[nos-bbs] IP-over-ax25

[(Skip) K8RRA]

Hi Misko.

On Sat, 2008-10-04 at 11:45 +0200, Miroslav Skoric wrote:
> My idea was just to use JNOS box as a 'transit' way 
> for the Windows/Linux MUA to reach the ham network and through that ham 
> network to access a similar JNOS (or Xrouter) comp which resides within 
> the other LAN ('1st LAN' in the picture bellow).
Well -- you *should* be able to make that work, it's all in the routing.
I'm willing to "go out on a limb" to say it doesn't much matter if you
use Lin/Win/DOS or Thunderbird/Outlook Express/etc or
Firefox/Explorer/etc -- The real work is in network routing.  If you are
able to develop a routing scheme from examples then the wiki might be an
OK reference, if you need more theory then perhaps you need to find a
suitable book or google.  The devil is in the details.

The good news is that jnos provides lots of options to frame a solution
around.  One *real simple* feature is that jnos will encapsulate and
route TCP/IP traffic over AX.25 network links when you route to an AX
device.  One of the options that jnos does not give is NAT [Network
Address Translation] so your solution needs to be unique and not
general.  Oblique idea?  Review this example: your two LANS can't(?) be
both numbered 192.168.1/24 as seen in many user guides, you would be
simpler with LANs numbered 192.168.1/24 and 192.168.2/24 and separate
DHCP servers on each LAN.  Some hosts may need static IPs as well.
These are choices you will address to make your target network function
as you want.

> 
> The another idea was, it might be needed for my local JNOS box to serve 
> as a SMPT/POP3 server too? I mean, if so, it might store & forward my 
> internet email with the remote JNOS system 
The wiki does show a similar example.  At the risk of being severely
flamed, I suggest the question you pose is perhaps more of a network
[forest] design problem than it is a jnos [tree] application problem.
Without knowing detail of the networks jnos is to fit into, answering
configuration questions is very general.

> that is wired to the ISP 
> facilities:
There are also non-jnos issues.  Historically, quite a bit is written
about the risks of making ham radio resources available to non-ham
licensed users we haven't talked about as well.  For a paper and
proof-of-concept test setup you have pretty great latitude, but for a
24/7 service to local hams there are some similar issues to address.

I've been hanging out on this reflector for a while, I expect there are
folks here who have addressed your kind of configuration before, and
what it might take to arrive at an answer with you is an off-reflector
exchange of email with a lot of network detail data.  My experience does
not quite get there, but I wish you success at finding a partner for
your project.

73
de [George (Skip) VerDuin] K8RRA k