EBox on FreeLink-Debian
Contents
What is eBox?
Developed as a flexible server/NAS solution for small business and small offices, eBox Platform is a management tool that supplies the following services:
- NAS
- Samba Filesharing and Printer Sharing
- Firewall
- Transparent proxy via Squid
- Content filter
- NTP Server
- Users and groups administration
- Mail server
- Backup of data and/or system
How does it compare to Webmin (on Debian/FreeLink) and the stock Buffalo Web Interface (on the stock firmware) ?
eBox is not a full-fledged replacement for Webmin, but it does handle some things very well. It may be a better alternative for Debian/FreeLink users who found Webmin either too slow or too complex for their liking. In short, it can do nearly everything the stock Buffalo webinterface can do, and as more modules are written by developers and contributors, it may broaden its scope and capability. In particular it:
- has enough features to make it work well as a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device
- has a lot of features that make it a good choice as a gateway
- has better printer support (greater variety of printers supported) than the stockware
- has less options than Webmin
- seems like it can be locked down tighter/more securely than the stockware
- is faster than Webmin (provided that you don't install to much on top of it)
- is nearly as fast as the stock web interface
Installation
Prerequisites
- 2.6 kernel and modules available here
- A fresh FreeLink/Debian installation available here - note that any previously existing configuration files in /home, /root, /var, /etc, and other locations may cause problems with an installation. Squid, in particular, is very picky about these things. It is recommended that you first install eBox, and then add other servers after you have it installed and customized for your network.
- Hard drive space on hda1 - eBox needs
- lots of space for the software and packages, so
- either use a custom partition with all the space you need, or create symlinks as shown here - Freeing Up Space On hda1
- in particular, eBox will build its Samba shares in /home, so do something like this:
mv /home /mnt/
cd /
ln -s /mnt/home home
- A realization that eBox may move your box towards being a bit of a "dedicated box" with a strong firewall
- Read over this excellent (yet slightly outdated - version 0.7.1) installation guide for eBox - it shows many of the key points - a few of the configuration options mentioned have changed
- Read over the installation guide for desktop computers - see the Debian Packages section
- Time = 40 minutes to an hour or more, depending on your internet connection (about 100MB has to be downloaded)
- Decide whether you want your eBox to be more like a NAS with full access to Debian (install ebox, libebox, ebox-network, ebox-objects, ebox-firewall, ebox-logs, ebox-samba, ebox-dhcp, ebox-squid, ebox-usersandgroups, ebox-ntp, ebox-printers) or more like a dedicated, secured, enhanced gateway (the previous packages + ebox-mail, ebox-jabber, ebox-software).
Debian packages/libs for PPC FreeLink
Download these three required Debian packages that were built on an LS-HG.
cd / wget http://downloads.linkstationwiki.net/uploads/ebox/libnet-arp-perl_0.8-1_powerpc.deb wget http://downloads.linkstationwiki.net/uploads/ebox/libnet-cups-perl_0.37-1_powerpc.deb wget http://downloads.linkstationwiki.net/uploads/ebox/libreadonly-xs-perl_1.04-1_powerpc.deb
Debian packages/libs ARM9/LS-Pro FreeLink
not yet available
General Installation Steps for all LS's
Below is a very basic script for PPC LS's (LS1 and HG, Kuros). The script works and has been tested several times on an HG running UBoot, but is alpha or pre-alpha in nature. To use it, adjust IP addresses, namerservers, search domain, and whatever else you want. Run it either as a script, or cut and paste commands as you like. Use at your own risk: You can now wget/download the latest version - if you do, please post feedback at the thread listed bottom-of-page. Good luck.
ARM ProLS users will have to build their own packages, and alter the script only slightly - but this script has not been tested on the Pro.
wget http://downloads.linkstationwiki.net/uploads/ebox/openeboxscript.sh chmod a+x openeboxscript.sh ./openeboxscript.sh
#! /bin/bash # READ READ READ READ READ READ READ # Before running, make sure that you # check for a 2.6 kernel and matching modules ***** # 2.6 kernel modules need to be there for the firewall to function ***** # This script is a work in progress. Please give feedback at "eBox on PPC" thread at the linkstationwiki.net forums # Read it through before using... adjust to your settings and network # IP and HOSTNAME info # hostname will be set to eBoxLinkStation # fixed ip will be initially set to 10.0.1.6 eBoxLinkStation.dnmwireless.com eBoxLinkStation # If your Linkstation currently has a dynamic IP, take note of it and set the static IP below identically # # # DOMAIN and NAMESERVER must be set to your own situation # # needs libreadonly-xs-perl_1.04-1_powerpc.deb libnet-arp-perl_0.8-1_powerpc.deb libnet-cups-perl_0.37-1_powerpc.deb # already sitting at / cd / ######### set hostname ##### hostname "eBoxLinkStation" export hosts echo "eBoxLinkStation" > /etc/hostname ######### EBOX REQUIRES A STATIC IP DURING INSTALLATION ##### ######### save original interfaces and make a static ip ##### ######### adjust to your needs and your network ##### mv /etc/network/interfaces /etc/network/pre-ebox-interfaces-backup echo "# /etc/network/interfaces -- configuration file for ifup(8), ifdown(8)" > /etc/network/interfaces echo "# The loopback interface" >> /etc/network/interfaces echo auto lo >> /etc/network/interfaces echo iface lo inet loopback >> /etc/network/interfaces echo "# The first network card - eth0 - this entry was created during the Debian installation" >> /etc/network/interfaces echo "# (network, broadcast and gateway are optional)" >> /etc/network/interfaces echo auto eth0 >> /etc/network/interfaces echo iface eth0 inet static >> /etc/network/interfaces echo address 10.0.1.6 >> /etc/network/interfaces echo netmask 255.255.255.0 >> /etc/network/interfaces echo network 10.0.1.0 >> /etc/network/interfaces echo broadcast 10.0.1.255 >> /etc/network/interfaces echo gateway 10.0.1.1 >> /etc/network/interfaces echo "* * * * * restarting networking * * * * *" sleep 3 /etc/init.d/networking restart sleep 3 echo "* * * * restarted networking * * * *" ###### set up /etc/hosts ###### ###### customize for your own network ###### ###### make a note of your domain name ###### ###### SQUID IS VERY PICKY ABOUT THIS ###### ###### don't change the 127.0.0.1 line ###### ###### only change "dnmwireless.com" ###### ###### to your choice or a dummy ###### cp /etc/hosts /etc/pre-ebox-hosts-backup echo "127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost" > /etc/hosts echo "10.0.1.6 eBoxLinkStation.dnmwireless.com eBoxLinkStation" >> /etc/hosts ####### set up /etc/resolv.conf ##### ####### edit the addresses to your needs ##### ####### change your nameservers and domain ##### ####### keep a copy of your old pre-ebox resolv.conf ##### mv /etc/resolv.conf /etc/pre-ebox-resolv.conf-backup echo nameserver 216.165.129.157 > /etc/resolv.conf echo nameserver 10.0.1.1 >> /etc/resolv.conf echo domain tds.net >> /etc/resolv.conf ####### check to see if you are connected to the internet #### ####### and that DNS works for you #### ping -q -c 10 yahoo.com ####### remove old dhcpd and put in newer one ######################## #dpkg --purge dhcpcd #apt-get -y install dhcp3-client ######## set up an eBox-platform compatible apt source.list ##### ####### but keep a copy of your old list ##### mv /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/pre-ebox-sources.backup-list ####### make the new sources.list, with testing branch optional ##### echo deb http://mirrors.kernel.org/debian/ stable main >> /etc/apt/sources.list echo deb-src http://mirrors.kernel.org/debian/ stable main >> /etc/apt/sources.list echo "####################################################" >> /etc/apt/sources.list echo "##deb http://security.debian.org/ stable/updates main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list echo "#######################################################" >> /etc/apt/sources.list echo deb http://ebox-platform.com/debian/stable/ ebox/ >> /etc/apt/sources.list echo deb http://ebox-platform.com/debian/stable/ extra/ >> /etc/apt/sources.list echo deb http://ebox-platform.com/debian/sarge/stable/ security/ >> /etc/apt/sources.list echo "########################################################" >> /etc/apt/sources.list echo "## testing branch ####" >> /etc/apt/sources.list echo "## de-comment these lines to --temporarily enable the testing branch" >> /etc/apt/sources.list echo "#deb http://http.us.debian.org/debian testing main contrib non-free" >> /etc/apt/sources.list echo "#deb-src http://http.us.debian.org/debian testing main contrib non-free" >> /etc/apt/sources.list ###### update your Debian installation & install necessary packages ##### apt-get update apt-get upgrade apt-get install module-init-tools libperl5.8 perl perl-base perl-modules libterm-readline-gnu-perl libterm-readline-perl-perl libcupsys2-gnutls10 perl-doc ssh xfsprogs ### change your unix password to ebox or something easy to remember #### passwd ###### update your timezone configuration ##### tzconfig ###### remove exim4 as it is not compatible with eBox ##### apt-get remove exim4 apt-get update ###### install essential libs for eBox, built for PPC ###### dpkg -i libreadonly-xs-perl_1.04-1_powerpc.deb dpkg -i libnet-arp-perl_0.8-1_powerpc.deb dpkg -i libnet-cups-perl_0.37-1_powerpc.deb echo "* * * * * * * libs for ebox installed * * * * * * * " sleep 3 ###### install ebox and modules ###### echo "* * * * * ** getting ebox & modules * * * * * * * * *" sleep 3 apt-get install ebox libebox ebox-network ebox-objects ebox-firewall ebox-samba ebox-squid ebox-usersandgroups ebox-ntp ebox-printers ebox-dhcp ### apt-get install missing software packages #### make a sym link from /home/samba to /mnt### #### optional ##### echo "* * * * * * * * * * All done installing eBox * * * * * * * * * * * * * " echo "Point your browser to https://<eBoxLinkStation's IP> * " echo "and configure your eBoxLinkStation to your liking... * " echo "Remember to open up SSH access so that you can connect to do any * " echo "changes or installation that can't be handled through the web * " echo "interface. * " echo "Please leave feedback and/or report any bugs or problems on the * " echo "eBox on PPC forum thread at... * " echo "http://forum.linkstationwiki.net/index.php?action=vthread&topic=2397 * " sleep 3 ###### end of script ########
Configuring and Customizing
Package configuration
As the install script runs, or as you go through the steps manually, provide the natural answers. For some of the configuration, you will want to make specific choices:
For all of the questions of the form "After unpacking 299kB of additional disk space will be used. Do you want to continue? [Y/n]" , answer y.
Allow SSH protocol 2 only? <-------------------- Yes
Do you want /usr/lib/ssh-keysign to be installed SUID root? <-------------------- Yes
Do you want to run the sshd server? <-------------------- Yes
Enter new UNIX password: <-------------------- (your choice)
Your current time zone is set to US/Eastern Do you want to change that? [n]: <-------------------- (your choice)
The following packages will be REMOVED: exim4 0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 1 to remove and 0 not upgraded. Need to get 0B of archives. After unpacking 32.8kB disk space will be freed. Do you want to continue? [Y/n] <-------------------- Y Yes, since exim4 is not compatible w/ eBox's email client
Where should the PostgreSQL database be created?
/var/lib/postgres/data_______________________________
<Ok> <-------------------- <Ok>
Should the data be purged as well as the package files? <-------------------- No
Choose European or US day/month order in dates. (your choice) and <Ok>
DNS domain name: dnmwireless.com (or whatever you set it to in the scripted commands) and <Ok>
Name of your organization: dnmwireless.com (or whatever you set it to in the previous line above) and <Ok>
LDAP Admin password: (your choice) Allow LDAPv2 protocol? <No>
Apache-Perl needs to be reconfigured. <Ok>
Enable suExec? <No>
Do you want the cdrecord binaries to be installed SUID root?
<Yes, if you want users to be able to backup your data w/ a CD/DVD burner>
<No, otherwise>
Which paper size should be the system default? (your choice: US uses letter, Europe, others use A4)
On what network interfaces should the DHCP server listen? eth0 (Linkstations have only one ethernet port)
Please configure the DHCP server as soon as the installation finishes. <Ok> The version 3 DHCP server is now non-authoritative by default. <Ok>
You can run dpkg-reconfigure later,... <Ok>
Do you want to entrust font management to defoma? Yes
Workgroup/Domain Name? (your choice, or WORKGROUP)
Use password encryption? yes
Modify smb.conf to use WINS settings from DHCP? No
How do you want to run Samba? daemons
Create samba password database, /var/lib/samba/passdb.tdb? No
LDAP server host address 127.0.0.1
distinguished name of the search base dc=dnmwireless,dc=com (or a choice that agrees with your chosen domain name)
LDAP version to use 3
database requires login no
make configuration readable/writeable by owner only no
nsswitch.conf is not managed automatically... <Ok>
Send daily reminders to users over quota No
Configuration file `/etc/dhcp3/dhclient.conf'
==> File on system created by you or by a script.
==> File also in package provided by package maintainer.
What would you like to do about it ? Your options are:
Y or I : install the package maintainer's version
N or O : keep your currently-installed version
D : show the differences between the versions
Z : background this process to examine the situation
The default action is to keep your current version.
*** dhclient.conf (Y/I/N/O/D/Z) [default=N] ? N
Post-install Options
SSH access after installation
During installation you may find that you lose your ssh connection toward the very end. This can be fixed by following these directions How to Enable SSH access. Once you have done this and saved changes, test it by opening a new terminal window and attempt to connect with SSH. Make sure you have connectivity before you reboot in the next step.
Initial Reboot
Before any changes are made to network or further settings, it seems to help to halt and cold boot again. Do this through the web interface. It may take some time (1-2 minutes) for everything to terminate, and another 2-3 minutes for it to boot.
HTTP Proxy settings
If you want to add software via apt-get or wget, your eBox will need http access. To do this, you may have to enable the Transparent Proxy.
- Click on HTTP proxy -> General ;
- choose
- Service Configuration Enabled (Change) ,
- Transparent Proxy - Enabled ,
- Content threshold - Very Permissive,
- Global policy - Allow (Change) and then
- Save Changes (upper right hand corner).
Network Settings, DHCP and DNS Problems
In Network, fill in your settings for DNS and Gateways, and Apply & Save Changes on each.
You can check your connection through the Diagnosis page. If you can't ping yahoo.com for instance, go back and check your settings for the previous two pages.
If you are having trouble reaching sites like mirrors.kernel.org or your favorite CPAN mirror, you may want to go to Network->Interfaces and set eth0 to DHCP, change and Save Changes. Do not set eth0 to External. This will kill your connection. If this change doesn't remedy it, check to see that you have enabled the Transparent Proxy.
Firewall
eBox's firewall is very strong and integrated. It uses iptables and can be controlled to a great degree from the web interface. Security comes at a cost, so here is how to get around it to some extent.
How to add an Allowed Service to your eBox's Firewall
Do you want to add an FTP or HTTP server to your eBox? Do it the normal apt-get way, but you will have to make eBox aware of it so that traffic can get through the firewall. See this HOW-TO How to make your eBox aware of Additional Services
Opening up ports for Firefly/mt-daapd
This can be very tricky to do. Firefly requires access to ports 3689 (tcp) and 5353 (udp). Port 5353 is used by mDNS and handles multicasting traffic. First, check to see that you have Firefly installed properly. If you do, you should be able to do both of these:
- open a browser to http://<ebox IP>:3689 and see the standard web page for Firefly
- see port 3689 open using a port scanner pointed at your eBox.
You may have use the perl add-service-to-firewall script and then add a Service Allow via the eBox Firewall page.
In addition to that, you can allow multicasting and mDNS services with these commands:
iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 5353 -d 224.0.0.251 -j ACCEPT iptables -A OUTPUT -p udp --dport 5353 -d 224.0.0.251 -j ACCEPT
Check your iptables now by issuing
iptables -L --line-numbers
and look for the lines marked with @@@@@@@@@ below
Chain INPUT (policy DROP) num target prot opt source destination 1 ACCEPT all -- anywhere anywhere 2 ACCEPT all -- anywhere anywhere state RELATED,ESTABLISHED 3 ACCEPT icmp !f anywhere anywhere 4 inospoof all -- anywhere anywhere 5 iexternalmodules all -- anywhere anywhere 6 inoexternal all -- anywhere anywhere 7 imodules all -- anywhere anywhere 8 iintservs all -- anywhere anywhere 9 iobjects all -- anywhere anywhere 10 iglobal all -- anywhere anywhere 11 idrop all -- anywhere anywhere 12 ACCEPT udp -- anywhere 224.0.0.251 udp dpt:5353<---------@@@@@@@@@ Chain FORWARD (policy DROP) num target prot opt source destination 1 ACCEPT all -- anywhere anywhere state RELATED,ESTABLISHED 2 ACCEPT icmp !f anywhere anywhere 3 fnospoof all -- anywhere anywhere 4 fredirects all -- anywhere anywhere 5 fmodules all -- anywhere anywhere 6 ffwdrules all -- anywhere anywhere 7 fnoexternal all -- anywhere anywhere 8 fdns all -- anywhere anywhere 9 fobjects all -- anywhere anywhere 10 fglobal all -- anywhere anywhere 11 fdrop all -- anywhere anywhere Chain OUTPUT (policy DROP) num target prot opt source destination 1 ACCEPT all -- anywhere anywhere 2 ACCEPT all -- anywhere anywhere state RELATED,ESTABLISHED 3 ACCEPT icmp !f anywhere anywhere 4 omodules all -- anywhere anywhere 5 ACCEPT udp -- anywhere 10.0.1.1 state NEW udp dpt:domain 6 ACCEPT udp -- anywhere 216.165.129.157 state NEW udp dpt:domain 7 ACCEPT udp -- anywhere anywhere state NEW udp dpt:ntp 8 ACCEPT udp -- anywhere 224.0.0.251 udp dpt:5353 <---------@@@@@@@@
Restart iTunes or check your Roku again and you should have streaming audio now. If it works, you can save it by issuing the command
iptables-save
This change may not show up in the web interface of eBox.
Dropping the Firewall completely
This should only be done only if you have some other protection between you and the internet, or only for a very brief time. To do this you will need to alter (ahem...dirty hack) some code:
nano -c /usr/share/perl5/EBox/Iptables.pm
Scan down to around line 550, until you find this:
# Method: start
#
# Start firewall service
#
sub start
{
my $self = shift;
$self->setStructure();
my @dns = @{$self->{net}->nameservers()};
foreach (@dns) {
$self->setDNS($_);
}
and add this line of code (marked <-------------- here ##):
# Method: start
#
# Start firewall service
#
sub start
{
return; ## New code added <-------------- here ##
my $self = shift;
$self->setStructure();
my @dns = @{$self->{net}->nameservers()};
foreach (@dns) {
$self->setDNS($_);
}
Save it and restart with
/etc/init.d/ebox restart
Your Firewall should be completely disabled now. You may also have change the rules related to general policies with the following commands to free all firewall stuff from eBox:
iptables -I INPUT -j ACCEPT iptables -I OUTPUT -j ACCEPT
Remember to reenable it when you are done with whatever you need to do. It can be reenabled by commenting out the line you just added in, and then restarting with /etc/init.d/ebox restart again.
Speed and Performance Tweaks
- Add the IP address of any computer that you connect to your eBox with to /etc/hosts on the eBox, eg.
10.0.1.12 blueandwhiteG3 10.0.1.20 bobspowerbookG4
Add these lines (or lines like them with your hosts ip and name) by editting /etc/hosts w/ nano or your favorite editor, or simple issue a command like this:
echo "10.0.1.12 blueandwhiteG3" >> /etc/hosts
- Drop the firewall completely. (see above)
- Turn off any services that you don't use or need. (use web interface)
Links and References
eBox-Platform site pages
- eBox-Platform Home Page
- eBox-Platform Wiki/Trac
- eBox User Archives/Mail List
- Post a question at eBox User Mail Lists - Note: For English Interface click the language chooser on upper right corner of page.
Linkstationwiki.net forum thread - eBox on PPC Linkstations
