Author: tabcom

Koozali automatically generates the firewall ruleset that is consistent with the server settings, and is automatically regenerated whenever the server settings are changed.

Using standard Network Address Translation (NAT) you would say incoming traffic on port 4321 should be allowed and routed to LAN IP address such-and-such 9and port number this-or-that).

Let us say that your service needs to provide a public service on TCP/IP port 4321, which is normally blocked by the firewall rules. All that you need to do is define this in Koozali as an additional custom service:

config set myservice service TCPPort 4321 access public status enabled

signal-event remoteaccess-update

Note that a firewall hole is only opened if three things are true – the service has a TCPPort (or UDPPort) definition, the service is set to public access, and the service is enabled.

Continue reading “Koozali Firewall”

Ideally all wireless access points should be connected to a wired star topology network, but this is not always possible.

Use a spare router as a DD-WRT wireless repeater

If you already have an existing router, but plan on getting a new one as well, then as long as your existing one supports DD-WRT, you can use it as a DD-WRT repeater. What this means, is that you can place it in a completely different location to your main router and it will relay the wireless signal.

A wireless extender or wireless repeater picks up a faint wireless signal to connect to the main network and sends out its own strong wi-fi signal.  All traffic is relayed to the main network.  This allows clients normally unable to pick up a wi-fi signal to connect to the main network still.

To setup the weaker router as the repeater follow these steps:

1. Install DD-WRT on the router, as per the previous steps
2. Navigate to Setup -> Basic Setup. There, Disable your ‘Connection Type’, as the router will not be plugged into your main router or modem.
3. Change the ‘Router’ and ‘Host Name’. We recommend using the same name with a ‘-2’ appended to it.
4. Change the last digit of the ‘Local Router IP Address’. Generally IPs get assigned to devices automatically, and you wish to avoid having a collision and cause two devices not to have a wireless signal so we’d recommend choosing a relatively high number such as 50.
5. Change DHCP Type to ‘DHCP Forwarder’.
6. Enter the IP address of your primary router (usually also your modem) under ‘DHCP Server’. Generally speaking, this should be 192.168.1.1. To find out exactly which one, consult your manual for this device. Save the changes.
7. Go to the Security tab and turn off all the security settings (uncheck everything), as your main router will handle all security. Hit Save.
8. Go to the Wireless tab, and change ‘Wireless Mode’ to either ‘Repeater’ or ‘Repeater Bridge’. Once done, click Save.
   1. ‘Repeater’ will only help relay your wireless signal, this is the best option if you only connect to your devices wirelessly
   2. Selecting ‘Repeater Bridge’ allows you to use its Ethernet ports. This means that you can plug your Smart TV, games console, or other devices to it. This will allow these devices to have a faster internet connection. This will also allow these devices to see other devices on the network such as network attached storage solutions.
9. Change your ‘Wireless Network Name (SSID)’ to exactly match the settings on your main router. If your main router has both a 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz then network, then make sure you do this for both. Hit Save again.
10. Go to the Wireless -> Wireless Security Tab and change the setting to match those of your networks primary router. Hit ‘Save’ and, finally, ‘Apply settings’.

The simplest device you can use to create a local area network is a hub.  It is the equivalent of a terminal block.  It will send data to all ports.  A more intelligent device is a network switch.  A switch queries data packets on a basic level and only sends data to the required ports.  A router is the smartest and most complicated of the bunch.  Routers come in all shapes and sizes – from the small, four-port broadband routers that are very popular to the large industrial strength devices that drive the internet itself.

A simple way to think of a router is as a computer that can be programmed to understand, possibly manipulate, and route the data that it’s being asked to handle. Many routers today are, in fact, little computers dedicated to the task of routing network traffic.  As far as simple traffic routing is concerned, a router operates exactly as a switch, learning the location of the computers on its connections and routing traffic only to those computers.  Consumer grade routers perform at minimum two additional and important tasks: DHCP and NAT.

In the ADSL era, you would typically use a single all-in-one device; a 4 port wireless broadband modem/router.  These days, with fiber optic connections to the node or premises, the modem component is no longer required.  Instead, the 4 port wireless broadband router (no modem) simply comes with a single WAN copper ethernet port to connect to an upsteam device/network.

If you already have a wireless router that you’d like to use only as a Wireless Access Point you can do as follows:

1. Change the IP of the wireless router to be in the same subnet as the main router.
   You may have to plug the device into a computer configured with a static IP address to do that.
2. Disable the wireless router’s DHCP server, so it wont conflict with the main router.
   Example:
   main router IP – 192.168.1.1 base IP, DHCP server range 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.200
   wireless AP IP – 192.168.1.201 to 253 base IP, DHCP disabled.
3. Connect the Wireless router to the main router using LAN ports on both routers using a crossover cable.
   Alternatively use the uplink port on one of the routers and a straight-through network cable.
4. Do not use the WAN port on the wireless router as this is not to be used for LAN connections.

Notes

• Wireless routers can only be used as an AP in Gateway mode (as opposed to repeater or bridge mode).
• All LAN clients should get their internal IPs from one router only.
• The WAN port on the Wireless Access Point router should not be connected to anything.
• You might want to turn off NAT on the Wireless Access Point router.

As soon as you disable DHCP on the wireless router, the web interface may no longer be available on some models(!)  A factory reset may be required if you need to make further changes to the settings at that point.  There should never be a need to configure a static IP address on your laptop – either connect with a cord to configure or connect to the wi-fi to test.