[clug] anyone using a Linux as an Internet gateway?

[Robert Edwards]

On 19/10/10 16:06, Paul wrote:
> After some recent issues which I'm still not completely convinced my
> internet connection is 100% good has left me wanting to know is using a
> Linux Router the best way to go.
> ie as far as I can see I have two basic options.
>
> 1. Linux router, which also run MythTV and firewall and a few other
> background scripts (eg Solar power data collection etc..)
> 2. Appliance Router (eg Billion VOIP router/ Wifi access point
>
> So just wonder is there a big reason why I should use my Fedora box
> instead of a dedicated router.
>
> Note I found out that my Billion router is definitely not upto some
> attacks but they seem to be rare .
>
> thanks
> Paul W

Depends what you feel comfortable with. As your Linux box is on 24/7,
as is your Billion ADSL modem/router, you can use either, or both.

The consumerised web admin interface of the Billion may not let you
do all that you want (what about a transparent Squid proxy for your
users?), but may be easier to configure than the equivalent setups in
Fedora.

I use a Dynalink ADSL2+ modem (from TPG) to port-forward most stuff
to a Kogan netbook (1.6GHz Atom, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, running Debian
with no GUI) which does my wireless routing/NAT, web-server, DNS,
squid, mail, apt cache and also sometimes runs Dan's Guardian (I have
several kids who don't always do what they are told with respect to
times etc.). The Dynalink is also doing my VoIP, but I am looking at
moving that to Asterisk on the Kogan and having the Dynalink just to
bridge everything across. The Kogan only has one NIC, but I use VLANs
to set up separate networks between them.

Either way, I have to pay for the power of the Dynalink and the Kogan
(the Kogan has a battery, which means it can keep going for several
hours during a power outage).

Cheers,

Bob Edwards.