I'm going to finally take the advice I have received from many here, and embark on a new project. I need a hardware firewall for my network. Many people here have recommended creating a *nix box, and turning it into a dedicated firewall. I have dabbled in *nix a little bit. I don't know too much, but I understand the basic commands, and how to install it. I understand the theory involved with using a *nix OS as a firewall.

Update: I've decided to go with a FreeBSD setup using IPFilter. Has anyone done this before? I could use as much info as possible! I'm new when it comes to this stuff. Thanks!

Original Post: (kinda not important)

I am looking for suggestions from people who have done this before. What flavor OS was used, and what kind of software or scripting was used for the firewall. Also how customizable will this be? The type of setup I am looking for would be able to allow/unallow specific ports for specific IP Addresses of machines on my network. I want to be able to customize each IP address, and what ports will be allowed to be opened for each one.

Thanks for any info. This should be a fun new adventure.