Re: [44net] Linux Gateway Tutorial

I have had a couple requests to tailor my attempt to document setting up a Linux AMPRNet gateway for the Raspberry Pi. I've just recently purchased a Pi and have been looking over the documentation, and I don't think it will work for what I'm trying to document. Let me give you some background: One of the major drawbacks to the IPIP tunnels used to transport AMPRNet data is that they don't work when you are using Network Address Translation (NAT). (For those of you who know what NAT is, skip the next two paragraphs) NAT is what is used in your typical home router or wireless Access Point (AP) to allow you to connect multiple devices to one Internet Service Provider (ISP) connection. Basically NAT makes all your devices on your home network appear as one device to the ISP. It does this by keeping track of the data coming from each of your devices and makes sure that the return data from the Internet gets back to the right device. In order get data from AMPRNet separated from the data going to and from your regular "non-ham" network devices, you need to "split" the AMPRNet data off before NAT occurs. Most home routers and wireless AP's do not have this capability, so we need to create our own device to do this. The simplest way (In my opinion) is to setup a computer running Linux and has at least three network connections. The first connection is to your ISP so you can reach the Internet. The second connection is used to connect your normal "non-ham" devices. The third connection is used to connect your "ham" devices so they can see and be seen by other AMPRNet devices. (See the diagram I linked to in my previous e-mail) Out of the box, the Raspberry Pi has only one wired network connection. Adding additional network connections via the USB ports is possible, but explaining how to set them up would require a whole other tutorial. -Neil On Sun, Mar 23, 2014 at 10:06 PM, Neil Johnson <neil.johnson(a)erudicon.com> wrote: -- Neil Johnson http://erudicon.com