Build Your Own Mini-ITX Firewall with IPFire – Complete DIY Guide

Motherboard BIOS Settings

Motherboard BIOS options will vary considerably, which means I can only recommend which settings we need to change, it will be up to you to find out exactly how to do these changes on your motherboards’ BIOS, use the motherboard manual if required. Not all motherboards will have all the options below, just change the ones you can find.

To enter your BIOS, press and hold either the F2, DEL, F1 or F10 key just after turning the computer on (usually the first boot-up screen will tell you which key to enter the BIOS). To navigate between options use the Tab key or Arrow keys, to enter a BIOS option press the Enter key, to exit an option screen press the ESC key, to exit the BIOS completely press the ESC key. Now let’s change the following options:

1. Set the time if necessary, then Tab to the Exit or Boot menu OR look for “Load BIOS Defaults” or “Load Optimal BIOS Defaults” then Tab to it and hit Enter, choose Yes to any prompts to load BIOS defaults
2. Under the Hard Drive section, make sure SATA is set to Native and AHCI modes
3. Reduce the Video Memory to lowest option (usually 64MB), then set DVMT to Lite Mode and the smallest DVMT Memory option (usually 128MB)
4. Set the Overclocking Profile to Normal, Turbo Mode to auto or off, Memory settings to auto and disable Audio
5. If you have a choice between UEFI and Legacy boot, choose Legacy or Legacy first option
6. Now Save and Exit the BIOS (it should automatically reboot)
7. Move to the next section Installing IPFire

Installing IPFire Operating System

Now we’ll go through the IPFire installation setup process, and as with the BIOS navigation, use Tab to move between elements, Arrow keys to select an option, Enter to confirm option and move to the next screen. Follow the text guide or a full slideshow further below:

STEP 1 – INSTALLATION

1. You need to find out if your CPU supports 64bit (most new motherboards do) if it does, download the 64bit version of IPFire, if not (or you’re unsure) download the 32bit version
2. Download the latest IPFire ISO x86_64bit or click the "Other download options" link to download the i586_32bit version
3. Burn the ISO image to a blank CD/DVD using ISO Recorder, Free ISO Burner or img Burn then insert disc into optical drive of your IPFire box
4. Boot up, then press and hold the F12 key which should bring up the Boot Menu, choose to boot from your Optical Drive (CD or DVDRW)
5. After about 30 seconds, you should be greeted with the IPFire welcome page, leave it highlighted to the "Install IPFire x.xx Core xxx" and press Enter
6. Select your preferred language, then OK, then select Start Installation option
7. Press Tab then hit the Spacebar to select the I Accept License option, Tab then OK
8. Select Delete all data option, then choose ext4 Filesystem and OK
9. IPFire will now start installing the operating system which takes about 10 minutes
10. IPFire will automatically eject the CD when installation is finished, remove disc then select the Reboot option

STEP 2 – IPFIRE SETUP

1. Once IPFire has rebooted immediately after installation, we need to set up the network
2. Select us (United States) for Keyboard mapping, then select your Timezone (ie. Australia/Melbourne)
3. Type ipfire in lower-case for Hostname option, then type local for Domain name option
4. Type in a root password, then confirm. Type in an Admin password and confirm (used for accessing the web interface)
5. Select Network configuration type, then select your network type (ie. GREEN + RED) the OK
6. Select Drivers and card assignments, select GREEN, then highlight the adapter you want to assign to GREEN (note* if you are unsure which card is which, select Identify which will help you figure it out)
7. Now select RED and highlight the adapter you want to assign to RED, then select Done to exit this screen
8. Select Address settings, select GREEN, then OK to warning, enter 192.168.2.1 for IP Address then 255.255.255.0 for Network mask, then OK
9. Still in Address settings, select RED, using Arrow keys highlight DHCP then hit Spacebar to select it, Tab through to OK, then Done
10. On the main Network configuration menu page, Tab through to Done
11. On the DHCP server configuration page, select Enabled with your Spacebar, then enter the following info:
    • Start address: 192.168.2.2
    • End address: 192.168.2.254
    • Primary DNS: 192.168.2.1
    • Secondary DNS: (leave empty)
    • Default lease (mins): 60
    • Max lease (mins): 120
    • Domain name suffix: local
    …then OK
12. Finally, select OK to Setup is complete alert box, then IPFire will initialize the network and firewall
13. Now you can move on to Basic IPFire Setup