There is some difference between the hardware that Cisco uses for its routers v.s. what most Linux vendors offer, which is the Intel x86 platform. Whether or not these differences really amount to anything is another religious argument. Without knowing the intimate details involved, I cannot give advice either way. Instead, I'm going to give you a link to a Linux vendor that thinks they have the answer: http://www.vyatta.com/download/whitepapers/Vyatta_Better_than_Cisco.pdf Now, determining whether or not their claims are based on fact or simply marketing is an exercise I leave for you. I do know that there is plenty of quality x86 hardware out there, and Linux knows how to do even the trickiest of routing and firewalling. Sorry if that wasn't really an answer you were looking for. It's late. ;-) Chad