Home Made Router

[Fort_Major]

So I am currently fed up with current available router/switch solutions. Most seem to be only 4 port and you literally have next to no amount of control what so ever so I am pondering trying to see if i can build my own home made router.

I am looking at 2 quad port ethernets as I need to be able to connect up to 6 users via wired.

Several caveats.
VOIP: I use voip through vonage currently. I have tried before and the vonage router does not seem to like being behind anonther router. What are my options for this?

Management: Okay, let's face it - no flame war intended, however Linux users ideas of management are usually completely different from windows's users ideas. I am looking for ease of use for management.
Basically, my problem is that I need to be able to ensure that certain network users are limited on. That being said. I want to be able to easily in an instant be able to see how many users are connected to the internet. how much they are downloading, how much they are uploading
Controlwise I would like to (if possible require users to authenticate to get on the network- not sure if this can be done with standard windows networking or not)
then based upon user authenticated as rules apply. Since my main goal is to "limit" the amount of P2P Ideally I am guessing that I would like to be able to rate via port ranges or via protocol

So in summation Any suggestions regarding motherboard/case are welcomed as are solutions to my voip dilemma and also possibly software for firewall/network/routing management would be appreciated.

 

[LANm0nk3y]

So I am currently fed up with current available router/switch solutions. Most seem to be only 4 port and you literally have next to no amount of control what so ever so I am pondering trying to see if i can build my own home made router.

I am looking at 2 quad port ethernets as I need to be able to connect up to 6 users via wired.

Several caveats.
VOIP: I use voip through vonage currently. I have tried before and the vonage router does not seem to like being behind anonther router. What are my options for this?

Management: Okay, let's face it - no flame war intended, however Linux users ideas of management are usually completely different from windows's users ideas. I am looking for ease of use for management.
Basically, my problem is that I need to be able to ensure that certain network users are limited on. That being said. I want to be able to easily in an instant be able to see how many users are connected to the internet. how much they are downloading, how much they are uploading
Controlwise I would like to (if possible require users to authenticate to get on the network- not sure if this can be done with standard windows networking or not)
then based upon user authenticated as rules apply. Since my main goal is to "limit" the amount of P2P Ideally I am guessing that I would like to be able to rate via port ranges or via protocol

So in summation Any suggestions regarding motherboard/case are welcomed as are solutions to my voip dilemma and also possibly software for firewall/network/routing management would be appreciated.

I think you're probably going about it the wrong way. It's probably QUITE easier than this by using two NICs on your Linux box (If you so desire). The rest of the computers can be connected to a switch. Use your Linux box as a router/firewall. Find a packet filtering software that will allow you to control with user's authentication to potocol and ports (and maybe with built-in HTTP/HTTPS/FTP content filtering).


But that's if you'd like to go Linux Route. If you want a more OUT of the box solution, get a Server, run MS-SBS-2003 Premium (with ISA 2004). That will allow you to turn your server to a router/firewall/packetfiltering and will authenticate with NTLM (Windows logon). You can also subscribe to a HTTP/HTTPS/FTP content filtering service.


The last option is to use appliance based solution with a server. Basically you'd have Router/Firewall/Packetfiltering/Content filtering from an appliance that will allow you to verify LDAP authentication or something like that to your server. Check out SonicWall. I actually have a sonic wall that I don't even know what to do with -- it's got 10 user's license, but it's missing the adapter. Love to get rid of it.

 

[Eickst]

Open-WRT or DD-WRT and an extra switch. They are easy to manage, use no power whatsoever (especially compared to a full PC) and you can pick up a compatible router for less than $100.

For home use it's hard to recommend anything else. Unless you want to spend an extra 10 to 15 bucks a month on electric just to run a router.

EDIT* And BTW, you are asking for user authentication over the network, QoS for VoIP, traffic shaping, etc...and you don't want anything difficult to manage? Goodl uck setting all of that up with windows, by the way.

 

[RoBo]

Open-WRT or DD-WRT and an extra switch. They are easy to manage, use no power whatsoever (especially compared to a full PC) and you can pick up a compatible router for less than $100.

For home use it's hard to recommend anything else. Unless you want to spend an extra 10 to 15 bucks a month on electric just to run a router.

EDIT* And BTW, you are asking for user authentication over the network, QoS for VoIP, traffic shaping, etc...and you don't want anything difficult to manage? Goodl uck setting all of that up with windows, by the way.

+1 If you dont want to leave a computer running or dont have one spare.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Management: Okay, let's face it - no flame war intended, however Linux users ideas of management are usually completely different from windows's users ideas. I am looking for ease of use for management.

Have you looked at screenshots of *nix router distros? They are web admin, just like your "off the shelf retail boxed homegrade router".

Snag a old PC like a mid-range P3 or higher, 512 megs, a second NIC. Install a *nix distro, uplink the green NIC to an 8 or 16 or 24 port switch.

 

[Fort_Major]

Have you looked at screenshots of *nix router distros? They are web admin, just like your "off the shelf retail boxed homegrade router".

Snag a old PC like a mid-range P3 or higher, 512 megs, a second NIC. Install a *nix distro, uplink the green NIC to an 8 or 16 or 24 port switch.

Yes. Hence why i asked for suggestions because everything i searched for and found had you typing encrypted iptables at a command line. The most "graphical" interface i ever saw was some package that threw Cactus+RRDTools togetjher and gave you an overview of total traffic.

My actual request is not that actually complicated. I know that Kerio Firewall / Routing solution and Tiny Firewall both provide easy and intuitive and informative and proactive interfaces that allow you to get an overview of exactly what's going on with your network and your securtiy while being able to instantly make actions and rules based upon that.

I honestly dont think that in a day and a world where a 60 dollar linksys router embodies 87% of what I want with QOS, forwading, blackout times, and VOIP, that my demands for a bit more control are actually that far fetched. These routers have been able to do it for years and they sell it for 50-100 bucks.

I was honestly hoping that building a solution that simply extends and gives you more control and provides greater interfaces would be extremely simple and that people would be pouring out with exact hardware and software instrumentations that they were using to build routers that simply went a bit beyond the average ever day Linksys Router. Because thats all I'm seriously trying to do.

 

[LoStMaTt]

I was honestly hoping that building a solution that simply extends and gives you more control and provides greater interfaces would be extremely simple and that people would be pouring out with exact hardware and software instrumentations that they were using to build routers that simply went a bit beyond the average ever day Linksys Router. Because thats all I'm seriously trying to do.

I think you need to re-evaluate and elaborate on what exactly you want that most of these routers do not offer out of the box. Please explain what you mean by "more control"? Why won't something like IPCOP work? www.IPCop.org Just find a PC you do not use, put 2 normal everyday NIC cards in it, one will be your Internet(Red) interface the other will be your LAN(Green) interface (which you wire up to a switch) and then just login to IPCOP via web browser just like you do with normal routers.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Yes. Hence why i asked for suggestions because everything i searched for and found had you typing encrypted iptables at a command line. The most "graphical" interface i ever saw was some package that threw Cactus+RRDTools togetjher and gave you an overview of total traffic. .

Clicky for some screenies....

My favorite distro..."Endian". Does MUCH more than the basic NAT stuff like most distros..this adds robust intrusion detection, VPN, and spam as well as virus/malware/adware detection and removal at the gateway level..
http://www.endian.com/en/products/firewall/screenshots/

PFSense is another one...
http://www.pfsense.com/index.php?id=27

m0n0wall
http://m0n0.ch/wall/screenshots.php

Smoothwall
http://www.smoothwall.org/about/screenshots/

The very popular IPCop....which has lots of cool add-ons...
http://www.ipcop.org/index.php?module=pnWikka&tag=IPCopScreenshots