Installing Puomi

Puomi is Internet router software for home and small office use. It consists of [Debian][] with a custom configuration to enable use of a PC as a router.

To use Puomi you need:

• A PC with at least two Ethernet ports. Below, we call it “the router PC”.
  • a USB-Ethernet adapter is fine for the second port
• A USB drive to hold the installer image.
• A second machine to provision the router. Below, we call it the “laptop”, but it can be any machine.
• Some Ethernet cables.

To install, short version:

• Install Debian on the router PC.
• From another machine, run Ansible with the puomi role, to set up Puomi on the router PC.
• Reboot the router PC

The router should now connect to the Internet via its primary Ethernet port, and serves local machines on the LAN via its other Ethernet ports.

The puomi role can be configured using the following Ansible variables:

• puomi_version: set this to “1”
• puomi_hostname: set this to the host name of the router PC
• puomi_lan_ip: the IPv4 address of the LAN interface of router PC
• puomi_dhcp_start: the first address for DHCP leases
• puomi_dhcp_end: the last address for DHCP leases
• puomi_dhcp_netmask: netmask for the DHCP leases (e.g, “255.255.255.0”)
• puomi_dhcp_lease: how long DHCP leases last (e.g., “1h”)

Sample values:

puomi_version: 1
puomi_hostname: "{{ invenstory_hostname }}"
puomi_lan_ip: 10.4.1.1
puomi_dhcp_start: 10.4.1.10
puomi_dhcp_end: 10.4.1.250
puomi_dhcp_netmask: 255.255.255.0
puomi_dhcp_lease: 1h

FIXME: Provide more detailed instruction that are actually helpful.