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Setting up an Ubuntu Wired/Wirless Router

TableOfContents

Preface

This article exists due a lack of concise and easily followed information available on the subject of setting up an wired and/or wireless Ubuntu router. It is intended for advanced users who have or would like to set up a dedicated Ubuntu installation acting as a router at home or in their office. The end result is a powerful router that can provide functionality similar to popular products (like, for example, the Linksys WRT54G).

Prerequisites

Broadband Connection

A broadband connection like a cable or DSL modem is required. Your broadband service provider must either provide the necessary information to configure your IP address statically or provide a dynamically assigned address via DHCP. If your connection requires PPPoE (as can often be the case with DSL service), you'll find the existing the article ["ADSLPPPoE"] to be of value.

Router Hardware

You'll need a dedicated computer to act as the router. The computer can use old hardware and having the minimum requirements to install Ubuntu should suffice. The author of this article runs his router on a P3 600mhz processor with 256MB of RAM. You are encouraged use this as a server for other applications perhaps by installing postfix, apache, mysql, and/or samba. This guide covers both the Desktop and Server installations.

Will need to be physically installed and configured on your server:

• An ethernet NIC (Network Interface Card)

  • Hereafter, to be known as device eth0

• For wired access, another NIC attached to a hub or switcher

  • Hereafter, to be known as device eth1

• For wireless access', a wireless device capable of being in "Master" mode

  • Hereafter, to be known as device wlan0

While you can have a server that it is "headless" (i. e. having no monitor or keyboard attached), do not so until you have it completely set up.