[clug] Using a laptop as a firewall

[conrad at mail.watersprite.com.au]

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

I'm currently using a laptop as gateway/firewall. As mentioned by someone
else, the absence of a second network port is an issue. I originally used
a USB adsl modem, which did the job nicely (albeit getting the USB modem
to work was at times challenging). The USB modem died in a lightning storm
a few years ago and I replaced it with a "normal" (network connected) adsl
modem. I now rely on the configuration of the adsl modem to direct all
trafic to the laptop for firewall/gateway duties. Not an ideal situation.

The laptop I use is a (quite old) HP. The battery has now failed, but even
before it did, I found that the battery usually went flat while sitting in
the computer and the charge circuitry wouldn't detect that. I'd blame that
on the age of the computer except that my Dell laptop (~ 3 years old) does
exactly the same thing. You have to remember to eject the battery for a
few minutes once a month or so, so that the charge circuitry will then
charge it back up again.

It doesn't restart when the power comes back on, which is decidedly
sub-optimal. Restarting the network after a power failure requires manual
intervention.

Other than that, it is quiet, compact, and does always have a screen and
keyboard handy - all very important points.

Conrad.