[Preston] ipchains or iptables

[Adrian Hodgson]

Wayne WArd wrote:
> If you look in the latest linux magazine there is a full review on linux
> firewalls and iptables and ipchains.
> Why don't you keep your red hat box and download firestarter rpm
> Nice and easy gui its got a wizard so you can open up internal network
> and close external network.
> Or try guarddog that is another good gui which is a bit more complicated
> but opens up whatever ports you require .
> Both packages use iptables or ipchains.
> Mandrake single network firewall is pretty good but that uses ipchains
> aswell.
> I seen in the linux magazine one of the free download ones is really
> good if you are using for home use - Its got iptables - virus checking -
> VPN and all sorts of other goodies - You do know that most single
> firewall products can be configured via a web browser on the network,
> which is pretty handy. Is this firewall box going to have file shares on
> it?  Or are you going to make a separate firewall box - and use another
> box for samba file shares?? What is your layout??
> 
> Wayne
> 
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>

I have seen the article in the magazine, which is why I have been 
considering Smoothwall.

If I described the computers I have at home and what I would like t 
achieve it may make sence, or at least provide for other's ideas of how 
I should go about it.

Computers first.



1) 
PIII 450 128 meg ram. With Win98, this was and I suppose still is the 
main PC.  Internet access and the usual Windows packaging, scanner, CD 
R/W, USB webcam  etc and some CAD CAM programmes that are only Windows 
based.

2) 
PII 233 128 meg ram. This machine I am on now.    Running RH 7.3, audio, 
USB but never managed to get the cameras working on it yet!  Internet 
access.

3) 
PI 133 48 meg ram.  This has Redhat 7.0 and was the machine that started 
me with Linux, not used at present but held in reserve for the Garage 
workshop later?

4) 
486 DX2 66 32 meg ram  With Win NT 4 and old works machine just brought 
home to enanbe the better half to get used to NT on a network.

5) 
Celleron 500 128 meg ram. Just games and the odd bit of internet via 
proxy on the win98 main PC, daughters machine.

6) 
486 DX2 66 32 meg ram running with a parralell port webcam and security 
software, left running in garage all the time saving video to disk.

All these machine are or can be conneted together via 10baseT  thin coax 
and can upgrade to 100 Mhz cat 5 cableing if required but not at the 
moment as the load does not require it.

There is also a seperate 486 DX2 66 just running DOS which is a 
stand-alone machine controller for CNC milling.


What I would like to be able to do :-


Run a low spec PC say one of the old 486's with Proxy and Firewall for 
modem access to the Internet.  I have tried to get wideband access but 
we are just to far from the exchange at present and have been told itis 
not feasable.

Run EMC, this is a real time linux package  CNC machine controller, that 
can be controlled via a network, requires  min P 133 for an older 
version so is an ideal starter for the old RH 7.0 machine.

Transfer files (CAD etc) from the Windows machine to the PII 233 Mhz box 
for controlling the CNC machine in the garage.

Find a machine suitable for running minimum 2 webcams for the garage and 
to serve it if that is the correct phrase to a monitoring and recording 
point,  I have always assumed that this would require a machine to run a 
web server such as Apache with suitable plug in's.  Like video 
conferencing, but only one way.

For any machine to have internet access through the proxy
For any machine to be able to transfer files to each other and netwrok 
printers as in Network nabourhood/Samba.

Lastly and old machine to act as a fax modem/answering machine again 
shared like the printers.

I think that if I could do all that I would understand something about 
networking and Linux.


Cheers

Adrian