Once it's up and running, you don't need much.
The problem is that the installers and configuration utilities utilize X
windows...
Yes, you can do this in textmode... but it becomes very complicated for a
newbie to deal with textmode and script editing... etc.
Anyway after things are set up 32 megs or less will often do as long as the
latency between your interfaces is relatively low.
You have a P100 which is normally adecuate for cable modem speeds, esp. due
to the PCI bus.
He is talking about a 486. Have you every tried a dual ISA 486
configuration?
It works, if you minimize the installation requirements... but performance
is not optimal... or you can run something like the floppy based bare Linux
distros which tend to work well... like the Linux Router Project...
For Mandrake, however he is best advised to get more RAM... just to permit
the install to complete. Use X to set things up and test... and then he can
dump X and all the X apps.
Or, help him set it up in text mode...
-JMS
|-----Original Message-----
|From: flupke [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
|Sent: Saturday, June 17, 2000 6:21 AM
|To: bascule
|Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
|Subject: Re: [newbie] networking question
|
|
|I don't agree. I have a firewall between my LAN and my cable-modem
|internet connection, with the following configuration :
|P100, 24 MB RAM, 300 MB HD, 2 PCI NE200 compatible nics, no screen, no
|keyboard. And the average load of the machine is near the 0%.
|
|Concerning X, I personnaly consider it as a waste of space and resource,
|on a machine that really don't need it. And I find it dangerous to add an
|unneeded server on a machine that has to deal with security.
|
|Just my 2 cent...
|
|HTH
|Flupke
|
|
|
|One do really not need to have much memory to make a firewall.
|
|On Wed, 14 Jun 2000, bascule wrote:
|
|> hi, and what a useful answer!
|>
|> this is exactly the stuff that the books i have looked at assumed i
|> already knew!
|>
|> i have to admit though, that i'm a bit worried about needing so much
|> memory for my 486, i keep reading about how such machines make good
|> firewalls for smalltime users like me but i don't think my 486 can have
|> 64meg!
|>
|> thanks again
|>
|> bascule
|>
|>
|> >
|> > ---
|> >
|>
|>
|> >
|> > it is my intention to one day have the 486 machine be a firewall, i
|> > perceive that one day the uk will have reasonably priced unmetered isp
|> > access and i want to be ready!
|> >
|> > ---
|> >
|> > I hope your 486 has at least 64megs of RAM.
|> >
|> > While a 486 does fine as a router, it normally does so if it
|is not bogged
|> > down with things like Xwindows. You can use X to set things up
|though, then
|> > merely have the computer come up in text mode.
|> >
|> > -JMS
|> > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
|>
|>
|>
|
|--
| << There's no place like ~ ! >>
|
