M0n0wall
Encyclopedia
m0n0wall is an embedded firewall distribution of FreeBSD
, one of the BSD
operating system
descendants. It provides a small image which can be put on Compact Flash
cards as well as on CDROMs and hard disk
s. It runs on a number of embedded platforms and generic PCs. The PC version can be run with just a Live CD
and a floppy disk
to store configuration data, or on a single Compact Flash card (with an IDE
adapter). This eliminates the need for a hard drive, which reduces noise and heat levels.
-based configuration and uses PHP
exclusively for the GUI
and bootup
configuration. Additionally, it adopts a single XML
file for configuration parameters.
Some functions of m0n0wall are:
FreeBSD
FreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via BSD UNIX. Although for legal reasons FreeBSD cannot be called “UNIX”, as the direct descendant of BSD UNIX , FreeBSD’s internals and system APIs are UNIX-compliant...
, one of the BSD
Berkeley Software Distribution
Berkeley Software Distribution is a Unix operating system derivative developed and distributed by the Computer Systems Research Group of the University of California, Berkeley, from 1977 to 1995...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
descendants. It provides a small image which can be put on Compact Flash
Flash memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...
cards as well as on CDROMs and hard disk
Hard disk
A hard disk drive is a non-volatile, random access digital magnetic data storage device. It features rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a protective enclosure. Data is magnetically read from and written to the platter by read/write heads that float on a film of air above the...
s. It runs on a number of embedded platforms and generic PCs. The PC version can be run with just a Live CD
Live CD
A live CD, live DVD, or live disc is a CD or DVD containing a bootable computer operating system. Live CDs are unique in that they have the ability to run a complete, modern operating system on a computer lacking mutable secondary storage, such as a hard disk drive...
and a floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
to store configuration data, or on a single Compact Flash card (with an IDE
AT Attachment
Parallel ATA , originally ATA, is an interface standard for the connection of storage devices such as hard disks, solid-state drives, floppy drives, and optical disc drives in computers. The standard is maintained by X3/INCITS committee...
adapter). This eliminates the need for a hard drive, which reduces noise and heat levels.
Features
m0n0wall provides for a webInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
-based configuration and uses PHP
PHP
PHP is a general-purpose server-side scripting language originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document...
exclusively for the GUI
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
and bootup
Booting
In computing, booting is a process that begins when a user turns on a computer system and prepares the computer to perform its normal operations. On modern computers, this typically involves loading and starting an operating system. The boot sequence is the initial set of operations that the...
configuration. Additionally, it adopts a single XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
file for configuration parameters.
Some functions of m0n0wall are:
- Stateful packet filter firewall
- IPsecIPsecInternet Protocol Security is a protocol suite for securing Internet Protocol communications by authenticating and encrypting each IP packet of a communication session...
and PPTPPoint-to-point tunneling protocolThe Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol is a method for implementing virtual private networks. PPTP uses a control channel over TCP and a GRE tunnel operating to encapsulate PPP packets....
VPNVirtual private networkA virtual private network is a network that uses primarily public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to provide remote offices or traveling users access to a central organizational network....
s - Inbound and Outbound Network Address TranslationNetwork address translationIn computer networking, network address translation is the process of modifying IP address information in IP packet headers while in transit across a traffic routing device....
- Captive portalCaptive portalThe captive portal technique forces an HTTP client on a network to see a special web page before using the Internet normally. A captive portal turns a Web browser into an authentication device. This is done by intercepting all packets, regardless of address or port, until the user opens a browser...
- Traffic shaperTraffic shapingTraffic shaping is the control of computer network traffic in order to optimize or guarantee performance, improve latency, and/or increase usable bandwidth for some kinds of packets by delaying other kinds of packets that meet certain criteria...
- Inbound and Outbound port filtering
- Support for 802.1q compatible VLANs
- Multiple IP addresses on LAN and WAN ports
- IPS
- Replacement for commercial router
Inclusion in commercial products
m0n0wall is used in some commercial hardware platforms, including Netgate and Logic Supply.Derivatives
- m0n0wall mod: Original m0n0wall with additional features (DHCP+PPTP, DHCP+PPPoE, static+PPPoE, L2TP, WAN eth interface).
- AskoziaPBXAskoziaPBXAskoziaPBX is an Open Source telephone system firmware originally created in 2007 by Michael Iedema.It is a fork of the m0n0wall project and uses the Asterisk private branch exchange software to realize all telephony functions....
: an embedded telephone system. - FreeNASFreeNASFreeNAS is a free network-attached storage server, supporting: CIFS , FTP, NFS, rsync, AFP protocols, iSCSI, S.M.A.R.T., local user authentication, and software RAID , with a web-based configuration interface. FreeNAS takes less than 64 MB once installed on CompactFlash, hard drive or USB flash...
: Network-attached storageNetwork-attached storageNetwork-attached storage is file-level computer data storage connected to a computer network providing data access to heterogeneous clients. NAS not only operates as a file server, but is specialized for this task either by its hardware, software, or configuration of those elements...
distro using FreeBSD 7.2 and the m0n0wall web GUIGuiGui or guee is a generic term to refer to grilled dishes in Korean cuisine. These most commonly have meat or fish as their primary ingredient, but may in some cases also comprise grilled vegetables or other vegetarian ingredients. The term derives from the verb, "gupda" in Korean, which literally...
. - pfSensePfSensepfSense is an open source firewall/router distribution based on FreeBSD. pfSense is meant to be installed on a personal computer and is noted for its reliability and offering features often only found in expensive commercial firewalls. It can be configured and upgraded through a web-based...
: Builds off of m0n0wall but focused towards full PC installations rather than the embedded hardware focus of m0n0wall.
External links
- M0n0wall central management interface project
- Review at Linux.comLinux.comLinux.com is the name of a website owned by the Linux Foundation. The site is currently a central source for Linux information, software, documentation and answers across the server, desktop/netbook, mobile, and embedded areas. Linux.com offers free Linux tutorials, news and blogs, discussion...
- m0n0wall mod