Smoothwall Guide?

i'm sry if this has been asked often (im sure it has) but i searched and couldn't find what i was looking for. i would like to set up a smoothwall but i have NEVER (no really never lol) used any form of linux, and it would be nice if one of you guys wrote a guide on instalation and management of a smoothwall for a total linux noob such as myself anyway if there already has been a guide (not nessisarily on the forums) just post it and i'll be happy thx

I can tell you that no linux experience is required. Its a simple keyboard install, then to manage after the install, you just goto http://smoothwall:81 (or whatever you set the hostname to). Can you explain your network setup, to better help guide you in how you will want to go about installing it. What sort of internet do you have, are you going to be going straight to a hub, or to a router, or whatnot.

Try the Quick Start Guide: http://downloads.smoothwall.org/pdf/2.0/quickstart.pdf
or...
the Installation Guide: http://downloads.smoothwall.org/pdf/2.0/install.pdf
and...
for admin and tuning the Administration Guide: http://downloads.smoothwall.org/pdf/2.0/admin.pdf

Smothwall installs and provides a somewhat graphical install process...remember the red interface is the Internet and the green interface is your inside network. Red is danger!..Green is good and safe!

and here is the forum for help............
http://community.smoothwall.org/forum/

thx you guys

Midnight Dream said:

I can tell you that no linux experience is required. Its a simple keyboard install, then to manage after the install, you just goto http://smoothwall:81 (or whatever you set the hostname to). Can you explain your network setup, to better help guide you in how you will want to go about installing it. What sort of internet do you have, are you going to be going straight to a hub, or to a router, or whatnot.

Click to expand...

im using satelite internet and the way i have it right now is Modem > Linksys 5 Port Router > Netgear 8 Port Hub > 6 Computers, (just note i'd like the smoothwall for college and such) im thinking that with the smoothwall id go Modem > Smoothwall > Router > Hub (the only reason i use the hub is i hook alot of computers up sometimes for lans and such so more than 1 hub is required so its easier just leaving it like it is) and lol if you guys could, tell me what the smoothwall does and what the advantages of having it are? im thinking about using a 1.2celeron with 256 ram (that'd b alright i believe) i just need to get 2 networking cards for it and im good to go

Ok, you will want to do a Green+Red setup. Make sure on your router to disable DHCP, and set it within the same iprange as the smoothwall, but outside of the DHCP range [192.168.0.x] (not required, but less of an annoyance).

In the setup, just make sure to set your Red interface as DHCP (im assuming that your modem connects automatically, and you are assigned a dynamic IP from your ISP. If not, then set it accordingly, being Static, or PPPoE.)

Once you go through the setup, when your smoothwall is started again and shows the login prompt, you can go to your normal desktop computer and just type in http://smoothwall:81 into your browser. The username will be admin, and whatever admin password you specified during the setup. Everything else should be pretty self explainatory.

Feel free to ask any questions if you need more help. I recently setup one here at my house using PPPoE on the red interface, and one at work using DHCP on the red interface, so im proficient in the setup process.

Also, as to your questions about the advantages, I can give you an example of why I did it at my house.
My previous setup was like such:

DSL Modem----->D-Link DI-624 Wireless Router-------~>Computers via Wireless.

Click to expand...

Every few hours, I would have to manually unplug and replug in the power to the router, because it would drop the internet. Still show as being connected, but nobody could do anything on the internet. However, the network itself worked fine. After getting tired of this, I setup a smoothwall using an old P3 system I had under my bed. Now, with my setup being:

DSL Modem----->Smoothwall----->D-Link DI-624 Wireless Router-------~>Computers via Wireless

Click to expand...

I have gotten a result as such, with my internet: Connected (8d 5h 51m 32s)

With my work scenario, it was on a basis of such:

Cable modem--->Linksys Wireless/Wired router--->8 port switch---->Computers

Click to expand...

The issue here was that at random times, the router would stop allowing the computers to access the webserver that our website is hosted on. It makes no sense at all, because the webserver is hosted remotely. However, we could access everywhere else on the internet, except our website (and its ftp services). In order to gain access again, we would have to unplug the router power, and plug it back in. Finally getting tired of this, my friend and I setup a smoothwall, to where the setup was like such:

Cable modem--->Smoothwall---->Linksys Wireless/Wired router--->8 port switch---->Computers

Click to expand...

Since that time, we have not had a single issue with not being able to access our webserver, or the features it provides.

So, I HIGHLY recommend smoothwall to anybody.

thanks so much this really helps, one quick question (im still reading err printing out the guides lmao its like 160 pages and im doing 4 pages per side and 2 sided printing so like 30 pages all together for all the guides. but jw what red and green are? i don't quite understand that thx

The interfaces are color coded. Green is your local interface, its what will be eth0. Everything on the internal network connects to your green interface (IE, green goes to your router, then to your hub, then to the computers.) Red is the external interface, it connects to your modem and will be eth1.

I wrote a brief install guide myself... it's nothing professional and could use some touchup, but here it is.