firewall / router devices (Topic: Network Security)

[Thedore Knab <tjk@annapolislinux.org>]

2 Questions:

I want do some major subnetting on our network to help secure it better.

Currently, everything is routed by a Catalyst 5500 series with 3 trays
of Fiber for our internal network. 

I also want to put some machines on with a Free IDS like snort to

monitor packets.

Q1: Any recommedations for a good commerical router that is easy to manage, does stateful packet filtering, 
and is not over $3000 ? 

( If funding is regected, I think I will be looking at the Linux router
project. I just would rather get a simplier to setup/manage commerical box. )

Q2: What type of machine would I need to run Snort to monitor all
incoming and outgoing packets (RAM, CPU, HardDrive Size, Network Card ?)

Currently, we have 6 T1 coming into 1 Cisco 7500 Series VXR. 

Ted