Notes about setting up additional features on the XIPAR box

In my setup, I'm using XIPAR with EVB as my communications hub. This means it not only handles HAM communications. It handles my network routing/firewall, voice mail, HAM radio interface, and such. Here are some notes about my install with XIPAR:0.014

Original install w/slowband cable took about 15 to 18 hrs. Mostly download time, what can I say, I'm cheap and reasonably patient. Toast.net's speed test claims 68K, so bandwidth similar to 56K modem. Assuming my QOS is OK, that's likely good enough for one external remote channel, but not much more. Skype / Vontage work just fine.

My original hardware install was with one eth0 card, USBfob device, and a A400P01 from openvox.

After it settled down, I shutdown and installed eth1, then on the local shell ran system-config-network to configure the network. For a router eth1 needs to be static, not DHCP. Then I ran ifup eth1, and did the rest from a remote PC in a warmer friendlier environment. I like it this way because eth1 is internal 1 looks like I for internal, and 0 looks like outside.

From a remote PC on the internal side, I browsed to the IP address for this XIPAR setup, and EVB came up.

• To setup routing from webmin I selected networking --> network interface --> interfaces active at boot time --> and changed eth1 to be active at boot. I Selected eth1, and "apply selected interfaces". This allows the machine to route packets, however they need modification when routed from the internal to the external interface. So we need to setup the firewall as a NAT device to do this packet mangling.
• To setup the firewall from webmin I selected networking --> Linux firewall --> (2nd on list) Nat Device --> close to the top select "packet filtering", for input, output and forward set the default to accept. Select "apply configuration". You really should lock it down more than that. You really want the input default to be drop. Then have rules that allow traffic based on proper parameters. However, the above should get it functioning, with out adding any real security. I recommend more security.
• To setup a user, from webmin choose System --> users and groups --> create a new user.
• To setup ssh, from webmin choose Servers --> ssh server --> authentication --> allow root login NO. It's best for remote logins to be established by a user, then changed to super user status.
• To setup sendmail, from webmin choose Servers --> send mail server --> sendmail M4 configuration --> get SMARTHOST in there, Here's what mine looks like define(`SMART_HOST',`smtp.metrocast.net')
• Now ssh to it via putty or what have you. It will pause for a while, login with the user established above, the "su -" to become root. Now edit /etc/hosts to include your remote login IP address with a name. This will prevent the pause when login in with SSH. Normally SSH tries to resolve the incoming IP, but can't and has to wait until it times out. Adding it to hosts will make it resolve preventing the timeout. I installed these text editors yum install emacs joe

These are some of the changes I did to make it function as a router and allowing my network to function again. You may also want to setup DHCP. I have that on an internal machine, so I didn't setup that up here.

I'm currently ironing out bugs in my voice mail setup, and I'll likely post about that here in a bit, when time permits.

After I've got the basic features back, I plan to finish the installation instructions for the radio part.