a noobish linux question for you

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doh-nut

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warning, linux noobness ahead.

im running m0n0wall, a linux firewall on an old athlon rig. its very nice, im wondering if this install of linux is capable of letting me install additional things like a linux teamspeak server, a print server, and a file sharing server too? or are linux installs like this not made to let you install additional things?

since i have something that resembles linux on the box installed without any trouble, i thought id ask if these things were possible.

the reason I don't find out for myself is because i dont know how to install programs in linux yet, so i wanted to make sure i could or couldn't install these services on this install, before i spend lots of time figuring it out.
 
it may not install the necessary compilers to install other programs. you might be better off starting off with gentoo or ubuntu and adding what's needed. that's how i configured my home router/file/printserver.
 
I would just like to point out that no, you're not running a linux firewall. :p
To quote www.m0n0wall.org :
m0n0wall is based on a bare-bones version of FreeBSD, along with a web server, PHP and a few other utilities. The entire system configuration is stored in one single XML text file to keep things transparent.
Click to expand...

It also seems to be just a bit to minimal to allow easy extention. As the FAQ says:
13.23. Can I access a shell prompt?

There is no true shell prompt per se in m0n0wall, and no supported way to add one. You can get some limited shell functionality by going to the hidden /exec.php page.
Click to expand...

I'd recommend installing something else, sorry. FreeBSD, for instance. :D
You have pf, natd and routed for your networking needs, teamspeak, samba for file sharing (or NFS if that's what you need), and cups for printer serving Preferably combined.
 
It is also very bad practice to load additional server applications on a firewall. A good firewall should do exactly one thing; be a firewall. If you are running other applications and one of them is compromised, you run the risk of compromising your entire network as well.
 
ThomasE66 said:
It is also very bad practice to load additional server applications on a firewall. A good firewall should do exactly one thing; be a firewall. If you are running other applications and one of them is compromised, you run the risk of compromising your entire network as well.
Click to expand...

True. However, it is as always a balance between what's ideal and what's practical.
(How many computers has he got to spare? Is this still a safer solution than only the windows firewall?)
 
HHunt said:
True. However, it is as always a balance between what's ideal and what's practical.
(How many computers has he got to spare? Is this still a safer solution than only the windows firewall?)
Click to expand...

Good points, but with the low cost of a dedicated hardware NAT firewall from Netgear or the like, I prefer to err on the side of caution :)
 
clarkconnect is a distro that acts like you're looking for. You can run the firewall and add on apps since it is a stripped RH distro. I've never tried any custom apps, but you might take a look.
 
ok thanks for the help guys. see i told you i was a linux noob, didn't even know i wasn't running it, lol.

the pc im using as a router is a 1500+ athlon, so its got some power to spare, thought i could put it to use with some extra services without compromising anything.

edit: ah ok i was thinking of IPCop, becausei was just using that and i know thats based of linux. apparently ipcop's linux lets you add things
 
..I'm cutten' my teeth on Fedora Core 3 and SmoothWall boxes .. You might want to check out http://www.smoothwall.org in their communities/forum section ..lots of mods for a smoothwall box and requirements are pretty low for hardware specs . I'm learning quite a bit just modding my P2 450 w/384megs of ram and 4gb hdd with all the diff mods for smoothwall. I dont have dsl at home anymore so I'm making use of an old 56k ISA modem that I put in my smoothie box and then have the smoothwall box dial up and I connect thru it via a 4 port hub and the smoothwall box dials up whenever I try and pull a web page up and then disconnects if idle for 3 minutes(thats what i have it set to for now)

..smoothwall wont be able to do all your looking to do with it in of itself I dont think tho .. but it installs in about 5-10 minutes and is fun to "play" with and try out diff mods and what not ..

..now I just gotta figure out all the steps I need to do for sharing a printer on a FC3 box to a bunch of win98 boxen .. :p

yay for google and samba
 
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