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486DX Router/Firewall

borgward

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Feb 18, 2012
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Need advice using 486DX as router/Firewall.

486DX, Color video, USR ISA MODEM, 3-1/2" and 5" floppie drives.

I want to use it to connect my LAN to dialup.

Need advice about hardware to use, and OS/software. Heard that it can be run from floppie disk.
 
Need advice using 486DX as router/Firewall.

486DX, Color video, USR ISA MODEM, 3-1/2" and 5" floppie drives.

I want to use it to connect my LAN to dialup.

Need advice about hardware to use, and OS/software. Heard that it can be run from floppie disk.

You are going to need Linux for that project, and at least about 16 MB of RAM. Also, you'll need an ISA 16bit ethernet network card, which you don't list in your system inventory.

If you don't know Linux, you better get to that project first.
 
I used to use my 486 running RedHat Linux 6.1 as my router to the cable modem a long time ago. There were different scripts one could use to use a dial-up connection instead. The basic theory is the same, except that the Linux machine has to be configured to dial out.

For a while you could get home routers with a modem option that would do the same thing. I know that D-link made such models. If I had to do this today this is the solution I would use - it's relatively user friendly compared to setting up an old 486 with a version of Linux that will run on it.


Mike
 
You could give FreeSCO a shot http://freesco.info/home/man/ There was the linux router project (LRF) which I believe is no longer active but disk images might still be available. A list of Linux router projects http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_router_or_firewall_distributions

Using a bit of imagination, but not ideal, you could share the dailup connection using AnalogXs small proxy server on a bear bones win9x installation and something like tiny personal firewall. Using VNC you could start-stop the dialup connection remotely.
 
I wish I could remember the name of the floppy-based router distribution I used to use... back in the late '90s/early '00s, I had a 486 router/firewall exactly like what you're wanting to do. It was just a DX4/75 in a cheap 486 board, with either 16 or 24MB RAM, a generic VGA card (solely because it wouldn't boot without one), a floppy drive, a 10Mb NIC and an ISA modem. That's all. The OS booted off the floppy and ran entirely from RAM after that. I used that system for several years, up until we got DSL and a wireless router.

I'll dig around and see if I still have the floppy... if I can find it, I'll make an image of it for you.
 
It wasn't LRP... it was pretty similar to that, though. Actually, I could've sworn it was IPCop, but everything I can find online indicates that's much newer and never came on a floppy... :confused:
 
i started using ipcop around version 1.3 on a pentium 133 with 64mb ram and 2 3com isa nics, today i use a pentium 3 450, 128mb ram and 3 realtek nics that was just changed to 3 3com 509-tx-m cards, just too see if they could handle it beter heh and also it's running ipcop 2.04, had to upgrade it cause 2.04 felt too slow on the older pc + you admin it via your browser.
 
Now that I think about it, what about just getting ahold of an old Apple Airport base station? The 'graphite' and 'snow' ones can be had dirt cheap and had a 56K modem built-in... they're one of the only pre-made routers that could directly connect to dialup. Even if you don't need wireless, it might be the simplest option...
 
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I've used that for a couple of years (on a 486DX-33) and was very happy with the abovementioned FREESCO.
 
i started using ipcop around version 1.3 on a pentium 133 with 64mb ram and 2 3com isa nics, today i use a pentium 3 450, 128mb ram and 3 realtek nics that was just changed to 3 3com 509-tx-m cards, just too see if they could handle it beter heh and also it's running ipcop 2.04, had to upgrade it cause 2.04 felt too slow on the older pc + you admin it via your browser.

I used to use IPCop 5 years ago and just loved it. I was using a Pentium Pro with 128MB, but I'm sure it didn't need all that power. :) Still, to me at that time it was a godsend that I just had to put in a modem and it would automatically dial out when accessed - a bunch of stuff I wasn't prepared to set up myself at the time. I had both mine and my wife's computers plugged into it.

Anyway, ahm's application looks really impressive and looks like it might be a better bet for a 486. If however you want that 486 for something else in the future, you might want to try IPCop on any old throwaway. Oh, and you don't need to know anything at all about Linux to use it. It's all on a CD and installs by itself. Like I said. the automatic dialup was the real hook for me.

Edit: For the record the IPCop site is here, and it says: "486 or better, minimal disk size 512 MB and at least 64 MB RAM."
 
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I can't remember the name either, but I used a msdos based router with a modem and then a isdn modem for at least a couple of years. I even set one up at my parents house, but I can't remember the name to save my left, but I think it had route in the name.

I had it running on a 386 using ISA network cards.


Later,
dabone
 
Once upon a time, I had a 486 class machine (AMD 5x86-133 with PCChips M919) running Redhat Linux 6 acting as a firewall. It worked well, but it was setup back in 1997 before consumer grade routers became available. I ditched the machine for a dedicated router when they became available. Why? Because its a lot cheaper to run a little router 24/7 then an old 486. The difference in the electricity bills was staggering! Just something to think about. Don't discount the old Apple Airports with dialup access, they will pay for themselves fairly quickly.
 
If you are running a 24/7 server anyway then using that gear for routing duties would make sense. I prefer having seperate routers (one wired with G wireless that runs 24/7 and one B wireless that is turned on when using more vintage laptops) and a seperate server. I would think a 486 would choke on traffic coming from a cable modem or DSL modem these days.
 
A couple of years ago, I also had a 24/7 FREESCO-based router running on a Pentium II. It was superb! :)
 
Because its a lot cheaper to run a little router 24/7 then an old 486. The difference in the electricity bills was staggering!

For a typical 40 watt consumption (probably a little less) for a 486 the cost for most people would be what? Let's do the math. If you pay 10 cents per KWh it would be 2.88 cents. Almost a "staggering" 3 cents!
 
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For a typical 40 watt consumption (probably a little less) for a 486 the cost for most people would be what? Let's do the math. If you pay 10 cents per KWh it would be 2.88 cents. Almost a "staggering" 3 cents!

40 watts? Is that measured at the CPU pins or at the wall outlet?

It doesn't make sense to leave an old system running full time with spinning fans, probably a hard drive, and other hardware when a dedicated embedded style device can do the same function. That's why I moved to a dedicated router years ago even though my Linux box was doing the job just fine.
 
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