Setting up a Home Router
 To include information on ipv6 |
This HowTo is written to indicate the basics necessary to get a simple router set up for a network. Unlike most HowTos, this will not form an exhaustive list of instructions, as a home router is not one piece of software, and not every piece of software listed here will be relevant to your specific requirements. Moreover, the individual pieces of software themselves, in particular firewalls, require configuration which requires documentation in their own right.
As such this HowTo will indicate the relevant pieces of software, and link to the corresponding documentation. It will also contain some more general guidance.
Before You Start
You should know
This article presumes that you are familiar with the fundamentals of IP networks. In particular you should have a good understanding of the terms:
- IP Address
- Address Mask
- Subnet
- CIDR (Notation of the form 192.168.1.0/24)
Enable Routing and Set Up Routes
Configuring Network Interfaces
Generally speaking, routers are in charge of their own IP addresses, as such you will need to understand how to configure static IP addresses on the interfaces.
Connecting to the Internet - pppd
If you are looking to connect your router directly to the internet without using the router from your ISP, then you will need to configure pppd. The documentation for pppd can be found here.
On a practical note, it is helpful to download pppd and your firewall of choice using your ISPs provided router and configure them prior to connecting your home-made router to the internet directly.
Firewalls
Firewalls At the time of writing, there are three main firewall options available of which the author is aware:
- ufw - the uncomplicated firewall
- nftables
- IPTables is also an option - but be advised that it is an older piece of software with a somewhat arcane syntax. It has been superseded by nftables.