I recently built a debian server (Squeeze) to get some much needed linux practice. After tinkering with it for a few days I have decided to try and redo my home network using the server as a firewall/monitoring station.



I want to know how this will effect the internet speed of the other computers on the network. I plan on running an FTP server on the Debian box and am also wondering if puting a DNS server on it will improve the speed.

I basically want to get the best performance and security out of this setup. My wifi router has a built in firewall so should I just continue to run the cable modem through it?

The specs on the Debian Server sre:

Pentium D 2.8 GHz
2 Gb RAM
4 Gb swap file
80 Gb HDD (root)
1 Tb HDD (data)

I am thinking of upping the RAM to 4 Gb and changing the swap file to 8 Gb. Not sure if this will help much but it's worth a shot scince I already have the parts.

I apprieciate any help or ideas.

Thank you

Why do you put the Debian Server between wifi router and Cable Modem? Your firewall in Wifi router can't protect Debian Server.

I was going to put a firewall on the server. I figured if all the traffic was going through the server it would be easier to monitor.

Hi there,

As you said that you are planning to configure FTP server and DNS server on your Debian system then 4 GB RAM will be good enough and yes it will improve your browsing speed little bit as your DNS server will cache the websites browsed by the client workstation. Increasing SWAP is of no use because 4 GB SWAP is more than enough for the setup.

I would also suggest using a firewall between the Debian server and the modem as configuring firewall on the server that is hosting the services is not a good idea. The reason is because of the services you will open up the ports on the server (which you have to indeed) but without a firewall it makes your server vulnerable on public network. Putting a firewall in between makes it more secure and more scrutinized.

T3RM1NVT0R,

If that is the case I will keep the router between the modem and the server. If I do this can I still monitor and control all the traffic going through the router using the server. Bear with me I am kind of new to this.

Thanks

As I can understand from what you said is putting a router between the server and the modem and configuring acl on the router. If that is the case then you can control the traffic going from client to router (via Debian server). Once the packet reached router you will not be able to control or monitor it.

In this setup you will be able to control/monitor the traffic going from client to router using your Debian server but once the packet reaches router you will have to rely on the acl's configured on the router. If you want to monitor the traffic passing through router then you have to put a sniffer between the router and the modem.

I hope this helps.

Are you doing this for the practice, or for production?

If the former, Good show!
If the latter, consider a firewall distro like IPCop.

W/ IPCop (& others) you can add a 3rd NIC & use it for a "Blue" network specifically for isolating your WiFi access point.

Yes you can still monitor traffic through your server. The server becomes your gateway for all of the devices within your local network, the server will then pass the packets along to your router, the router will then pass the packets to the modem.

"effect the internet speed "

Should it be affect?