19 Oct 08 Linux on a Mikrotik 532a , Part 5 Final – OpenWRT and Custom Scripts

Follow on from: http://www.adamsinfo.com/linux-on-a-mikrotik-532a-part-4-customization-debian-scripts-shaping-firewall-nat-picolcd/

Discuss this article here

I’ve used OpenWrt previously to this project to build some firmwards for the Linksys Router WRT54 range. OpenWrt is an incredibly powerful and small Linux distro. Although debian is probably better suited to the reasonably powerful hardware, I wanted to give OpenWrt a go anyway.

Unless you’re running a MIPS 4Kc processor on your host which I’m guessing you’re not, you’ll either need to cross compile your binaries, or just compile them natively on the device itself. Compiling on the device works fine as long as you have the relevant packages, however if I was going to build a 2.6 kernel, I’d rather do it on an x86 quad core intel host, rather than waiting a week for the device to do it. I also wanted to minimize the writes on the CF card.

OpenWrt comes with a nice buildroot environment which you can read about and download from www.openwrt.org using Subversion.

Here http://downloads.openwrt.org/kamikaze/docs/openwrt.html#x1-310002 is a great HOWTO on getting the build root environment set up on your x86 host.

Also, see: http://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/RB500_Linux_SDK – this is a very complete HOWTO, which is why I’ve not covered most of the installation process and just detailed customizations.

You’ll need to select the RB5xx target for the kernel. Also, run:

In your build root top directory, and add USB support (as my one is modded for USB which is not RB5xx default.

While you’re there, browse to the networking options and make sure you have everything you want, specifically the schedulers for traffic shaping.

Here is my precompiled image:

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Tags: /dev/cfa1, /dev/cfa2, /dev/cfa3, bridge, build root, buildroot, debian, dropbear, ifconfig, iptables, kamikaze, mikrotik, miniupnp, miniupnpd, mips 4kc, multiple isps, multiple providers, ntp, ntp client, openwrt, precompiled image, rb532a, rbxxx, split route, subversion, svn kernel, uplink, usb, usb support, x86

14 Sep 08 Extending tc and iproute2. Linux routing split access multiple uplinks multiple isps iptables masquerading

It’s been a while since I last posted here, so I thought I’d post a followup article to http://www.adamsinfo.com/bandwith-limiting-with-linux-tc-and-iproute2/ which focused on bandwidth limiting in a datacenter environment using tc and iproute2.

I’ve taken the same script but tweaked IPs and bandwith values into my office. Previously I was on a 24mbit down 2.5mbit up DSL connection courtesy of www.bethere.co.uk The office is only about 800m from the closest exchange which is quite nice – I generally find I get 18+mbit down and 1.5+mbit up. Not only great bandwidth, but latency is also very small and responsiveness is great, especially as a regular [constant] SSH use. Recently, despite having no business justification whatsoever, I ordered the same again for the same office. This one clocks in at about 19mbit up and 1.7mbit down – even better! Some ISPs support line bonding – I dont believe that many in the UK do, and seeing as at the time of writing, bethere were the only ISP to support anywhere close to 24mbit, I wasn’t going to try and find another.
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Tags: Extending tc and iproute2, faster torrent, iproute2, iptables, Linux routing, masquerading, multiple isps, multiple uplinks, Routerboard load balancing, split access, tc, torrent