Sorry for my rather prolonged absence. The reasons are long and complex.
We're using a D-Link DIR-655 as both our wireless access point AND our firewall. It is, INDEED a "real" firewall. It's also not very expensive. It does not do content filtering, which is what I think Cisco means in discussing their product that filters spam and other malware/spyware. Quite frankly, if that's what you want DO NOT buy it in a box.. buy it as a service. In order to be worth anything the signatures need to be constantly updated. Cisco offers this service, and it has an extra price.
If you want content filtering, do some serious shopping before you spend your money, and find out what the total cost of ownership, in $$$ per month, is going to be before buying hardware you'll be locked into.
Regards,
V.
