Important: When Puppy computers boot up, they attempt to make an automatic Internet connection on eth0. If this is still happening when you start RouterMaker, the two processes will conflict and the RouterMaker server may lose its IP address on eth0. (You can check this by running IP Info.) So any client machines that boot up won't get a proper connection to the server. This is a particular issue with PeasyWiFi, whose Ethernet routine keeps running for a while.
You can usually fix this just by restarting RouterMaker. For a permanent fix, try the following:
a. Open /usr/local/bin/routermaker in a text editor.
b. UNcomment Line 4.
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#kill $(busybox ps | grep "rc.network" | awk '{print $1}') >/dev/null 2>&1
RouterMaker is a little app that lets your computer act as a basic router. It becomes the hub of a wired network and assigns IP addresses to other computers connected to this LAN. It can optionally provide a gateway to the Internet.
The program is /usr/local/bin/routermaker. You will run it by opening a terminal and typing: routermaker
Go to /usr/local/bin and open routermaker in a text editor. Note these lines at the top:
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LAN="eth0"
WAN=""
SUBNET="192.168.51"
b. The WAN variable is optional. Use it if you have a second port (like wlan0) that connects to the Internet.
c. The SUBNET variable defines the set of IP addresses that will be assigned to client computers on the network.
Here are some ways to use RouterMaker:
1. Directly connect two machines together by their Ethernet ports with a CAT5 cable. In the old days, you needed a special crossover cable, but I don't think this matters anymore.
Start RouterMaker on one machine. It will be the "server" and will have IP address 192.168.51.1. Boot up the other machine. Its networking software will automatically get an IP address from the server on the same subnet, like 192.168.51.45. The two machines can ping each other and you can run file transfer software between them, like Gnetcat.
2. The RouterMaker machine has a second port (eth1 or wlan0) that is already connected to the Internet. It will provide shared Internet to clients. To use this feature, you must also install the "iptables" package on the RouterMaker machine. And its kernel must contain the MASQUERADE module.
Assign this port to the WAN variable (see above) and run RouterMaker. When a client machine boots up, its IP address will include a gateway to the Internet via the server.
3. You have a private network of several machines connected to an Ethernet switch box with CAT5 cables. One of these machines will run RouterMaker. As the client machines boot up, they will get unique IP addresses on the subnet.
The RouterMaker machine can run sharable resources like a file server or printer that are accessible to the clients. Clients will locate the server at 192.168.51.1.
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Also see WlanMaker.
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