1.2. Getting Started with m0n0wall on the PC

The m0n0wall Quick Start Guide is intended to get you up and running with m0n0wall on a two interface (LAN and WAN) setup. The m0n0wall Handbook contains the information you need to further configure your m0n0wall installation after completing this guide.

This version of the Quick Start Guide is specifically tailored to the PC platform. If you are using Soekris hardware, please see the Soekris Quick Start Guide and for WRAP hardware, please see the WRAP Quick Start Guide.

Additionally, a VMware version exists for testing or even using alongside a client computer. More information on this version can be found on the m0n0wall web site.

There are a number of example configurations in Chapter 9 of the m0n0wall Handbook. These configurations describe how to configure several things such as multiple LAN interfaces, setting up DMZ interfaces, wireless interfaces, etc. The base for adding those additional features will be the basic LAN/WAN setup this guide describes.

1.2.1. Why use a PC?

Below are some reasons you might chose to use a PC instead of an embedded system.

  • Free if you have extra computer equipment lying around

  • Multiple PCI interfaces for high-quality networking cards

  • Higher powered CPU for increased speed for VPN or network traffic processing