What is Gatekeeper?

Gatekeeper is a multipurpose Linux gateway server. It provides all of the necessary networking services and tools to support a small business or home office. It is incredibly versatile and reliable.

I have been using Ubuntu for years now on gatekeeper. It is a remarkable system. Upgrades are a snap and it is just so easy to manage. Much thanks to the Linux folks, Debian folks, Canonical Systems, and the many communities that support Ubuntu and free software. Also I would like to extend a special thank you to the folks at the Free Software Foundation because without the GPL this would not be possible!

History

The system is currently running on Ubuntu 8.04 Server. Originally gatekeeper was set up using an old HP Vectra with RedHat 5.4, then RedHat 7.2, then RedHat 9.0. I had it running on SUSE Linux 9.0 as an experiment for a short spell also. A couple of years back I started using the Ubuntu Linux distribution on this system.

Gatekeeper provides the following:

1. Powerful multiuser server system which is incredibly flexible and reliable.

2. Gateway to the internet for all workstations on the subnet.

3. Highly secure and fully configurable firewall via iptables configuration script.

4. DHCP (dhcpd) server providing automated IP configuration for all workstations.

5. DNS caching server (named) providing a local private zone and cached name resolution for the various LAN workstations.

6. Print server (via both CUPS and samba) providing centralized print services for all Windows and Linux workstations. Provides Windows style and CUPS printing services.

7. Personal and public file shares (provided via samba) for workstations operating on the subnet. Many gigabytes of hard drive storage.

8. Automated nightly backups of all important media and system files to an external USB drive.

9. Caching transparent proxy server provides accelerated web services to local subnet.

10. Remote configuration via X server and ssh.

If you would like to see a logical diagram of the network using gatekeeper please click the link below.

gatekeeper home network design diagrams

The network gets much use and provides high performance, stable, and reliable services. It's up 24-7 on a broad band network.

Building a gatekeeper for your home or business

I documented the system setup and backed up all the configuration files. Feel free to download the solution and build a “gatekeeper” for your home or small business. I am currently using the solution below with UBUNTU Linux version 8.04 “Hardy Heron” Server Edition. Download the .tar file by clicking on the link. I believe it could be used generally on just about any recent version of Ubuntu or another Debian based distribution.

gatekeeper_Ubuntu_8.04_server_config_2009-03-06.tar

readme.txt

Using Linux to access directories and files in a Windows style network.

If you run a Linux distribution on a SMB/CIFS (aka Windows) network and would like a reliable and convenient way to attach (mount or unmount) to network shares then check out the smb_net utility below. I normally use this technique to attach to SMB/CIFS shares. It provides a simple and reliable way to manage network file system connections.

Download samba_client_scripts.tar file by clicking on the link below. Unpack the tar file and you will find a commented bash include script called smb_net and an example executable called gatekeeper which functionally includes the smb_net script. Make sure that ~/bin/ directory is part of the linux environment path (this is normally the case with Ubuntu). Put the smb_net include script along with the other scripts into your ~/bin/ directory. When you run one of the example scripts (or the new file that you make with your desired settings) smb_net will create a directory ~/mnt/ and mount the specified CIFS (i,e.Windows) share to a logically named directory below ~/mnt/ --as specified in the script. Use one of the existing scripts, such as “gatekeeper”, as an example.

samba_client_scripts_2009-03-06.tar

Nightly backup processing

Gatekeeper provides a backup service to USB hard drive. The backup script runs every night. It detects new or modified files in the system and backs them up to an external hard drive. Here is a link to the backup script I have been using.

backup