Dialup router MINI

Download: http://ftp.unx.nu/pub/MPSDR/dialuprouter-MINI-v0.50.zip
Homepage: http://mpsdr.unx.nu/MINI

We've not had a review in quite a while so I wanted to share with all of you a neat piece of idiot proof software that I found recently that was very helpful in a recent project. Here was the scope of the project:

• Build a ten user small office network with squid proxy, web, mail, file and print sharing.
• Do it with all free software.

This small office allows me to host their web and e-mail, so that was already done. We set up samba on a compaq dual P600 with a smart array controller 3200. Debian was our distribution. Setting that up was pretty straight forward. The only thing left was the internet connectivity through our local ISP.

We went to setting up IPMasq, diald and ipchains. I don't know if I was just not getting something but whenever I turned IPmasq on to mask the network, the ppp connection which was previously working quit working properly. I'm 100% convinced this was some user error on my part. This was ok and everything but I had a deadline to make and I was going to make it. My associate suggested to my ire, windows98 internet connection sharing. We tried it and it worked, however it provides its own unconfigurable DHCP server. We had one set up on the debian system and we didn't want to remove it. The final answer: The Dial Up Router MINI.

This software is a floppy bootable IP masq / dial on demand router. It requires a 386 with 8 meg of ram.

The Lulea Linux User Group in Sweden built this piece of software as a group project. The goal was to make ipmasq, ppp and ipchains idiot proof so even the average MSCE can configure it. This software completely lived up to its own hype. Here is how it works:

• download the zip file
• unzip in dos / windows
• run the install
• install will dump files to a floppy
• reboot pc to floppy
• configure IP info for ethernet interface
• configure ISP and com port info
• customize routing table (optional)
• built in DHCP & DNS server (optional config)
• save configuration

After saving the config, it dialed my ISP and all the PCs were then on the internet. This worked GREAT.

Pros

• It took about 15 seconds to configure.
• Worked correctly the first time
• boots and runs from floppy

Cons

• not sure of security used here
• older kernel is used
• requires 3com 3c509 or 3c905 or ne2000 ethernet
• no multilink support

The hardware we used was an old Packard Bell P100 with 16 meg of ram. This machine had win98 on it with an external USR v.90 sporster modem. We verified internet connectivity on the box before booting the floppy. The ethernet was a 3c905b-txnm ethernet card. The only gotcha we had is the floppy couldn't find the serial port. This was because it was disabled in bios. Wierdly though, win98 used it just fine and it worked even though it was disabled in bios. I guess this is just typical packard bell and this is the kind of thing to expect when working with a box like that. After enabling the serial port in bios, everything worked 100% OK as expected.

I'll give this mini distribution a rating of four out of five penguins. We're knocking off one penguin because of the older kernel and limited built in ethernet support. For anyone that wants to use IP masq with dial on demand ppp but really doesn't want to configure IP masq or PPP this is definately the piece of software for you!