IP routing in Linux, IDEAS

[JaY_III]

Ok i got a p166 @200 given to me....
And i think i want to install linux on it and use it as a server.
The main goal of the server wil be to share my net connection(cable) with the rest of my house.
I currently an using my main rig to do so.
The computer that is sharing the cable will have 2 NIC's
The pic attached shows how my network is currently set up.
And how i wated it to be set up with a linux server.

So my question is what program do i need to do this in linux?
Any tips would also bee good.
I dont need a GUI, and i have no problem working in 100% in the shell ($).
I still want to have the ability to play online games through this system.
Also if posible i would like to load everything in system memory (yes i know this may not be posible), as i can trim the fat out of the linux kernal that i dont need. So any idea points comments or conserns would be great thanks.

[ken257]

I played around with this in Mandrake I think it was 7.2(mostly I use SuSE) It had a gui config tool that set up the sharing for you after answering a few simple questions about your setup. I would imagine Mandrake 8 will do the same thing. I am going to install 8 this weekend on one of my boxes so that I can play around a bit so I can let you know if the setup util is still there on Monday.

[JaY_III]

ok thanks that would be great

[Thelemac]

You can also go to www.linuxdocs.org and find the HOW-TO on IP MASQ(urading). That way you'll know how to fine tune it (well, more so than you would otherwise. :))

[mcrites]

I would recommend using netfilter (http://netfilter.filewatcher.org/), and a 2.4.xx kernel on your box, and go with Debian. It does not turn on anything that you need except portmap, which I wish it would turn that off as well. If you need anything you can apt-get install it, and configure it on the fly, I belive this is the most secure way to go about things, but make sure whatever distro you use, you firewall out printer services, 139: netbios, 111: portmap (nfs), and anything else you dont want to get outside onto the internet. Also when you are setting up your firewall, make sure that you decide on default deny, or allow, latter is the better for the home user, unless you like opening a port everytime your sister wants to use a different IM that uses a different port ;). Just make sure you run portsentry (http://www.psionic.com/abacus/portsentry/) and logcheck (http://www.psionic.com/abacus/logcheck), btw if you apt-get install each of this packages, debian will set them up for you. I belive if you do use Debian, if you install stable, make sure you at least upgrade to potato, or unstable. Just edit your /etc/apt/source.list or something like that to point to unstable instead of stable. Then do a apt-get update; apt-get dist-upgrade to get to the new set of packages. If you have a slow line this might take a while to upgrade. But like I said, debian turns off everything except portmap by default ( to disable, do this immediately after install: mv /etc/init.d/portmap /etc/init.d/portmap.bk, this will eliminate the soft links in the bootup directories to this file. I have been rooted 2 hours after installing debian, which could of happened in any distribution that install portmap, while I was at the store, because I forgot to make sure that it was not being activated and ran. Also make sure you do /etc/init.d/portmap stop, before moving the file to a new name.)

Good luck to you, and check out my website, it should be on my button, someday I plan to upgrade my IP-Masquerading howto to iptables (netfilter), but if you want to spend the time to learn something, use netfilter instead of ipchains. Good luck.

Some Links:
http://people.unix-fu.org/andreasson/index.html
Netfilter Howto
http://people.unix-fu.org/andreasson/index.html
NARC: Netfilter Automatic Rule Configurator
http://www.debianplanet.org
Debian News Site/ Howtos
http://www.linuxdoc.org
Documentation for Linux
http://www.linux.com
Documentation for Linux/ PR stories

Useful debian commands:
Search for software:
apt-cache search <software term> eg: apt-cache search narc
Install software:
apt-get install portsentry
Uninstall software
apt-get uninstall portsentry
Install a .deb
dpkg -i blah.deb

[JaY_III]

thanks for the info...
ran debian at home about 2 years ago.....(for like 4-5 weeks)
but i got
http://www.coyotelinux.com/
right now..
boot off a floppy. and into RAM...
but still willing to try new things and learn more

[David]

I heard something 'bout a router thingy distro at www.freesco.org

I'll just go check it out.

[David]

okay, yep its there. Needs min. 6 meg RAM and runs off a floppy (or if you want, a HDD). Supports 3 Net cards and 2 modems.
Heres a little quote of the overview:

"That is where an open source product like Freesco can make all the difference. It is open source (non-proprietary), easy to use and best of all, free.

Freesco is based on the Linux operating system and incorporates many of the features of a full operating system into software that fits on a single 1.44 meg floppy diskette. With Freesco, you can make:

a simple bridge with up to 3 Ethernet segments
a router with up to 3 Ethernet segments
a dialup line router
a leased line router
an Ethernet router
a dial-in server with up to 2 modems
a time server
a dhcp server
a http server
a print server (requires TCP/IP printing client software)
Freesco also incorporates firewalling and NAT which are resident within the Linux kernel to help protect you and your network. All of these features can be used in conjunction with each other or individually. "

"Some technical info:
Linux 2.0.38 + IP masquerad
DHCP server (Internet Software Consortium)
DNS server (Internet Software Consortium BIND v4)
Web server (ACME Labs thttpd)
Time server (proprietary)
Print server (Steve Flynn)
dial-in server
up to 3 ethernet cards (most cards supported by linux)
up to 2 modems
Control via: telnet, web, console. "