RE: [PLUG] [CTCNet Phl] Tech question: Internet routers (fwd)

["Jeyes, David (371)" <David.Jeyes@rht.com>]

Title: RE: [PLUG] [CTCNet Phl] Tech question: Internet routers (fwd)

> On Tuesday 07 January 2003 00:10, M.Simons wrote:
> > Greetings,
> >
> >    This was sent to me as I am on the CTCNet (local
> Community Technology
> > Centers) mailing list for the local area.. (there are national lists
> > too) I am inclined to recommend old boxes with some sort of linux or
> > bsd(open?) preconfigured distro specifically for doing so..
> however, I
> > don't really have the expertise, and the linux router project has
> > basically died. (www.linuxrouter.org)  What other distros
> or projects are
> > there? preferrably something simple, easy to use yet secure, stable.
> >
> > If anybody would be interested in volunteering to help
> people figure this
> > out, or get them up and running.. I am sure it would be
> much appreciated..
> > I have on many an occasion spoken to some of the local tech
> & computer
> > reuse nonprofit organizations, and they are very interested
> in linux &
> > open source.. but they don't have the expertise.
> >
> > This is a VERY GOOD opportunity to get Tux's (or the
> Daemon's) foot in the
> > door of a lot of organizations! (Not to mention put a lot
> of old 486s to
> > good use!)
>
Basically any box can be used as a router, it just needs interfaces and tables. . .

There are a lot of great appliances out. Unfortunately, their compatability with older legacy hardware seems inversely proprtional to their ease of use. As Tom said, LEAF is great, and one of the most robust with networking and security features, but not as user friendly as it could be. Two "pretty" disto's with routing capability and security features are Mandrake's SNF (Single Network Firewall) and Twiki's IPCop (IPfilter only). I'm not sure about using them with 486's, but I can vouch for Mandrake on an old P1 233. ;-) 

If they're not "linux people" SNF might be the shortest path between two points.

Good Luck,
dj