List of router and firewall distributions

This is a list of operating system distributions designed for use as the operating system of a computer acting as a router and/or firewall.

Name	Status	Type	Architecture	License	Cost	Description
Alpine Linux	Active	Linux distribution	x86, x86-64, ARM	Open source	Free	Linux distribution running from a RAM drive. Its original target was small appliances like routers, VPN gateways, or embedded x86 devices. However, it supports hosting other Linux guest OSes under LXC control, making it an attractive hosting solution as well. Uses Busybox and musl.
ClearOS	Active	Red Hat Enterprise Linux derivative	x86, x86-64	GPL and others	Free or paid registration	Router and firewall for SMBs with network, gateway and server modules accessed through WebConfig. A paid registration for extra online services is available, but not necessary for operation of the product.
DD-WRT	Active	Linux distribution	MIPS, x86, ARM	?	Free or paid registration for x86	Embedded Linux firmware distribution available on a variety of wireless routers.
Endian Firewall	Active	Linux distribution	x86	?	Free (PC) or hardware version	UTM distribution with routing, firewall, anti-spam and anti-virus for web, FTP and e-mail, OpenVPN, IPsec, hotspot functionality, and captive portal (missing in community version). Endian Firewall Community (EFW) is a complete version for x86. The anti-virus for EFW is Sophos or ClamAV. The intrusion protection is Snort.
fli4l	Active	Linux distribution	x86, x86-64	GPL (Free software)	Free	Linux-based router project supporting a large set of layer-1 technologies (e.g. Ethernet LAN, Wireless LAN, ISDN, DSL, UMTS), layer-3 protocols and functionality (IPv4, IPv6, stateful packet filter), and various network-related functionality (e.g. Bridging, Bonding, VLANs; DNS, DHCPv4, DHCPv6, IPv6 RA; PPP (client+server), PPTP (client+server), Multilink PPP, OpenVPN, 6in4 tunneling; support for various DynDNS clients, NTP time synchronization). It is easily extendable by a large number of additional packages.
floppyfw	Inactive	Linux distribution	x86	?	Free	Single-floppy router with Linux's advanced firewall capabilities.
Global Technology Associates, Inc.	Active	FreeBSD derivative	??	?	Free (limited functionality) or paid	GB-OS firewall and UTM appliance.
IPCop	Inactive	Linux distribution	x86	Open source	Free	Router/firewall distribution.
IPFire	Active	Linux distribution	x86, ARM	GPL	Free	Router/firewall distribution.
Kerio Control	Active	Linux	x86-64	Proprietary	Paid hardware or virtual appliance	Router/firewall distribution.
LEAF Project	Active	Linux distribution	x86	?	Free	Linux Embedded Appliance Framework; a customizable embedded Linux network appliance used as an Internet gateway, router, firewall, and wireless access point.
Mikrotik RouterOS	Active	Linux-based	MIPS, PowerPC, x86, TILE	?	Demo (full functionality for 24 hours) or paid	Linux-based operating system with MPLS, BGP, OSPF, firewalling, traffic control, VPN, IPsec. Free version requires one to sign up for an account on their website.
m0n0wall	Inactive	FreeBSD derivative	x86	?	Free	Development ended 2015-02-15. Small web-administrative router/firewall/VPN (IPsec/PPTP only; no OpenVPN) distribution.
Openwall	Active	Linux	x86, x86-64	?	Free	GNU/*/Linux (or Owl for short) is a small security-enhanced Linux distribution for servers, appliances, and virtual appliances.
OpenWrt	Active	Linux	x86, x86-64, MIPS, ARM, PowerPC, AVR32, CRIS, m68k, SPARC, SuperH, Ubicom32, etc.	GPL V2	Free	Niche Linux distribution with a focus on CPE-routers and similar embedded devices. Its comprehensive build system is based upon a heavily modified uClibc#Buildroot and suitable for embedded systems in general.
pfSense	Active	FreeBSD derivative	x86, x86-64	Apache	Free or paid	Customized distribution tailored for use as a firewall, router, DHCP server, gateway, OpenVPN, IPsec, proxy and anti-virus (Snort).
SME Server	Active	CentOS derivative	x86, x86-64	?	Free	Router/firewall and web-, file-, email- and database server distribution based on CentOS.
Smoothwall	Active	Linux distribution	x86	various Open source licences	Free or paid	Router/firewall distribution with a web interface and light terminal.
SonicWALL	Active	SonicOS	??	?	Paid hardware/virtual appliance and Live CD	Router/firewall and UTM.
Sophos	Active	Linux derivative	x86, x86-64	?	Free, Paid or hardware/virtual appliance	UTM - offers free home use for up to 50 clients. Provides HTTP/S web filtering, spam filtering, antivirus (web and email), VPN (PPTP and a HTML5 agentless VPN) and Point-to-point links between UTM and other devices via IPSec and SSL-VPN. Formerly Astaro Security Gateway.
Tomato Firmware	Active	Linux distribution	Broadcom only: MIPS, ARM	?	Free	Free HyperWRT-based, Linux core firmware distribution for many Broadcom-based wireless routers, originally Linksys WRT54G. Now being ported to ARM-based consumer routers.
Untangle	Active	Debian derivative	x86, x86-64	?	Free with paid add-ons	GPLv2 firewall and router that runs 13 paid and 13 free open source applications including spam blocker, virus blocker, web filter, OpenVPN, IPsec, protocol control and more.
Vyatta	Subscription Edition: Active. Community Edition: Inactive	Linux distribution	x86, x86-64	?	Free or paid	Enterprise-class router, firewall, VPN, intrusion protection and more delivered as a complete network operating system that runs on x86 hardware or in XenServer, VMware or Hyper-V to provide vFirewall, vRouter network virtualization functionality.
VyOS	Active	Linux distribution	x86, x86-64	?	Free	Based on Vyatta. After Brocade halted development of Vyatta CE (free edition) in favor of the subscription edition, this project aims to keep open source development going.
Windows RRAS	Active	Windows add-in feature	x86, x86-64	?	Requires prerequisite Windows OS license	Windows Routing and Remote Access Service is a feature that can be installed on Windows (mainly server) Operating Systems, and can perform routing functions, NAT, and implement firewall rules.
Zentyal (formerly eBox Platform)	Active	Ubuntu derivative	x86, x86-64	Open source	Free with paid services available	Zentyal is an open-source router/firewall and small business server.
Zeroshell	Active	Linux distribution	x86, ARM	GPL V2	Free (contribution required for some graphing functions)	Web-administrative router/firewall live CD with QoS features. It is also able to act as a Wi-Fi access point with advanced features such as the multiple SSID and 802.1x RADIUS authentication. Zeroshell supports VLAN trunking (802.1q), bridging, WAN load balancing, and fail-over features.