I've been using Linksys, Netgear and SMC routers (testing) on a home lan, for p2p & torrent uploading & downloading, and have noticed that high throughput frequently causes my routers to hang. Research & discussions with other network folks seem to indicate that although my configurations for port forwarding, firewall, etc are correct, the number of [bold]simultaneous[/bold] connections is exhausting the limited memory of my routing devices. I am now considering using a [bold]P4-2.0ghz, 1024MB ram, 80 GB Hdd LINUX system (Suse 9.2, dual nics, firewalls & self built routing tables)[/bold] as a router to see if the additional memory of a full computer will handle the hundreds (thousands?) of concurrent connections used by torrent software better than a dedicated hardware router, based on the additional ram available. Based on how NAT theory works, the routing device has to [bold]"remember (in memory)"[/bold] where each connection comes from, and where to route packets back to. Since the newer p2p & torrent packages initiate a [bold]multitude[/bold] of connections, it's my guess that a routing device with more memory would handle the connections better. Anyone have any comments/insights on this idea?
geez...That's alot to do for some torrents. Well I don't know what level your at in knowledge but I assume your not a noob on the subject. It's the upload rate that clogs up the router.Try limiting it to like 30 kbps for a 3 mb connection.It's the bandwidth constraints that's messing up your router.Unpluging the router for a minute will clear it.I have all my network stuff(modem,router,voip,etc) on a power strip and just cut the power for all of it when it clogs. The additional memory wouldn't hurt...
Well, no... not a noob. I'm a lan/wan admin at Honeywell, managing approx 37 Novell/Win 2000& 2003 servers, Cisco Switches & Routers, APC Matrix UPS systems.... the whole enterprise experience. However, at home, i get to use a slightly more modest setup, and i just don't believe i should have to reset my routers every day. Is consumer equipment really that crappy? Do i have to spend $2000.00 for a router that i can turn on, and not have to worry about? but seriously... the problem really is a lack of ram in the low end hardware... every time you make a connection through a natted interface, the router has to add to a table in ram, the originating and destination IP address; that's how, if u have 50 people on a natted lan, the right data gets to the right pc. Normal p2p software isn't that much of a problem, but torrent downloads give you pieces of a file from hundreds (thousands) of different hosts at the same time. It just depends on how many pieces the torrent file is broken into. The low end routers just don't have enough ram to manage that many connections, and the table gets corrupted, and the router hangs. Anyway, i'm thinking a pc with a larger ram configuration, won't run out of memory when building the nat tables in memmory.
Yeah The home router as you know are made for more modest uses.They do sell routers with more ram... for instance gaming routers.But I don't know if it would ever be enough for your purpose. You do need more ram. I thought I was talking to a home user with like say 5 torrents downloading that's why I was so surprised.It's too bad you don't have a router that would just allow you to upgrade the ram but I think your current plan is a good one and will work. My one worry is that most torrent software runs only for windows.But I'm sure you have worked that out already. I hoping someone will come along and say some more about it because I have never actually attemped this type of setup with p2p but theoretically it should work fine.
Well, the saga continues.... i put the machine together, and was all ready to install Suse, when i was IM'd by another one of my admin buds who insisted i look at the [bold]SmoothWall Linux distro/firewall[/bold]. I downloaded the ISO & installed this dedicated router/firewall mini distro, and it seems to be all that is needed. I kept the same hardware spec, and this distro steps you through configuring the internal & external interfaces, and pretty much works [bold]without having to manually build the routing tables[/bold]. Once installed, this distro offers up a web interface over port 81 (ie: 192.168.15.1:81), that looks like a [bold]very advanced broadband router. [/bold] btw... you are [bold]NOT[/bold] limited to a "class c" network with this configuration. In the interest of security, all ports except http & https are closed on the external (untrusted) interface, and you have to open the ports u want opened for filesharing (port forwarding, etc), and it has all of the features of a store bought router (VPN, etc). Observation #1: [bold]O.M.G.!!!! This thing is FAST!!![/bold] I will be testing it over the next few weeks & report back in to give additional results.
Smoothwall rocks!!! Can't make any other comment, if you got it installed you have done the hardest part haha. The community is cool too, a lot of homemade add-ons for it. Cant say enough about it really, on a decent spec machine I'd say the only downside it has over a domestic router is noise...but I guess you can make PCs pretty quiet too.
OK peeps..... latest update on the [bold]SmoothWall Linux Router.[/bold] Installed one for myself, and the throughput is [bold]INCREDIBLE![/bold] No lag, which i found out was associated with my SMC router... Multiple (read that as HUNDREDS) simultaneous connections which happens when you download several torrents at once, and no router hangs/crashes. This router has been running for over 2 months with NO problems. The firewall features keep the bad boys at bay by dropping their packets, so it looks like no one is there. I have detailed intrusion detection logs, so I know who is trying. The remote management features allow me to remote in over SSH & VNC or SSH & MS Remote Desktop to any machine on my home lan. http://www.grc.com reports my internal lan as [bold]TOTALLY STEALTHED[/bold]. The next step for me is to install the VPN feature, so can connect to my internal network from anyplace that has an internet feed. One caveat that i might mention.... I installed the same hw/sw combination for one of my buds who is a big p2p file sharer/downloader. He got a little carried away, when he realized how much faster his connection had become. He was downloading everything in creation when the inevitable happened. People in his neighborhood began complaining to the cable company about their internet connections being slow, as he was downloading 24/7 for a solid 2 months. Comcast/TimeWarner cut off his connection! Of course he called me immediately, as any web surfing he tried to do kept taking him to his ISP's disconnection web page, where he had to enter into an agreement to CEASE and DESIST from downloading copyrighted materials. deep....... This router SMOKES, but please use restraint. more later...
Does it block IP's or such not reqired to stay safe from 'eyes'. I'm not a big downloader, but I'd like to go faster than 40k on a cable modem LOL.
