FREESCO, a router for networks with static routing.
Freesco was developed in the open source tradition as an alternative to routing
products offered by Cisco, 3-Com, Accend, Nortel etc. All of these companies
offer products that are well made, but they are also proprietary and expensive.
Between the cost of the equipment and support, you'll spend a great deal and
only address one or two of your networking needs .. Additionally, by being
closed source (proprietary), many of these products restrict the user from
modifying the source software to better suit their needs and easily fix problems
that arise.
As many of us who work in the IS industry know, Management is always looking
for ways to make work more efficient and decrease expenses. At the same time
though, the IS department is usually restricted by budgetary constraints that
prevent it from implementing products that would do just that, cut costs and
make people's work easier and more cost effective.
That is where an open source product like Freesco can make all the
difference. It is open source (non-proprietary), easy to use and best of all, free.
Freesco is based on the Linux operating system and incorporates many of the
features of a full operating system into software that fits on a single 1.44 meg
floppy diskette. With Freesco, you can make:
- a simple bridge with up to 3 Ethernet segments
- a router with up to 3 Ethernet segments
- a dialup line router
- a leased line router
- an Ethernet router
- a dial-in server with up to 2 modems
- a time server
- a dhcp server
- a http server
- a print server (requires TCP/IP printing client software)
Freesco also incorporates firewalling and NAT which are resident within the
Linux kernel to help protect you and your network. All of these features can be
used in conjunction with each other or individually.
How does Freesco do all this? By using only what you need from the Linux
operating system and by utilizing the best in "small" *nix programs
such as:
Unlike many commercial products, set-up of Freesco is very simple. Freesco
contains a configuration utility that makes set-up and maintenance of the system
easy and fast. Providing you have the basic information needed to operate the
system, i.e., IP address, gateway address, how you want to use the system(s)
etc., setup can be completed in less that 10 minutes. Once the configuration is
complete, all it takes is a simple reboot and connection to your network to
begin using Freesco and enjoying what it allows you to do. Freesco even provides
a web control interface so that you can administer the system from any web
browser anywhere, anytime. How is that for convenient?
Support for Freesco is supplied through our web board. There you can ask any
question pertaining to set-up and use, or view postings that have already been
placed by other Freesco users. When posting a question, you will usually get a
response within 24 hours from either the Maintainer or another Freesco user. And
best of all, you don't have to pay for the support, that's the beauty of the
open source community and Freesco.
We hope you enjoy using Freesco! Visit us here frequently for new versions
and updates to ensure that you get the best performance from your system.
Some technical info:
Control via: telnet, web, console.
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