Today I decided to setup a debian based small server (on a asus eee PC 900a)

• debian wheezy
• no desktop environment
• iptables to nat from ethernet (192.168.2.x) to wifi (192.168.1.x) and to forward some ports from the wifi area to my ethernet subnet
• dnsmasq to provide DHCP and DNS caching to the ethernet subnet

The installation process was smooth, then I’ve created a wpa_supplicant configuration file. It was easy and its wireless adapter ( AR242x / AR542x Wireless Network Adapter ) worked without any additional driver.

I just have to prepare some scripts to access to the wifi network and setup proper routings and it’s done.

Reasons

The reasons for this setup are mainly:

• to use my desktop pc and a media center (both located pretty far from the router)
• to disable the wifi network on my macbook pro when I’m at my desk.. I hope it will generate less heat
• to limit the number of wifi devices connected to my access point
• to use my old netbook
• to wear my sysadmin hat