Several years ago I made my first foray into the world of Linux out of necessity. I needed to install a small, inexpensive, and reliable router/gateway/firewall/dhcp server. I stumbled on the Freesco Project. Freesco, which stands for Free Cisco, is a floppy based Linux router distribution. It’s actually quite easy to install and the documentation is quite good. It’s been several years since I’ve used Freesco since our school has moved on to a bigger server with more tasks, but today I needed to re-visit this old friend. I have a wireless network at home and for some reason it’s getting quite quirky when it comes to DHCP and other firewall rules. I also find the web interface for my wireless access points to be less than adequate. I have a Netgear and a Linksys. The Netgear sometimes just quits and has to be restarted. This bugged me enough that I ended up buying a Linksys…but with the Linksys, it’s less configurable and has some oddities that prevent my PocketPC from connecting. Anyway…long story short, I’ve decided to set my wireless routers to become wireless access points only and use a Freesco server as my router/gateway/dhcp machine. I’m hoping that this will resolve some issues. My “visit” was a pleasant one as I now know a lot more about Linux compared to when I started thus I made far fewer errors, but also the project has come along nicely. There are some nice new features. I especially like the “exe” file for creating the floppy. Just click and go! I also like the new menu item for installing to the hard drive. If you’re looking for a great Linux router that is easy to set up and configure….check out Freesco. Grab an older machine…and have at it!
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