[clug] Using a laptop as a firewall

[Tony Breeds]

On Fri, Feb 22, 2008 at 12:55:11PM +1100, 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.
> 
> 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:
> 
> - Compared to a headless desktop PC in a closet/out of the way location,
> it already has a screen and keyboard for when the gateway isnt
> responding to network traffic and you dont know why.
> 
> - Its much smaller
> 
> - Its quieter
> 
> - It essentially has a builtin UPS for those who love their uptime
> 
> 
> Has anyone had any experience with this? Are there any downsides I'm not
> seeing 

I've done this before, I ran a laptop as a gateway for 50+ machines at
an installfest.  The biggest downside is that most laptops don't come
with 2 (or more) ethernet ports (well I guess you can get away with
wireless now days).  If you do need 2 wired ports then you'll need at
least one external (USB or PC-Card) device, and the interal bandwidth to
thise devcies tends not to be great.  Whether you'd notice this if the
"slow" side is DSL I can't say.

Apart from that. go nuts!

Yours Tony

  linux.conf.au        http://linux.conf.au/ || http://lca2008.linux.org.au/
  Jan 28 - Feb 02 2008 The Australian Linux Technical Conference!