[NTLUG:Discuss] DHCP on Linux

[Chris Cox]

Unlikely.  Even a used 486 will probably cost you more than
you want to know.  30pin memory at 16M will go for about
$50-$70.  The cache memory...have to supply your own
cache on a 486 will also run you $2-$3 per 32k chip.
Your only chance is if you just happen to find
someone who is willing to give you their old machine.
It would be very hard to find a descent 486 for less than
the cost of the Linksys... and it won't perform as
well.

(I know this because I'm refurbishing a 486 at the moment)

I will also tell you that the Linksys is extremely easy
to setup.  IF you have an OLD machine
hanging around and A LOT OF TIME.... do it with Linux,
it's a great learning experience, otherwise, don't
be afraid to go with solutions like the Linksys.

Under Suse... I just run dhclient (actually it's a YaST
option... but that's what happens underneath).  Works
fine with my Linksys.

You can setup a DMZ host on your Linksys if you want
something completely exposed to the Internet... you can also
poke holes with port forwarding as necessary for other stuff to your
private network side (I think up to 10 sets of port ranges).

Go to Forwarding in the Advanced menu and open up port 80 
for one of your hosts....assuming your are running a web server,
you should now be able to contact your machine via the IP assigned
by @home (even if you get your IP from DHCP on the router side,
it should be a fixed address... @home reserves the right to
change it... but only if necessary).


A Linux based solution will be infinitely more configurable....
but as I mentioned, you may not have cheap access to the
extra HW.

Hope that helps,
Chris


Nicholas Perez wrote:
> 
> It could be that you need to put in your nameservers in your
> /etc/resolv.conf. and/or have a search line to search a certain domain for a
> nameserver...just `man resolve.conf` and you should get all the info you
> need. oh...and one last thing. Why didnt you just get an old 486 with two
> nics and run that as a router...would have been cheaper and easier to setup
> :)
>