Desktop too firewall/router by linux?

[Dead_reckon]

I was wondering what linux distro's are available too turn this old HP/eMachine rig I threw together into a router/firewall for the 16MB/s cable connection I'm getting this fall.

Full Specs:

Socket 370 HP (Asus) CUW-AM V2.07 motherboard
667MHz Celeron Coppermine 66MHz
1 stick of Hyundai 128MB PC133 SDRAM (Think thats from a compaq)
2.1 or 2.2GB Samsung ATA33 HDD (Might be ATA66, but i doubt it)
not that it matters, but the case is a eMachine 300k (painted semi flat black), with its stock bestec 100W m-ATX PSU (which still works even though this thing is 10yrs old), and its stock HDD.
I Have three NIC's available (all of which need too work together), the cards are listed as follows, all are 10/100MB/s
Linksys LNE100TX V5.1
Linksys LNE100TX V4.1
Kingston KNE100TX Version unknown, uses an intel chipset from 1997

Anyone know of any simple linux distro's i could use with this rig? I know nothing of linux.

EDIT: Forgot too mention, going too use one card as an input from my cable modem, two as outputs, one too my laptop, one too my desktop.

'nother edit, this machine may also host a small forum, I doubt the forum would use enough bandwidth too hurt anything.

[michaewlewis]

www.smoothwall.org

[KenJackson]

AFAIK, every Linux distro under the sun comes with the iptables package, either installed by default or readily available for installation.  So you could install any general purpose distro, like the growing-by-leaps-and-bounds market leader, Ubuntu or my favorite, Mandriva, or any other. 

There are several distros specifically oriented to firewalling.  Smoothwall was mentioned.  TinyMe and DSL are optimized to run reasonably on older hardware.

Don't forget the BSDs.  I haven't tried it, but m0n0wall is based on FreeBSD and claims to be a complete, embedded firewall software package that, when used together with an embedded PC, provides all the important features of commercial firewall boxes.

[Dead_reckon]

I was considering a floppy linux distro and just running a straight firewall, got in touch with a friend who's been dealing with computers since they where the size of a room and did that of a four function calculator, he recommends a floppy linux for the job, just lock the floppy after configing. However, a final opinion on this would be nice, I like too follow the saying, better safe than sorry.

the three distro's he picked out are:

FloppyGate
Coyote Linux
and BBIagent

Any advice, opinions, or general reference too these distro's, or any like them would be nice. I like the idea of having a driveless system, no real moving parts other than the PSU fan, CPU is passively cooled by the lower half of a Thermaltake DragonOrb CPU cooler for 370/462/7/ect CPU's. (Putting it on anything lower than a pentium III grade CPU is pointless though.)

EDIT: Sorry for the delay, ain't had much web time over the past few days for random crap that needed doing around here. Yesterday i had too wash my fathers 1986 oldsmobile custom cruiser station wagon, and my grandmothers 1994 mercury sable GS station wagon (Took me as long too do the roof on the olds as it did too do the whole mercury >< )

[michaewlewis]

I recommend smoothwall. It's very simple to set up and can be installed on a flash drive or memory card. It's also one of the most popular and is driven/funded by a commercial part of it which keeps it up to date and well documented.

[Dead_reckon]

Yet again, sorry for the delay, still a lot going on around here. Anyway, how well do realtek based NIC's work with linux? The only cheap NIC's i have found on newegg all run RealTek chipsets, not sure if linux is compatible with them (I don't think any operating system wants there hardware too have crabs). Two of the NIC's i'll be running are linksys LNE100TX's, ones version 5.1, ones version 4.1, and this old kingston NIC, its a KNE100TX, unknown version, the WIC is a D-link DWL-G510 Rev. B, Atheros chipset, or however you spell it. The NIC i'm looking at buying for my rig is this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833156107

In case your curious too see the router/firewall I've assembled, here it is:



Motherboard: Abit AB-BH6 Slot 1 motherboard (Unknown intel chipset)

CPU: 233MHz PIIMMX

RAM: 128MB of PC133

GPU: 4MB nVidia Riva 128 AGP (Revised for a gateway) 1x or 2x (not sure which, don't care either)

PSU 100W bestec M-ATX PSU

Already listed the NIC's, the NIC closest too the GPU is the Kingston, the other two are the Linksys NIC's i have, the WIC will go between the Kingston NIC and the GPU, and I'm sure you can figure out where the new NIC will go.

If need be, I can push the RAM too 256, 384, or 512MB.

I still need too mount the floppy drive, I'll upload a picture of it once thats done. I only have one working floppy drive, so I've got too download whatever linux distro too the laptop, hook up the floppy drive too the desktop, find a working floppy, then create the boot disk on the desktop, and finally, install the floppy drive on the router somehow, and hope linux works without a hitch.

EDIT:

Sorry 'bout the picture quality, was taken by my laptops built in webcam while I balanced the Router/Firewall on my head. Oh, and ironically, this motherboard has never seen anything other than dialup, so, it'll go from a retired granny computer too a firewall/router for a 16MB/s connection. I'm still thinking of a name for this thing, simply calling it The Router, or The Firewall just doesn't seem too be quite enough. If you can think of a name, post 'em, i'm taking ideas now.

[michaewlewis]

just out of curiosity, why don't you just buy a switch instead of installing several nics on your pc?
btw, realtek *should* work with linux.

[Dead_reckon]

just out of curiosity, why don't you just buy a switch instead of installing several nics on your pc?
btw, realtek *should* work with linux.

Keyword man, "Buy", I'm flat broke living on my SSI check at the moment, can barely afford too get another NIC for this thing, the other three NIC's on it where free, so was the WIC going on it, by the time I'm done, I might have $20 in this thing. Its a PC built of completely free scrap parts. I just want a hardware firewall for extra security. Also too block the bizzar traffic my computer has been receiving, packets through various servers which goes through a mess of crap when i try too WHOIS them, completely random servers, tons of them, that have nothing too do with anything I ever do, all of which usually trace back too some stupid ISP in the middle of nowhere, probably some idiot trying too steal my IP. None the less, I'm not owning my own ISP without proper security. Basically, the unit serves as a three port router/wireless router/firewall. The wireless will normally be disabled though, but when its on it'll run a MAC filter and be non-broadcasting.

I can't afford much until this laptops paid off this fall, then I'll get the ISP. The ISP I am getting is a 16MB/s Cable connection through comcast (oh how I hate comcast.. They should be CommyCast ), I'll be paying $60/M for it (I think its $19.99 for three months, w00t), and I'm not going too let a $60/M connection float unprotected.

[friny]

Try Debian www.debian.org

[michaewlewis]

Try checking the last post date. He's probably got his box up and running by now.