N900 as a Wifi Hotspot - Page 3 - maemo.org

enning | # 21 | 2009-12-10, 08:22 | Report

If you need some design work done for the Mobilehotspot. Let me know.
I'm an interaction designer, and in need for yout great app

kwotski | # 22 | 2009-12-10, 09:31 | Report

I'd really like to have this working! Just a couple of questions..

Anyone think using an ssh tunnel as per https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SSH_VPN might work as a stand-in until a better solution is easily installed? It looks as though it might, but I haven't had time to try yet. (If I do, I'll report back here.)

Will getting a working iptables / NAT really require flashing the device? This seems ... unfortunate.

rambo | # 23 | 2009-12-12, 14:00 | Report

Originally Posted by enning View Post

If you need some design work done for the Mobilehotspot. Let me know.
I'm an interaction designer, and in need for yout great app

Sure, send in your ideas, my original plans are at http://mobilehotspot.garage.maemo.org/plan.txt but I haven't had time to do any UI sketches yet.

Originally Posted by kwotski View Post

Anyone think using an ssh tunnel as per https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SSH_VPN might work as a stand-in until a better solution is easily installed? It looks as though it might, but I haven't had time to try yet. (If I do, I'll report back here.)

I don't think it'll be any easier to use and it really only would work for one user anyways (the advantage of sharing internet via wlan is that your friends can use it too)

Originally Posted by kwotski View Post

Will getting a working iptables / NAT really require flashing the device? This seems ... unfortunate.

Some rather smart people are trying to get the modules working on the stock kernel, and if it is impossible (it seems some "unused" symbols that these modules depend on are stripped...) I'll see if I can make the powers that be to see the light and maybe we'll have a new stock kernel...

In this case you only need to flash the kernel which will take less than 30seconds, of course it's a hurdle and a bit scary if you have never done it before. Flashing the stock kernel back is equally simple once you have extracted the kernel from the Fiasco (kernel+rootfs+whatever bundle) image so no need to lose any settings or data.

The Following User Says Thank You to rambo For This Useful Post:
kwotski

rambo | # 24 | 2009-12-14, 13:50 | Report

Originally Posted by rambo View Post

In this case you only need to flash the kernel which will take less than 30seconds, of course it's a hurdle and a bit scary if you have never done it before.

It seems to be relatively easy to flash a new kernel from the device while it's running (thanks jebba: http://wiki.maemo.org/User:Jebba#Ins..._custom_kernel). So even in the unlikely case the stock kernel will always have trouble with NAT, we can simply install a custom kernel without teaching the user how to flash one via USB.

kwotski | # 25 | 2009-12-14, 20:52 | Report

rambo, thanks a lot for the reply and information.

Originally Posted by rambo View Post

I don't think [ssh tunnel would] be any easier to use and it really only would work for one user anyways (the advantage of sharing internet via wlan is that your friends can use it too)

Indeed. I was just looking at that point for any way for my laptop to connect out via the phone's cell internet connection. I since solved that by using the phone's cell modem over usb, a possibility I wasn't aware of at the time I was pondering the ssh tunnel

Originally Posted by rambo View Post

Some rather smart people are trying to get the modules working on the stock kernel, and if it is impossible (it seems some "unused" symbols that these modules depend on are stripped...) I'll see if I can make the powers that be to see the light and maybe we'll have a new stock kernel...

Yay! That would be a big improvement!

It seems odd that we have the ip_tables module itself but no obvious (to me) way of controlling it. Can you shed any light on that? Is something else on the device using the module (it doesn't appear in my lsmod)? Can it be configured or interrogated outside of the missing iptables binary? Otherwise, what is it doing there?!

Originally Posted by rambo View Post

In this case you only need to flash the kernel which will take less than 30seconds, of course it's a hurdle and a bit scary if you have never done it before. Flashing the stock kernel back is equally simple once you have extracted the kernel from the Fiasco (kernel+rootfs+whatever bundle) image so no need to lose any settings or data.

You know, it might be a bit less scary had they named it differently

In any case I look forward quite a lot to having a fully fledged advanced router in my pocket! I'll probably give a user-made kernel a try if I see a few other people using it with no problems.

Thanks again for your efforts on behalf of this feature.

Edit: Just to add, that page you mentioned is a real goldmine of interesting N900 stuff! It's like wandering into Aladdin's cave in there...

Last edited by kwotski; 2009-12-14 at 21:21.

rambo | # 26 | 2009-12-14, 21:57 | Report

Originally Posted by kwotski View Post

It seems odd that we have the ip_tables module itself but no obvious (to me) way of controlling it. Can you shed any light on that? Is something else on the device using the module (it doesn't appear in my lsmod)? Can it be configured or interrogated outside of the missing iptables binary? Otherwise, what is it doing there?!

The stock kernel does not have the connection tracking etc needed for NAT, the very base iptables might be there on purpose or by accident, but does not really matter for us...

iptables can be controlled via the ipc interface in the kernel by any program with sufficient privileges, the iptables binary is just the most handy one (I have compiled iptables against the -hotspot kernel the hotspot backend scripts can use it).

I talked with Niels (xfade) today and he'll talk with some of the kernel people, so that we would (hopefully) get a stock kernel with the neccessary symbols for the nf_conntrack module (which is needed for NAT) someday.

The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to rambo For This Useful Post:
Alan_Peery, kwotski, qole

kwotski | # 27 | 2009-12-19, 19:31 | Report

I noticed earler today that jebba has compiled modules including the ones needed for NAT it seems (see his wiki user page, and the modules themselves ) that "should work with the stock N900 kernel".

Is there any chance to get an iptables binary that will work with these?

jebba | # 28 | 2009-12-19, 20:10 | Report

Originally Posted by kwotski View Post

I noticed earler today that jebba has compiled modules including the ones needed for NAT it seems (see his wiki user page, and the modules themselves ) that "should work with the stock N900 kernel".

Is there any chance to get an iptables binary that will work with these?

Various modules in that directory work, but the NAT ones don't for the same reasons rambo ran into.

You can see the various tests here:
http://www.freemoe.org/users/jebba/k...probe-test.log

I have built a number of kernels for this device already. At some point I will be making a fatter kernel with lots of various modules built into it that are missing from the stock kernel.

Thanks for pinging me about this thread,

-Jeff
http://wiki.maemo.org/User:Jebba

The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to jebba For This Useful Post:
kwotski, Netweaver, u2maemo

zimmerle | # 29 | 2009-12-21, 16:48 | Report

Hi guys

I am dealing with the same problems to get my iptables working, which modules are you guys trying to use? The iptables match state one?

I am making a firewall application: http://www.zimmerle.org/

rambo | # 30 | 2009-12-21, 21:51 | Report

Originally Posted by zimmerle View Post

I am dealing with the same problems to get my iptables working, which modules are you guys trying to use?

Starting with nf_conntrack which is requirement for just about everything having to do with routing and ending with iptable_nat (the dependency chain has a few other modules in between as well)