mark lewis wrote in a message to Matt Munson:

 ml>   internet -> ISP modem -> perimeter firewall -> your network(s) 

Which is similar to my setup:

Internet -> AT&T Fiber Modem -> pfSense box -> My network

Granted my pfSense box is an old HP ProLiant DL360 G3 1U server, but it is
is big enough for me: 3GB RAM, dual Xeon 2GHz processors, 125GB storage
(RAID 1), and two GBit network interfaces :)

--- timEd/2 1.30+