Building your own combined Router / NAS

Ice Tea · 21 Jan 2008 at 11:47

There are plenty of guides at Google for building your own Router using an old Computer but i can't find anything that combines the Router with using the HDD as a Network drive.

Anybody know if this can be done ?

tolien · 21 Jan 2008 at 12:04

Shouldn't be impossible, if the router is linux-based you can install Samba and access the drive through shares the same as Windows.

Ice Tea · 21 Jan 2008 at 12:07

Thanks i'll look for Samba in the guides.

Hodders · 21 Jan 2008 at 12:59

Although conventional wisdom would normally say that the router should stay well away from any data so putting them both on the same box is maybe not a good idea ?

Good router packages are smoothwall (more flexible) and monowall. Tolien is spot on when he says look out for samba.

DRZ · 21 Jan 2008 at 23:28

Completely possible and done right under Linux its fairly secure. Personally I wouldn't want my data on my firewall just in case but its certainly possible.

Install a linux distro of your choice, Debian would be my preference but any will do really. Then set up a fairly strict set of iptables rules (remembering to enable ip forwarding!) and once all of that is done, set up Samba.

If you cant hack the idea of using the command line for that stuff, install Webmin and it will make things a bit easier for you.

Ice Tea · 22 Jan 2008 at 02:31

Thanks

I just found this .....

"Single Floppy Router" freesco
http://www.freesco.org/index.php?id=o

Samba addon here
http://uk.freescosoft.net/html/FREESCO/networking.file_sharing.html

And this looks like the sort of Netshare for idiots i need.
tcpnetexch
http://uk.freescosoft.net/html/FREESCO/windows/v0.2.7/tcpnetexch.htm

TCPNETExch is a simple HOST/CLIENT application that allows you to share files across your TCP protocol LAN. No SAMBA - No NETbui - No IPX - No NetBios - No MS stuff - just pure old-fashioned TCP. runs under Windows(9x-00).

DRZ · 22 Jan 2008 at 02:35

Why you would want to use that last link instead of samba I don't know.

Put a full-fat linux on there (perhaps Ubuntu if you really are daunted by it) and have a play. At least if you have a problem or something like that then you can ask a load more people for help.

Ice Tea · 22 Jan 2008 at 02:44

I'm somewhat ignorant to be honest as i've never done this before and i just assumed a Client/Server share applicaton would be more secure as it would be invisible outside the network unless the software was installed to try and translate the traffic. ?

Will a full install of linux automatically configure the network cards to act like a Router like Freesco and Gnatbox and other linux based single install for idiots ?

tolien · 22 Jan 2008 at 02:56

You'd need to configure it (and probably install packages), but it should be easy enough to do - at the very least, you could install something like Webmin and have a web interface wrapped around it all.

There's nothing stopping you blocking SMB at the firewall so Samba would be equally secure in that regard. It should break enough with NAT anyway.

Ice Tea · 22 Jan 2008 at 02:59

Thanks

Was hoping for something that had auto configure incase the box needed restarting when i'm not about as i'm not the only person to use the computers and some have only just learnt to copy and paste with the right mouse key let alone edit routing tables

tolien · 22 Jan 2008 at 03:02

Easy enough to restart a box with webmin (not that "shutdown -r now" is rocket science).

Ice Tea · 22 Jan 2008 at 03:04

thanks

Ice Tea · 25 Jan 2008 at 09:33

I didn't know Windows 2003 could be setup as a Nat Router

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/ar...uring-Windows-Server-2003-act-NAT-router.html

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/NAT_Windows_2003_Setup_Configuration.html

Hodders · 31 Jan 2008 at 20:26

Download a copy of vmware-server from www.vmware.com.

You can then install smoothwall/ubuntu etc into a virtual machine with no problems. Have a play and you'll learn loads without even realising it !

Spinaker_42 · 31 Jan 2008 at 21:08

Hi all, im a bit of a noob, but can a simple adapter be used to connect an external hard drive to a netowork to save having to have a seperate machine set up?

Something like this... USB to RJ45

Laser402 · 31 Jan 2008 at 22:32

I doubt it the hard drive would need to be running something to give it an IP address, MAC address etc.

Those are just for connecting computers to a network using USB.

Dist · 31 Jan 2008 at 23:03

Hodders said:
Download a copy of vmware-server from www.vmware.com.

You can then install smoothwall/ubuntu etc into a virtual machine with no problems. Have a play and you'll learn loads without even realising it !

Sorry for going off topic a bit, but that sounds like a great way for me to learn some linux stuff without having to make a dual boot system. Is it possible to install vmware onto a pc that is alreadying running vista, and simply add a linux install to it? or would i have to reinstall vista? and would i also have to split one of my NTFS partitions to something linux can use?

tolien · 31 Jan 2008 at 23:38

You don't have to change anything - that's why it's a virtual machine.
The hard drive the VM sees is just a file that you can put wherever you like.

Dist · 31 Jan 2008 at 23:54

After reading the vmware article on wikipedia, it seems that only the vmware player is free, which can not create virtual machines. Does this mean if i want to try linux the way i described i would have to use the 30 day evaluation of vmware workstation, create a virtual machine, delete vmware workstation (since i daubt i will need to create more then 1 virtual machine, and i wont pay for it after 30 days) then install vmware player and just use that from then on when i want to try linux?

Snapshot · 1 Feb 2008 at 07:18

No, the VMWare server is free too and that's what we all use. Use the VMWare site for accurate info, not Wikipedia.