The latest software version is 0.99.2 and it is available here. When all is set, I restart Network Manager For this I edit /etc/NetworkManager/nf and comment out the dns=dnsmasq line. I disable it since it will collude with RCP100 DNS functionality. Starting with Ubuntu 12.04 version, a DNS server – dnsmasq – is installed and started by default on the computer.

I also disable Automatic (DHCP) on the other interface. For DNS servers I use the public 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 provided by Google. The values I chose are actually the same values pushed previously by DHCP. I set the interface IP address and DNS servers field and save them. For this, I go into Preferences/Network Connections, press Wired connection 1 and in IP v4 Settings tab I switch the connection type from Automatic (DHCP) to Manual. I start by disabling DHCP on the Ubuntu computer. Upstream, a regular small router handles the DSL Internet connection and provides DHCP services. The computer is connected to the main network on eth0, and it is auto-configured using DHCP. This is an older 64bit machine with two Ethernet interfaces, eth0 and eth1. I am installing the software on a regular Ubuntu 12.04 LTS computer running LXDE. Networking experts will definitely get bored. This means there will be lots of pictures and no CLI commands.

In this article I will set up a basic RCP100 IP router on a Ubuntu 12.04 computer using the web interface. Starting with version 0.99 it also features a simple and intuitive web interface, making the router accessible to less sophisticated users and beginner administrators. It has a Cisco-like command line interface (CLI), and all the regular administration and management protocols. This is in sharp contrast with the commercial routers where administration and network management are first class citizens. There is little or no support for integrated Access Control Lists, NTP, DHCP or DNS functionality. Administration features like CLI or SNMP seem to get less attention. Most open-source routers would concentrate on implementing the main IP routing protocols one by one. I do like the idea of an open-source software router, and I’ve tried several of them so far.

Basic router configuration