Background:
There are several types of broadband currently available. This
configuration will work with most types of broadband.
Assumptions:
you have an EXTERNAL ETHERNET DSL/Cable/ISDN modem
you have and can configure a SOHO Router (Linksys BEFSR{1|4}1,
SMC Barricade, Netgear, etc prices range from $50-$200USD).
The setup of the devices is very simple.
LAN IP Address range 192.168.1.xxx for example purposes.
Configuration:
ISDN:
[to be provided by someone who has this technology and would like to
contribute to this work in progress.]
DSL:
The modems should be purchased from your ISP as they may need to
configure the modem for the parameters that work with their DSLAMS
(Central Office equipment). Most DSL service providers in the USA
use PPPo[E/A] for authentication purposes. This authentication can
be and should be entered into your router to establish the connection.
Cable Modem:
Most cable providers use the MAC address of the first NIC that is
connected to the modem and uses this address for authentication
purposes. This would include the router if you used that when first
connecting your service. When the connection is established, it will
also set up the WAN side of the router with DHCP information from the
cable provider.
PC Configuration:
The routers listed above (and some not mentioned) all are both a DHCP
Client on the WAN and DHCP Server for the LAN. Set up your PC's to
"Obtain address automatically" and you should have no problems surfing
from here.
OpenVMS and Unix/Linux:
While you can set up VMS to be a DHCP Client, there are features and
applications that simply will make this unmanageable and a real pain.
(like the technical terms?) It is generally recommended that your SOHO
LAN DHCP Server be configured to serve from 192.168.1.5 to 192.168.1.100
(substitute your router IP address range). Configure your TCPIP stack
on OpenVMS to be an address greater than this range such that they can
never intefere. Remember, there are certain ranges that are used for LAN
configurations that are not routable and the Router does NAT (Network
Address Translation) for these addresses.
The following address are NON-ROUTABLE IP addresses to be used specifically
for LANs.
192.168.xxx.xxx
10.xxx.xxx.xxx
Get the WAN DNS information from your router or your ISP and enter it in
your BIND Resolver configuration (SET/SHOW NAME in TCPIP V5.1).
Once this is connected, you should now be able to ping a server on Internet.
Advanced:
How do I set up my system as a mail server?
This gets to be a bit more difficult. There are several pieces to this
puzzle that will be necessary to make it work.
1) Register your domain name
2) Use a Dynamic DNS provider to provide DNS services on the Internet.
Remember, your IP address is generally not static - even if it is, it is
still in your ISP's netblock - not yours. A good provider for this is
ZONEEDIT.COM (my provider) DYNDNS.COM and several others. ZONEEDIT.COM
provides 5 free domains up to 200MB/DNS request each - or approximately 1M
requests/year. Or see if your ISP will allow you to manage your DNS entries.
Configure you mail server with your primary domain. Enter an "A" record
for that system that points to your WAN address. Your Dynamic DNS provider
generally has scripts to keep this address updated for each of your domains.
Example:
OpenVMS 7.2-1/TCPIP V5.1A
Router WAN address 67.35.xxx.xxx (assigned via PPPoE/DHCP)
Portforward ports 23,25,53 to 192.168.1.100
mysys.mydomain.com LAN address 192.168.1.100
MX record for mydomain.com points to mail.mydomain.com (currently an
alias to mysys in TCPIP Hosts file) An entry exists for a Dynamic DNS "A"
record for mail.mydomain.com = WAN IP address of your router ==>
Portforwarded SMTP port (25) to 192.168.1.100.
Make sure you configure your VMS/Linux systems to NOT allow RELAY.
Also, make sure you read your ISP "Terms and Conditions/Acceptable Use
Policies" before configuring any servers to be accessable via the Internet.
If you would like to contribute your configuration and or techniques
to this work in progress, please send email to: maustin@firstdbasource.com.
Author: Michael Austin mailto:maustin@firstdbaource.com
ExDEC Field Service/Software Field Support Engineer (1984-1994)