Hasty Briefsbeta

GNU Guix IPv6/v4 Router

8 days ago
  • #router
  • #IPv6
  • #GNU Guix
  • The author discusses the limitations of proprietary router hardware and software, advocating for the use of commodity hardware with free operating systems like GNU Guix.
  • OpenWrt, a popular free router OS, is critiqued for its outdated configuration methods and reliance on BusyBox and musl libc, with the author preferring GNU and glibc.
  • IPv6 is highlighted as a solution to IPv4 address scarcity, offering virtually unlimited addresses and eliminating the need for NAT, though dual-stack support is still necessary.
  • The author shares their experience setting up a router using GNU Guix on commodity hardware, emphasizing the benefits of declarative configuration and reproducibility.
  • Challenges with wireless adapters and Linux interface naming are discussed, along with solutions like using external access points and static naming via udev rules.
  • Detailed configurations for networking services like Knot Resolver (DNS), dhcpcd (DHCP), radvd (IPv6 router advertisements), and nftables (firewall) are provided.
  • The importance of bootup timing and service dependencies is noted, especially when dealing with hardware initialization and network service startups.