssl vpn that runs great in a virtual appliance. we've had a physical appliance for close to 10 years and just upgraded to a virtual appliance. it doesn't require ie and will also work on a mac which is rare for ssl vpns.

link|improve this answer
feedback
up vote 0 down vote

Pentaho Data Integration is probably my favorite tool ever. It's an etl tool with job level scheduling functionality and a remote server agent. I've used it to move data, manage processes, schedule regular running jobs, send myself reminder emails. Oh, and because it's open source and extremely well coded, it's pretty trivial to add new features that can do just about anything.

link|improve this answer
feedback
up vote 0 down vote

esva / global domination anti spam filter, works really great, but project is not so much alive as one could hope for.

link|improve this answer
feedback
up vote 0 down vote

For anyone with remote office and a lot of CIFS and HTTP between them, I highly recommend Riverbed's Steelhead appliance.

link|improve this answer
Not a virtual appliance – Kevin Kuphal Jul 22 '09 at 19:34
"Post your favorite appliances or "all-in-one" programs. Whether it runs in a virtual machine, or on its own hardware" Ummm not sure how you got it had to be virtual from the question? – ITGuy24 Jul 23 '09 at 13:10
I fixed the title so it doesn't contradict the body of the post. – phuzion Jul 24 '09 at 23:45
feedback
up vote 0 down vote

For WAN acceleration Riverbed Steelhead appliance are great. Also provide a platform for branch servcies like print, DNS, DHCP and other more advanced applications. You can even run a Windows or other OS on the appliance while it is doing teh WAN acceleration task

Also like the Symantec Mail Security appliance. Now available as a VM from what I have seen. Simple to install and high accuracy. Also allows AV at gateway and management of data "leakage" Downside is the license fees but they work great

link|improve this answer
feedback

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.