The Linux Router Project™ was originally developed by a person named Dave Cinege. It was a router-on-a-floppy, and came into being around the same time as the use of higher-speed, always-on internet connections.
As an open-source project there were always a lot of variations, and the documentation was a little sketchy. When I began using the system, on some old desktop hardware, Dave was on version 2.9.4, and it was fairly stable.
Around 2000, as the original developer's site became less reliable, I started using other disk images. I used Matthew Grant's so-called Matterhorn for a while, then I started using images from Charles Steinkuehler. Charles was using a more 'modern' 2.2.16 linux kernel, and more evolved firewalling scripts.
At some point I found a site called Casano Galactic, where there was pcmcia support for the 2.2.16 kernel used by Charles Steinkuehler's Eigerstein distribution. At that time I had an old laptop and I used the material from Casano Galactic to switch to that hardware, since it's battery made it power-failure resistant, and since it was more reliable than the 'old box' I had been using.
Next Charles' EigersteinBETA version moved on to the 2.2.19 kernel, which was much more secure than 2.2.16. By that time the original Linux distribution used to compile LRP™ (Debian Slink) was obsolete, but you had to use it to produce the small sized kernel and executables needed for a floppy-based distribution. So I installed Slink on my trusty laptop, used Charles' sources and the Casano technique for adding PCMCIA support, and compiled my own custom 2.2.19 kernel with full hard drive and PCMCIA support. I've been using that version for about the last five years.
Meanwhile the originator of LRP™ closed his web site, and the various forks of the project were briefly combined in something called LEAF on Sourceforge. Eventually all of the innovators who had worked on various forks of LRP™ moved on, and the LEAF project is now mostly inactive.
LRP™ was also picked up by groups who tried to commercialize it. Coyote Linux is still around. They have dropped support for their non-commercial 'personal firewall,' however, and that project as 'free software' has morphed into something called BrazilFW. Later versions mean bigger kernels, however, and none that I have found support pcmcia.
Just for laughs, here are some old and new LRP™ links
The original LRP™ Official Site (Dave's legacy?)
Charles Steinkuehler's site (the more reliable variation) Just don't try his Sourceforge links. They're all defunct.
All the time I've been using LRP™ I've had multiple static IP addresses from my fairly expensive ISP, in order to service multiple domains and servers from within my home. Lately, however, I've outsourced my domains and servers, and I'm planning soon to move to a cheaper cable-based ISP with a single dynamic IP. Thinking about that change required a second look at my LRP™ configurations. So I revisited Charles Steinkuehler's site, which he still maintains, and checked out Dachstein, his last version, which has even more interesting networking scripts and can boot off a CD-ROM, but is still based on 2.2.19 (without PCMCIA support.)
After playing around with Dachstein I decided to take Steinkuehler's networking scripts from there and apply them to my old PCMCIA/Hard disk support version of Eigerstein, producing what I call, with typical hubris, FABStein. You can make a version of FABStein easily enough:
It's possible you can apply my PCMCIA material directly to a floppy version of Dachstein, but I haven't tried that because the floppy Dachstein kernel which does not indclude IDE support is much smaller than mine, and there's be a heck of a space crunch on the floppy to start with. In theory, though, it should work. If it did it you would have the more sophisticated backup scripts, and better editor, among other things, from Dachstein. And of course, anything you had to omit from the floppy you could load from a hard drive, since my kernel does have IDE support.
The stuff below includes a kernel which is a straight 2.2.19 bzImage following Charles Steinkuehler's config for IDE support. The pcmcia stuff is 3.1.22.
The diskette images (and matching zip files) contain the kernel itself, a tar file of modules, and brief installation instructions which will work if you already have an EigersteinBETA derived LRP system running. There's one 'plain' and one 'pcmcia' flavor. I've only included the modules included in the original Eigerstein build and in the Casano pcmcia distributions, except that I've added ext2 and vfat modules.
The larger tar file contains all of the executables, drivers and modules from the pcmcia build, including wireless. (No, this kernel doesn't support wireless, and I don't think it's a good idea to use a wireless device on a secure host. But, I put them in the tar anyway. So sue me.)
The links below include examples from my older working configurations. The network.conf, and related files (if any) are included. The 'conf' files are the working setups, and the module file lists loaded modules and configuration details, especially for network cards.
There are also some complete disk images (with addresses modified and passwords deleted). You can either copy the configuration files and apply them to a running copy of an LRP™ diskette that you have already created, or make a new diskette from the image provided and use it. Just remember to change the 'dummy' addresses, add passwords or do other module customization as required.
Note that if IRQ settings, IO addresses etc. are included in the modules file, you will most likely have to modify or remove these settings to match the characteristics of your hardware.
The configurations use the following conventions:
If you use any of my images below, you will get errors when you boot up, because the addresses are illegal, and because sshd cannot start. Simple address substitution should make the configuration files work. Read the sshd docs and create the necessary keys.
This document maintained by rgm at fabbnet.net.
Material Copyright © 2006.