Re: [orca-list] Linux PC as a router



It is certainly possible to turn that sort of computer into a router if you know what to do. If I had an old machine that I only wanted to use as a router, then I probably wouldn't bother putting a GUI on it and might install grml or gentoo and set it up to do what I wanted (I believe both of those can be installed with Speakup). There is a guide online for making a Gentoo system into a router. I'd go this route because the system just wouldn't need a GUI, unless I wanted it to double as a desktop, but it would require you to generally feel comfortable doing things from the command line (www.linuxcommand.org might be a good place to start for this). Setting up Vinux might also work, but I'm not sure what the memory requirements are for installation. And Orca might be slow--you probably have a slow processor by today's standards--but it's hard for me to say how well it would work.

A simple router would draw less power and might be easier to set up, but, on the other hand, you'd learn a thing or two about the basics of system administration on Linux if you set up a router, and it might be a good idea if you decide that you want to run a web server or generally do anything advanced that you couldn't do with a traditional router, so in the end it depends what you want.

-Mike

On Thu, 9 Jun 2011, Richard wrote:

Hi Glenn,

I'd advise you move away from Ubuntu/Debian for the router/firewall. Also, do make sure that the system has 2 different NiCS. A NiC is network interface card or ethernet jack. It will be needed since the router will be pulling double duty. It will be connecting to the outside world with an external IP address and assigning internal IPs to the other systems on your LAN. It will serve as a dhcp server. If you decide to go this route, make sure that you have a few 100-1000 mbps network switches if possible.

The only 2 packages I've heard of that work for a router/firewall that are usable more or less are Smoothwall and IPCop. I'm unsure how friendly the browser interfaces are, but you will need sighted assistance to install either of them. I'd also advise you upgrade the ram to at least 512 or 768 mb to have either of the packages run well. Why not get an actual router such as a DLink, Linksys, or Netgear? Do you have enough LAN traffic to make it worth turning a pc system into your main router?

On 6/9/2011 18:18, Glenn wrote:
Hi All,
I have an old computer that has windows 98 on it now.
I can't remember if it has 128 or 256 MB of RAM, and I am not sure if that
difference will determine which flavor of Debian I run on it.
My plan is to try to make a router out of this old PC.
Although I have a DecTalk external synth that I could use, I would prefer to
use software speech (orca), at least at first, but not sure if it is
possible given this old of a computer.
I am most familiar with Ubuntu, and that is why I am wondering about Vinux
on this project.
So is Vinux a good way to go, or is there a small package of Ubuntu that
will work?
Also, I'm looking for any ideas on software for turning my PC into a router,
using packages like Network Manager or whatever is best here.
Thanks.
Glenn



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_______________________________________________
orca-list mailing list
orca-list gnome org
http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/orca-list
Visit http://live.gnome.org/Orca for more information on Orca.
The manual is at http://library.gnome.org/users/gnome-access-guide/nightly/ats-2.html
The FAQ is at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions
Netiquette Guidelines are at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions/NetiquetteGuidelines
Log bugs and feature requests at http://bugzilla.gnome.org
Find out how to help at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/HowCanIHelp




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