# Software that allows Windows to act as a router? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 4, 2007, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-allows-windows-to-act-as-a-router/402748 "2007-05-04T15:31:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-allows-windows-to-act-as-a-router/402748/1 "2007-05-04T15:31:22Z")
I have a crappy Cisco 800 series at the office and that thing blows chunks. We have two T1 lines and I know for a fact that the damned thing slows us down because I put a Sonicwall 4000 series in there while I was configuring the thing and our connection ran perfectly. I can’t convince the folks in charge to buy a new router, but I do have all sorts of PCs sitting around the office, so coming up with one of those is no trick at all. All I’m really looking to do is find something that will function as a router with some NAT, a few port redirections, and some basic firewalling - although I can live without the firewall if necessary. Anyone have recommendations for software to do this? -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-allows-windows-to-act-as-a-router/402748/2 "2007-05-04T15:43:39Z")
At the risk of opening up a can of Arrakian sandworms, why would you want to use Windows for this? Not only is it top-heavy and insecure, but it just isn’t really suited for this purpose. It’s like using a semi-tractor to pull a horse carriage. Personally, I’d use a stripped down FreeBSD or Linux kernel for this, with only the services required to do NAT, IPsec, iptables, and whatever other firewalling applications you need, plus minimal logging and portal interface. There are several microdistros for this. See [here](http://www.networknewz.com/networknewz-10-20030806BuildingALinuxRouter.html), [here](http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-emu/), and [here](http://leaf.sourceforge.net/). Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-allows-windows-to-act-as-a-router/402748/3 "2007-05-04T15:45:25Z")
Mostly because I can whip out something for Windows in under an hour while for Linux I’ll have to start learning from scratch. Every time I start to do something with Linux (like learn the basics) something comes up before I’ve so much as finished installing the OS. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-allows-windows-to-act-as-a-router/402748/4 "2007-05-04T15:58:30Z")
I’d say it’s more pulling a semi-trailer with a horse myself, but I’d second the recommendation for using Linux. Google for [Linux + firewall + router](http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=linux+firewall+router&btnG=Google+Search&meta=) and you’ll get a bunch of leads. (preview: Like **SoaT** ’s links) Some of them run off a single floppy, some are easy-to-manage off of webpages, etc. All of them are miles ahead of any Windows solution when it comes to speed, security, stability, and cost. I’ve had a Linux box doing my routing (plus file & web serving, image gallery, torrent manager, etc.) for me for almost a decade, and it does all the things you need it to. I use a standard iptables script, for which I’d recommend checking out a [howto](http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=iptables+howto&btnG=Google+Search&meta=), with perhaps also an [example](http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=iptables+example&btnG=Search&meta=). If you go with a special distribution, they may have their own special interface to handle rules. Perhaps someone can recommend a particularily easy one to set up and manage? ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-allows-windows-to-act-as-a-router/402748/5 "2007-05-04T16:17:12Z")
[QUOTE=Nanoda] If you go with a special distribution, they may have their own special interface to handle rules. Perhaps someone can recommend a particularily easy one to set up and manage? [/QUOTE] That’d be nice. If nothing else, I can VMware a Linux box, but a “small words/big pictures” version would be nice. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-allows-windows-to-act-as-a-router/402748/6 "2007-05-04T16:22:51Z")
Don’t recent versions of windows have this already? There is no extra software to buy. You just need to have more than one ethernet port on your PC. [http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/expert/crawford\_02july01.mspx](http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/expert/crawford_02july01.mspx) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-allows-windows-to-act-as-a-router/402748/7 "2007-05-04T16:42:46Z")
[QUOTE=Merijeek] Mostly because I can whip out something for Windows in under an hour while for Linux I’ll have to start learning from scratch. Every time I start to do something with Linux (like learn the basics) something comes up before I’ve so much as finished installing the OS. [/QUOTE] Well, I totally sympathize. Learning Linux or Unix is a substantial investment of time and not just slightly frustrating, but it’s also a better solution for this than using Windows. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![JimOfAllTrades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@JimOfAllTrades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimOfAllTrades)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-allows-windows-to-act-as-a-router/402748/8 "2007-05-04T16:53:27Z")
Although I think XP does have the capability to do it on its own, the setup may be easier with a third party program. We started using WinProxy for this several years ago. It runs on pretty much any Windows box (I’ve run it under 98, NT4, 2000, 2000 Server, and XP). See it here: [http://www.winproxy.com](http://www.winproxy.com) It’s cheap for low numbers of users, but get’s pricy as you get over concurrent 100 users. It’s a snap to set up, is transparent for most operations. In most cases we found we didn’t have to change any configuration on any client computers on the network at all. One thing I like about it is the virus detection at the firewall. It stops the viruses before they ever get to any client machine. That can be good when your users aren’t always as careful as they should be. It has had some issues with specific types of messaging software, games, and occasionally QuickBooks, so look over the FAQs and stuff before you jump in. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2007, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-allows-windows-to-act-as-a-router/402748/9 "2007-05-05T02:36:09Z")
[IPCop](http://www.ipcop.org/index.php?module=pnWikka&tag=IPCopScreenshots) is managed through a browser much like a home router, you don’t really need to learn Linux to set it up or run it. I’d recommed giving it a try. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2007, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-allows-windows-to-act-as-a-router/402748/10 "2007-05-05T04:57:01Z")
Windows is perfectly adequate for this job, although it is a bit of an overkill (requiring as it does a license). However, at the risk of adding yet another option to the pile, I’d recommend [OpenBSD](http://www.openbsd.com/). It’s a build of BSD that’s specifically designed to be secure by default. I use it for firewalls, trans-continental WAN links and laboratory WAN simulators. It works very well, and I learned everything I needed to build my first firewall in an afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2007, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-allows-windows-to-act-as-a-router/402748/11 "2007-05-05T16:52:08Z")
You might want to try [m0n0wall](http://m0n0.ch/wall/installation.php). It’s a FreeBSD router, but you don’t have to worry about setting up the box much. Just install from CD(it’s not a full FreeBSB install process – the installer handles most of the details for you), and then do some web-based configuration which is supposed to be pretty easy. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2007, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-allows-windows-to-act-as-a-router/402748/12 "2007-05-05T22:56:17Z")
Try [Smoothwall](http://smoothwall.org/), a very simple, easy to configure linux gateway and firewall. From the front page: > [@](#): > > SmoothWall Express is an open source firewall distribution based on the GNU/Linux operating system. Linux is the ideal choice for security systems; it is well proven, secure, highly configurable and freely††† available as open source code. SmoothWall includes a hardened subset of the GNU/Linux operating system, so there is no separate OS to install. Designed for ease of use, SmoothWall is configured via a web-based GUI, and requires absolutely no knowledge of Linux to install or use. . Ideal for the OP’s needs. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-allows-windows-to-act-as-a-router/402748/13 "2007-05-06T01:03:49Z")
If you’re insistent upon Windows - and there are advantages from the managability POV - Windows Server has RRAS. ---
**Author:** ![Etherman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@Etherman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Etherman)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-that-allows-windows-to-act-as-a-router/402748/14 "2007-05-06T22:38:39Z")
I came here to mention [Smoothwall](http://www.smoothwall.org/) and the (much better IMHO) fork [IPCop](http://ipcop.org/), which I use as a home router/firewall, and [M0n0wall](http://m0n0.ch/wall/) and and it’s fork [pfSense](http://www.pfsense.com/), which I use in some niche projects at work. I see I was beaten to the punch on most of those. I agree with previous posters, Windows is just not well suited to this application. A more apt analogy is everything looks like a nail when all you have is a hammer. All of the firewall/router projects I mentioned are administered from a browser interface, and require little to no Linux knowledge at all, but are specially optimized to do firewalling and routing. What model 800 do you have? A quick perusal of Cisco’s site shows the 800’s are all single WAN interface routers, supporting different interfaces, and none of them do multi-link connections. Only one lists a serial (T-1) interface, the 805, and it’s a single serial interface. Is there a telco company router aggregating traffic ahead of your 800? The 850’s have 2 Ethernet interfaces, but that would mean there is another device ahead of yours, and therefore likely you are double NATing, or something more creative, making it a bit more difficult to recommend a solution.