I had ASL instaled on PII233-128MB RAM and it was running smothly. The only problem was with VPN connections, which were droping. Otherwise for normal trafic (http, smtp ...) we had no dificulties. FW was protecting 25 PCs, 2 mail domains with virus protection, webserver and ftp server for several domains in DMZ.
It was working fine, but I had to change it due to VPN instability.
I think we've all become jaded with the current processing power of the newest processors. A P200, 128MB RAM is STILL a formidable machine for most Linux server tasks. I know some folks using 486/33s for SSH gateways. You do NOT NEED a P3-500 for simple ASL duties.
I've used a P2-266,64MB,2.5GB machine on ASL 3.216 with great success at T1 speeds using DNS proxy, SMTP proxy, and PPTP VPN (one). The only reason I switched to a P2-400 is that I'm running a Snort sensor on the firewall. Keep in mind that I switched to the 400 because of opinion, not NEED. I had not done performance testing on the 266. It might have done well. Just keep in mind, If you're only using a half dozen internal clients, you can use a P2-233/266 quite easily.
A P2-333 is more than enough machine for pretty much anything up to (at least) T1 speed.
