Configuring Mandrake as a Firewall

By John Locke on March 22, 2005

I've used Mandrake Multi-Network Firewall (MNF) as a firewall for a couple of clients. Just yesterday I had to reinstall it when the hard drive of the firewall failed after a client moved their office. While the web interface is a bit buggy, what you can do with this firewall is pretty astonishing, and a new version is coming out soon.

A couple of tips if you want to install this firewall:

  1. Get it running first, before you try to do anything fancy like add additional public interfaces.
  2. Reset (or at least check) the password aging policies on the server, before your password expires. It's set to expire after 60 days, but this hardened firewall can easily run for months before you bother to log in and check it. It's easy to get completely locked out...

Flexbeta has an article on turning a normal Mandrake installation into an MNF: Flexbeta - Setting up Mandrake 10.1 as a Firewall.

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About the Author

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John Locke is the lead developer and founder of Freelock, LLC. In addition to being a proficient web developer, he is an experienced technical writer, network administrator, and all around problem solver. He has worked with computers since 1984, and currently advises small businesses on open source software.