I am undertaking a feasibility study and scoping out the work before I make any commitment. Through this thread, I am seeking out feedback ( and getting it).
Why keep it away from a major re-write ??? If you are referring to version 2.x, to avoid dragging resources away from ipFire 3.x then that is understandable. It is possible that this emphasis on limiting work may be adversely affecting the ambitions of the ipFire project.
It’s time for another story.
In 1985 I was studying my 4th and final year for an Electronics Degree. This included dividing up into teams of 2 to 5 for project. I was allocated to a project for the national Olympic cycling team. The task was to design and build a device that would measure the axial and radial forces on a bicycle pedal, and wirelessly transmit the data, in real time, to be monitored and recorded by the coaches in the centre of the velodrome.
In 2024, you can buy such a system off the shelf and fit it to your bicycle. In 1985, it was bleeding edge technology, and I believe it was a world first. Clearly the Cycling team didn’t have the capability or the resources to undertake such a project so they teamed up with the University. The project was sponsored and funded by a private company.
Moving forward to 2024 and ipFire. I am looking at the emergence of what the marketing departments call AI, and I call Machine Learning (ML). I am thinking that ML is a technology that has great potential for application to firewalls. An open source project like ipFire would be an ideal test bed for ML. I am confident there will be Universities teaching computer science the theory of ML to students. There is a good chance those courses will include a practical element in the form of a project. An alliance between ipFire and a University could be a win-win. Here is an opportunity for ipFire to jump ahead of the competition.
Such an opportunity will not come to ipFire. It will require identifying and lobbying suitable Universities, growing relationships and selling a concept.
I will create a simple prototype, as previously described, for review and feedback.