[NTLUG:Discuss] CD-Rom bootable Firewall w/ Services

[David Simmons]

Hmmm....I'm stumped.  Thinking this would be an easy task has turned me
round and round - so I'm looking for any advice.

Scene: I have an older computer - with no hard-drive (for sound, energy,
reliability,etc reasons) - with multiple NICs that will become a
firewall/router..Must be able to do SSH/IPSec, DHCP and NAT (w/ port
forwarding)

It will need to boot from CD-Rom (or floppy) and write configuration/etc
files to floppy that need changed from the CD-Rom version.  Once I rewrite
the config files, I can move the 'write access' tab on the floppy...NOW
since the floppy and CD-Rom are non-writable, I've filled a big hole.

The problem arises that I can't find a good software/package to use.  Any
advice?

I like the setup/managability of SmoothWall....but see that it requires a
hard-drive (don't want to use CF or similiar because of constant
re-writes)....and while I like a *BSD type system, the only How-To's I've
found on creating a boot-able CD-Rom live system are like recreating Rome.

Thanks - Dave