[clug] Using a laptop as a firewall

[Peter Barker]

On Fri, 22 Feb 2008, Nathan O'Sullivan wrote:

> Like many of you I currently have a clunky old desktop computer running
> Linux that I use as my internet gateway/firewall.

I did have.  I then discovered it was drawing 70W, and I've now replaced 
it.  That's about $70/year in electricity.

People might remember late last year I said I was putting in an order for 
a Fit-PC.  Well, it arrived, and that's what I'm currently using.  Nice 
little machine - worked just the way you'd like, it went into service the 
day I got it.  Claims of 5W power consumption haven't been verified; my 
watt-meter is otherwise-occupied ATM.

> Recently I've been considering obtaining an old laptop off Ebay to use
> for the same purpose. It seems to me that a laptop would have a few
> advantages:

Laptops can actually consume a lot of power.  Apart from that, I've heard 
that yes, they do make great firewall/gateway machines.  They're also 
*noisy* :)

You'd probably also be up for a second network card of one sort of 
another.

> Nathan

Yours,
-- 
Peter Barker                          |   Programmer,Sysadmin,Geek.
pbarker at barker.dropbear.id.au	      |   You need a bigger hammer.
:: It's a hack! Expect underscores! - Nigel Williams