Distributed anti-spam system using embedded linux

Abstract

Spam mails (or unsolicited commercial email), are not only annoying, but are great security threat to companies' internal networks. Many spam mails contain virus, Trojan horses, hoax and other malicious codes. Therefore anti-spam is one of the main network security defense mechanisms. Many SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) need an anti-spam system which is compatible with their existing local area network, easy to establish (probably plug-and-play), easy to maintain and highly scalable. Embedded Linux is one of the latest solutions. By using embedded hardware and Open Source Linux, I will develop a cost-effective anti-spam system which is robust and scalable. The system can be built much smaller and less power consuming than conventional servers and thus is more suitable for a space limiting office environment. The architectures of embedded systems vary among vendors and differ greatly from PC. Cross-platform development based on Linux technology is the foundation of this project. On top of it, I will build a distributed anti-spam system which provides scalability and fault tolerance. Another challenge I will face is how to load-balance the heavy work the system will take. I will analysis different load balancing algorithms, namely Round Robin, Weighted Round Robin, Weighted Least Loading & Weighted Least Connection. I will implement and test their performance, in order to find out the most suitable one for my system.