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fli4l

Developer	fli4l-Team
OS family	Linux (Unix-like)
Working state	Current
Source model	Open source
Initial release	April 2000 (24 years ago) (2000-04)
Latest release	3.10.19 / 2 February 2020 (4 years ago) (2020-02-02)
Latest preview	Tarball version / Weekly
Available in	German, English, French
Platforms	i586, x86-64
Kernel type	modular
License	GPL (Free software)
Official website	www.fli4l.de/en/

fli4l (flexible internet router for linux; previously: floppy isdn for linux) is a Linux distribution, actively developed by German developers since 2000. The projects main task is to provide a small Linux system that turns almost every machine into a router. The distribution can run from a floppy disk and was created with the aim of simple configuration and support for older hardware.

fli4l can route between Ethernet and ISDN, DSL or UMTS, or just between Ethernet networks.

Characteristics and requirements

fli4l is based on the Linux kernel. As the documentation is very extensive no knowledge of Linux is required, however a basic knowledge of network technology is needed.

The hardware requirements for fli4l are low, an Intel Pentium with MMX support and 64 MiB RAM and (depending upon the configuration) one or two network interface controllers is quite adequate. A hard disk drive is not required, but can be used by fli4l too.

Newer versions of fli4l provide also the possibility to create a working installation on a CF card in a card reader, which card then in turn can operate from a CF adapter in an IDE slot. Also the generation of an ISO image is supported to run from a CD-ROM as well as from DOC/DOM for Embedded systems.

fli4l can be configured on Linux, Unix and Windows systems using just text files.

In addition, fli4l has the possibility to encrypt connections over the Internet or via Wireless LAN using OpenVPN or PPTP (Poptop).

Versions

There are two development branches for fli4l, a stable and a development version.

The present stable release is based on a Linux 3.16 kernel and supports virtualization by means of Xen and KVM. USB and Wireless LAN are supported to a great extent as well as current embedded hardware as APU, ALIX, Soekris, and EPIA series.

The 4.0 development version also provides a Linux 4.1 kernel. Furthermore, it implements a new management and configuration layer for connections (so-called circuits) which has been designed from the ground up. It allows to use multiple WAN links (e.g. via DSL, ISDN, or UMTS) in parallel.

Optional packages

fli4l is a modular system using so-called OPT-packages. To create an individual configuration, only software packages for those options, that are needed, are downloaded and unzipped into the directory tree. To extend the basic functionality, a wide range of applications is available in the so-called OPT-database; for example, optional packages can be used for monitoring traffic or an fli4l can function as a printserver. This process easily allows own developments, that can be made available to other users via the OPT-database.

Device control

An fli4l router can be controlled and monitored with a browser-based interface. Besides, the program imonc (isdn monitor client) is available for Windows and Linux (GTK). imonc allows extensive control as well as remote-controlled update of the router's software.

References

1. net(t)work(s) e.V.
2. ^ Latest stable release of fli4l, Retrieved February 2, 2020
3. ^ Latest weekly development version of fli4l, Retrieved October 9, 2018
4. Das fli4l-Team (2020-02-02). "1.1 Einleitung". www.fli4l.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-12-18. Hardwarevoraussetzungen: Intel Pentium-Prozessor mit MMX Unterstützung{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
5. "fli4l 3.6.2". Softpedia. n.d. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
6. ^ Haas, Juergen (April 27, 2003). "Fli4l (Floppy ISDN/DSL)". About.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
7. "fli4l". free(code). n.d. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
8. fli4l documentation: Introduction
9. ^ fli4l documentation: Setup Flavours
10. fli4l documentation: Configuration
11. Poptop
12. ^ The fli4l database for additional packages
13. imonc

Further reading

• Schemberg, Axel; Linten, Martin; Surendorf, Kai (2010). PC-Netzwerke [PC Networks] (in German) (5th ed.). Galileo Computing. pp. 422–440. ISBN 978-3-8362-1105-5.
• Schmidt, Jürgen (2003). "Report - 300-Euro-PC, Router mit Mehrwert" [Report - 300 Euro PC, Router with value added]. c't (in German). 2003 (3). Heinz Heise: 84–93. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
• Schmidt, Jürgen (2003). "Gut aufgelegt, Den Internet-Zugang mit Linux richtig konfigurieren" [In a good mood, Internet access with Linux configured correctly]. c't (in German). 2003 (2). Heinz Heise: 184–185. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
• Violka, Karsten (2002). "Virtuelle LAN-Party, Netzwerkspiele im VPN" [Virtual LAN party, Online games using VPN]. c't (in German). 2002 (22). Heinz Heise: 218–222.
• Diedrich, Dr. Oliver (2002). "Mit dem Pinguin ins Netz, fli4l macht das Aufsetzen eines Linux-Routers zum Kinderspiel" [With the penguin in the net, fli4l makes the setup of a Linux router child's play]. c't (in German). 2002 (7). Heinz Heise: 110–111. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
• Kaps, Reiko (5 May 2009). "Schlankes Router-Linux" [Slim Linux router]. Heise Netze (in German). Retrieved 31 March 2012.
• "Linux-Router fli4l in "stabiler Version" erhältlich" [Linux router fli4l available in "stable version"]. heise online (in German). 25 Sep 2007.
• "Linux-Softwarerouter fli4l jetzt in Version 3.0" [Linux software router fli4l now in version 3.0]. heise online (in German). 28 Dec 2005.

External links

• Official website
• Heating system using 1-Wire Bus with fli4l

• Light-weight Linux distributions
• Gateway/routing/firewall distribution
• Free routing software
• Linux distributions