Im thinking of building a internet router....help

 

Platinum Member
Username: Insearchofbass

Post Number: 17015
Registered: Jun-04
I have a old emachine 733 megahertz machine with 64 megs of ram and i was thinking of turning it into a internet router since the current models are using what looks like 300 megahertz cpu's with 32 megs of ram. Will i see any improvement turning this pc into a router over the bought ones i spoke of? If so what is a good linux program with router control for a novice that will use minimal ram? I also want to be able to run other compuers behind this router running windows vista home edition using the linux based router software. Im under the assumption you can am i correct?
 

Platinum Member
Username: Insearchofbass

Post Number: 17016
Registered: Jun-04
its $14 shipped to upgrade the computer to 128 megs of ram plus $14 shipped for two ethernet cards from belkin which are supposed to be linux compatable.....the ethernet cards would be neeeded since this pc doesnt have any from factory
 

Gold Member
Username: Extrmndor3

Http://illuzonemu.serv..., ^^^Sick Game

Post Number: 8612
Registered: Feb-06
ill copy and paste what i tried to respond...

i was thinking the same...

you can have a pretty good router..

also just because you have a nic or dedicated nic card doesnt mean anything..

all your data will rely on your processor and memory to make the data flow.. block or any packet routing..

heres the list


starting from the top the best to the you know..
Endian Firewall 2.1
EnGarde Secure Linux
EnGarde Secure Server
Feather Linux
Featherweight Linux
Gibraltar Firewall
Honeywall
IPCop Firewall
Lineox Enterprise Linux
Linux from scratch
Network Security Toolkit
Openwall GNU*Linux
SME Server
Smoothwall
StartCom Enterprise Linux AS
Sun JDS
SUSE
Topologilinux
TFM Linux
Tiny Sofa
Trixbox
Trustix Enterprise Firewall
Trustix Secure Linux
Ultima Linux
VoIPonCD
White Box Enterprise Linux
YellowDog
YES Linux
Zenwalk Linux
ZoneCD/select
(and im sure many many more)

i will recomend a nice dedicated premade router.. easier access...
but since all you have it could work..

i was thinking the same like i said before but i dont know..

FYI the best thing to do with a pc like that is build a NAS for your home network.. myself im thinking to build one.. but i dont have the time..

why do you need a big router?? are you an enterprise manager?? do you have your own server?? if its possible to know..












also.. keep in mind all your gonna spend on your new parts... you can buy a nice decent router.. that could give you plus 100mb of transfer...
also buildin a router your limited to how many nics u have for links.. ofcorse you can use a external switcher.. and you will lack wifi.. unless u add a wifi adapter..and disable the firewall and DHCP because it will cause conflicts with your linux router..


hope i helped.. now i have to go back to tweak my server ;)
 

Platinum Member
Username: Insearchofbass

Post Number: 17018
Registered: Jun-04
This tells me some good info

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/20787-41-review-ipcop-linux-firewall

Review: IPCop Linux Firewall
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thiggins 02-15-2006 at 09:09:55 PM
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Reviews of open source based firewalls are usually very popular, and this one is no exception. Why do readers like these reviews so much?
Reply to thiggins
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thiggins 02-23-2006 at 04:19:03 PM
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These are the results from reader Greger Blennerud's throughput testing:

The computer used for testing both IPCop and Smoothwall is a Compaq Vectra VL, 650 MHz and 128MB RAM. The NICs are: Internal Boardmounted 3Com "Corkscrew" for GREEN. Two VIA Rhine Fast Ethernet cards for RED and ORANGE.

In both cases I used a DLink DGS1005D as a switch on GREEN and a Dlink DI614+ (WLAN Router) as the switch on ORANGE. I have disabled DHCP on the 614+ and have no connection to the WAN port obviously. So basically I am only using the switching functionality in the Router.

I used Ixia's Qcheck to run the throughput tests using the following two computers:

PC on GREEN:
- Compaq Presario 3.0 Ghz 1,5GByte RAM
- On board Ethernet Realtek RTL 8139

PC on ORANGE:
- Compaq Deskpro 863Mhz, 256MByte RAM
- On board Ethernet Intel PRO/100 VM

I disabled the SW Firewalls on both PC's (ZoneAlarm) in order to eliminate any overhead. I noticed a small (2-3) Mbps improvement in doing so. Also before running the router throughput tests I used Qcheck to check the TCP/IP speed between the two test computers themselves and got the following results:
(NOTE: Throughput tests were run with 1000kByte Data Size)

TCP/IP Response time (ping): 1 msec (both directions)
TCP Throughput Presario to Deskpro: 80.8 Mbps
TCP Throughput Deskpro to Presario: 93.2 Mbps

IPCop Test Results:
TCP/IP Response time (ping): 1 msec (both directions)
TCP Throughput Presario to Deskpro: 80.8 Mbps
TCP Throughput Deskpro to Presario: 82-90 Mbps

Smoothwall Test Results:
TCP/IP Response time (ping): 1 msec (both directions)
TCP Throughput Presario to Deskpro: 80.8 Mbps
TCP Throughput Deskpro to Presario: 85-92 Mbps

Conclusion: Both IPCop and Smoothwall support near wire-speed 100Mbps throughput using a 650MHz machine with 128MB RAM.
Reply to thiggins
Darkk 03-20-2006 at 10:12:01 PM
- 0 +

Thanks to Tom's Hardware Guide about Linux based PC routers I've been using IPCop 1.4.10 for a month now and my net connections have been very stable. I was using hacked firmwares for my Linksys WRT54GS router but IPCop does so much more including VPN. I've installed OpenVPN in IPCop and it is working very well. Very pleased with it.

There is a "AddOn Server" for IPCop that lets you pick 3rd party addons to increase the functionality of the router.

I've tried several Linux based PC router builds such as Monowall, Smoothwall, Clarkconnect and IPCop. I like the fact IPCop supports up to 4 NICs. I've just ordered two Intel dual NICs and hopefully it'll work fine with it. I needed the 4th NIC for my mail server which is going to be running some kind of openexchange server. I am looking at Zimbra if I can get it to work correctly with Suse 10.

Maybe Tom's Hardware can look into open exchange servers as an extension to linux line of networking?

Darkk
Reply to Darkk
Aussie_Bear 05-06-2006 at 01:08:38 PM
- 0 +

thiggins. Nice review of IPCop.

BUT a correction is needed.

M0n0Wall is FreeBSD-based. NOT Linux. Please make a correction such that you don't anger the FreeBSD or Linux folks. ;) (They are folks who do get a n al about specifics, remember!)

Secondly, the throughput numbers are as expected. In fact, you'll get the same numbers with a Pentium III 500Mhz OR a VIA C3 "Nehemiah" 1Ghz solution. (Say on one of those EPIA embedded boards)....That's based on my experience...It would be awesome when the EPIA EN12000 comes, as this is fanless! (C7 Eden 1.2Ghz CPU).

I think one area that needs to be seriously looked at, is power consumption. (operating cost of building your own router over time).

1 Would it be possible to look at that with various platforms?
ie: Old PC vs Recent PC vs EPIA 5000 vs EPIA 1Ghz vs Soekris (or WRAP)

2 As well, explore the throughput of each and compare?
Say you do tests with IPCop, M0n0Wall and ClarkConnect.

Because the three are very different in design...
* IPCop is a featured firewall
* M0n0Wall is a lightweight solution intended for embedded boards
and
* ClarkConnect is a multi-purpose server with firewalling capability.


So what I'm proposing, is a useful future article that explores the options for the DIY crowd. (Pros and Cons)

You look at:
(a) how the different software implementations affect performance?
(b) how the different hardware perform? (How performance scales with hardware?)
© how much would it cost (electric bill) if you ran these 24/7/365?

Be sure to include two retail routers as a reference comparison. Say a WRT54G-series and one of those other ones that provide a near wire-speed throughput.

This way, the article would give people a better idea of "why" or "why not" if you want to do a DIY router/firewall solution.

LOL...I'm thinking like an engineer now, so I'll stop. But please consider the above idea as a future article! ;)


I've been using open-source firewall solutions for over 5 yrs. None have failed me. (even when the whole family is doing P2P and gaming at the same time!)

At the moment, I'm using M0n0Wall installed on a "Disk-On-Module" (256MB DOM) and an old fanless EPIA board. It hasn't failed me in over 2 yrs since I built it!

I like this approach because I hate having to depend on someone else when something goes wrong. (I try to avoid tech support by any means! Most of the time, they cost you time and money with little achieved!)
 

Platinum Member
Username: Insearchofbass

Post Number: 17019
Registered: Jun-04
i went ahead and bought the ASUS RT-N56U with a three year replacement warranty for 141 shipped



http://http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/router-charts/view

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Asus-RT-N56U-Dual-Band-Gigabit-Wireless-N-Router- Review-175313.shtml

RT-N56U -- data throughput and performance

Beside providing users with plenty of interesting and useful features, the Asus RT-N56U also delivers quite an OK level of data troughput and performance, managing to attain roughly 318Mbps download speed in combined (2.4GHz + 5Ghz) mode and an 370Mbps upload speed in the same conditions.
Asus RT-N56U - system log
Enlarge picture
Asus RT-N56U - AiDisk Wizard
Enlarge picture
Asus RT-N56U - FTP Share
Enlarge picture

It's also important to mention here that the device delivers full gigabit internet support, managing to attain some pretty impressive throughputs, of up to 900 Mbps.

Plus, the router supports up to 300,000 data sessions at the same time, which enables stable P2P downloading and video streaming.
Asus RT-N56U - System Setup - operating mode
Enlarge picture
Asus RT-N56U - changing the operation mode
Enlarge picture
Asus RT-N56U - alternate settings menu
Enlarge picture



Beyond all of these numbers and data rates, we'll have to mention that one of the things we really loved about the router from Asus was its level of reliability.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Insearchofbass

Post Number: 17021
Registered: Jun-04
I cancelled the order because i saw a new one with antennas is coming out......RT-N76U....ill wait for the test results

http://http://wl500g.info/showthread.php?t=25043
 

Gold Member
Username: Extrmndor3

Http://illuzonemu.serv..., ^^^Sick Game

Post Number: 8615
Registered: Feb-06
no offense..but that test is so cra.ppy

but that is just a badwith test..

try a real test with SAME card.. same Motherboard( since is the one that rules the power of buss transfers and frequencies of pci slots and i/o devices.. and with diferent cpu and memory

try real life applications..

plus that is just a speed badwidth test.. try 100 connections like that at once..so with packet inspecting,routing, etc...like in real life...

still you better with a premade one
 

Platinum Member
Username: Insearchofbass

Post Number: 17032
Registered: Jun-04
I just got this to make a router with. It has 2.4 mghz processor 1 gig of ram and 5 pci slots and it was only 56 bucks shipped

http://cgi.ebay.com/Gateway-E-6000-Desktop-Tower-Intel-P4-2-4Mhz-XP-Pro-/3103114 03280?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item4840003f10
 

Platinum Member
Username: Insearchofbass

Post Number: 17033
Registered: Jun-04
he says the pc i just bought has the pc1066 ram which is 533 bus speed when the stock ram it calls for is pc800 ram which is 400 bus....will this work and be ok?
 

Platinum Member
Username: Insearchofbass

Post Number: 17035
Registered: Jun-04
nevermind it can use 533 bus ram I looked it up
 

Gold Member
Username: Th3pwn3r

I compensate...

Post Number: 9769
Registered: Jul-06
So why do you need this?
 

Platinum Member
Username: Insearchofbass

Post Number: 17044
Registered: Jun-04
just felt like building one and digging into linux

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