When you need a new network border appliance you owe it to yourself to give serious consideration to the do-it-yourself option. You'll save a lot of money and have complete control, which are always good things when it comes to your network security. There are no shortage of DIY choices in the Free/Open Source software world; today we'll take a look at Pyramid Linux on small form-factor hardware.

Pyramid Linux is designed for embedded wireless devices, but it lends itself quite nicely to ordinary wired networking as well. Based on Ubuntu Breezy, it weighs in under 64 MB. It installs read-only, making it perfect for Compact Flash devices because you don't want unnecessary writes on CF cards.

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