I'm setting up a gentoo router on an SBC, specifically a seeed Odyssey X86J4125. I've been patterning the setup after these two tutorials

wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Home_router
hallabro-kokko.se/gentoo/2019/02/27/gentoo-router.html

The OS is installed and the router can connect itself to the internet. When connect by cable or by wifi, other computers can "see" the network the router is broadcasting, but they can't connect. I have tried this with my actual router in bridge mode and in normal mode.

I am pretty new to routers and networking, and I'm really not sure how to diagnose the problem. Can any of you think of what I might test to help determine the issue?

It's a shot in the dark, but the first question that comes to me is this: are the machines that won't connect in the same subnet as the router or are their (already established I'm guessing) ip addresses outside that subnet.

What do you mean by wired computers can not connect?

Could be lots of things, firewall rules, ip_forward not enabled, dhcp server not working.

If wifi devices can see the broadcast ssid, hostapd not configured, dhcp server not correct, bridge not configured right if using one, not starting before hostapd.

https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Etherne...r_and_Firewall

From the author of the wiki.

Stuff I left out
Tons of important instructions.

When you say this router can connect you mean you remote or locally log on to use internet correct?
If so then we need to maybe remove go back to sharing internet via hostapad. Somewhere in step 8

Thanks for the replies!

jefro, the router is able to access the outside network, and can access websites and such. The client computer is connected directly to the router's second ethernet port. frankbell, I think the answer to you question has to be 'no'.

michaelk, iptables, dhcpd and hostapd are running on the router. I've double check the configuration files, but maybe there's a way to query them to see if there's an issue?

jefro, I agree, it's probably an issue around step 8. I followed the gentoo wiki and installed iptables instead of nftables, so in that way I depart from the Robin Hallabro-Kokko wiki.

I assume the wired computer is configured for dhcp.
Does it receive a valid ip address in the expected range?
Does it receive a gateway address that is the router's LAN address?
Does it receive the expected DNS addresses?
Can it ping the router?
Can it ping a known internet ip address?

is ip forwarding active?

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Thanks everyone for helping me with this. Sadly, the X86J4125 has died. I am perplexed as to the cause, I came home a few days ago and it was unresponsive. I've confirmed that the power jack is live, and I even tried powering it up through the USB. The OS was stored on the eMMC, so everything to do with this project has effectively been lost. I really appreciate the help!