On Wed, 23 Jan 2002 19:30:52 -0500
"Anuerin G. Diaz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>
> hi,
>
> i am planning to get a DSL connection and put up a simple home network. Im looking
>at a SNF server so i can have a firewall, proxy server and share internet connections
>to all computers (currently all stand-alones) in our compound. I have been looking
>for information on the SNF distribution and found that it has kernel 2.2 for its
>brain. does anybody know the reason why?
It's based on a mdk secure kernel.
Would using a 2.4 kernel bump up the requirements?
I don't think so. I think the 2.2 secure kernel is hardened against things like
buffer overflows and there isn't a hardened 2.4 version yet.
im planning to run it on a P166 Mhz with 48MB RAM. Does it have a chance of
installing successfully given that the minimum stated in the SNF page is 64MB?
IIRC the minimum size is 32M with 64M recommended. My IBM P90 with 32M ram
complained about 'low resources, use text install if you encounter problems'
or something and indeed, while the graphical install was _fast_ and beautiful
it also just skipped whole parts of the installation, resulting in a not
bootable system <grin>. Text install was no problem.
Is the SNF updated regularly for security fixes like the normal distributions?
Yes, of course. You control the firewall with a webbrowser, there is an 'update
software' button right on the first page, though I haven't tried this myself.
I'm not using the P90 firewall machine to connect to the internet now, I will
use it if I get ADSL instead of my expensive dial up :(
> Lastly, can anyone point me to sites offering tutorials about creating a home
>network? I already have the Windows-Linux-Networking howto from LDP but am still
>hoping to find more materials especially those concerning cabling. It would be better
>if the materials are 'downloadable' as internet surfing time here is at a premium.
I hope someone else has an answer :) Now _I_ have a question: the 2.2 kernel
uses ipchains as its packet filter while 2.4 uses iptables. IIRC Civileme
explained that iptables has 'statefull inspection' while ipchains does not,
and this is important in the light of the 'raw socket capability' of
Windows XP. So I'm wondering, while SNF 7.2 is a nice and easy standalone
firewall solution, you could also install LM8.1 on a 'slow' 64 MB system and
use Bastille etc. to get the same functionality, plus iptables' enhanced packet
filtering capabilities.
> thanks!
>
> --
>
> "Programming, an artform that fights back."
>
> =============================
> Anuerin G. Diaz
> Design Engineer
> Millennium Software, Incorporated
> 2305 B West Tower, Philippines Stocks Exchange Center,
> Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City
>
> Tel# 638-3070 loc. 72
> Fax# 638-3079
> =============================
>
>
>
-Frans
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