RPI MESH Gateway (14.142)

The latest Raspberry PI was picked up from Zeus this morning. Now to get a memory chip this afternoon and power it up tonight. This system is going for a FAST memory instead of a big memory. Between using /tmpfs RAM drive for the really fast needs and a thumb drive for caching content I should be able to minimize use of the SD card.

Basic functionality

This server will connect to a source of Internet access - either as a WiFi Client or by wired 10/100/1000 Ethernet. This Internet service will be 'managed' and then made available to the to a NW-MESH system.

* Netgear 2000 XZY network extender for the preliminary WIFI client access. (May need a different device in the future that allows replacing the antenna.)
* Raspberry PI for network caching and filtering services. Also some minimal standalone services can be hosted.
* WRT54G NW-MESH box to connect to the PI and provide mesh access
* (optional) another Access Point on the mesh to allow for local Wireless user access.
* Filtered Power strip - UPS? - 12V battery?
* Box - tool box or battery box - to make everything transportable.

Specific Goals so far:

* Caching DNS
* Squid for Web caching
* Fail2ban for secure web access
* denyhosts
* Block ad sources (URL goes here)
* ntpd time server - as long as it's on the web which is the purpose of this device.

Common services and applications installed

* screen
* htop
* email - it's on the web so use it
* snmp

Optional

* lighttpd and php
* mrtg

TODO Next

* Program memory. Boot up. Enable SSH. Set Host Name. Set Keyboard to English. Update and upgrade OS. Install common services and applications. Write a blog page for a basic RPI setup.

Log

4/15/4014 - Purchased an 16 GB Ultra SDHC SanDisk memory card from the local RS for $16.41. Price does down every time I get one. Listed speed is up to 30 MB/s - we shall see..