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This english text is shorter than the german one and maybe contains lots of mistakes. I tried to translate everything importand with the english I learned at school. I don't have an english Windows/Internetexplorer/Netscape, or don't know how to switch these programs to english, so you will have to think what I mean, sometimes. But I hope its possible to get a router working with this help. By the way: the screenshots are in german, too.


For a long time I tried to use Genesis, shipped with OS3.9 as a router. This caused several problems. I posted several questions in forums but never got real help. Most people out there use MiamiDX to route their PC through the Amiga to the internet. After many hours of struggling with two PCs and an Amiga I got it working and want to give you the way how I did it in this document. I think this page will be updated later, when I get socks5 working..

*** NEW: PLEASE READ ***

I realized that modemcompression on GenesisRA can be changed and is disabled by default. There is some help about this on the OS3.9 CD, but just in a german textfile, not in the guide. So, if you start Genesis-Prefs switch to the interfaces site. Now edit your internet-connection on the PPP site. Here you can change between 4 compression modes: MPP,VJ,BSD and Deflate. MPP uses low compression while Deflate and BSD use high compression, but are very cpu-intensive and should only be used on 060. I got my best results with VJ compression. So my download speed on Aminet increased from 4400 CPS to 5100 CPS. More should be possible on textsites.


Required software:
- Genesis or GenesisRA (OS3.9)
- named.lha (Aminet)
- msockd4.lha (Aminet)
- A Windows-PC running Internetexplorer V5.x ? or Netscape as a socks-client


Other requirements:
A working LAN-connection with a Windows-PC (I just tested Win98 so far) with manually
given IP adresses for every computer on the net. A samba-installation is NOT nessecary,
just be sure you can ping to every computer on the net.
A working internet-connection is required too, of course. Shouldn't be a problem with the
Genesis-Wizard.


Caution: Socks5 from Aminet does not work on my Amiga now. It seems, the server tries to use the IP 0.0.0.0 instead of the local IP. I'm not sure if this is the case but I will have a look on it. Somebody told me theres a socks5 server for genesis on www.haage-partner.de .. I'll try this later, too. The disadvantages of minisocks 4 are the older version which does not feature UDP and the missing security-protocols. So it's not possible to use it as an (old) firewall, but this is the only working solution I know this time.

Ok, lets start. First, we have to get a running internetconnection and a working LAN with the Genesis Wizard. This should not be to difficult. If you're using a 56K modem you should have a look on the genesis prefs later, if the serial baudrate, I mean from the Amiga to the modem, is higher than 38400. Thats what the wizard wrote to my config and what slows the connection down unnessecary. You'll have to give your computer an IP while building the LAN-interface. It has to be a number that is not used on the internet, so you should use an address with format 192.168.xxx.xxx my amiga-router uses the number 192.168.0.2 .You just have to be sure there are not more computers using the same IP. You have to know this number to tell your client later which computer on the LAN is the router.




When it's working decrunch the file named.lha from Aminet. Now copy the file named to amitcp:serv


Now decrunch msockd4.lha from Aminet and copy minisockd to amitcp:serv




These are all files you need. You don't have to install samba. Now lets configure Genesis:


Start Genesis and open the preferences window (menuentry: settings->genesis) . I use the reaction gui from the BoingBag 1 of AmigaOS3.9, the MUI gui from GenesisRA brings the same functions, but is not ordered like the mui one. Choose options on the left side and advanced on the right. Activate "Gateway" and "IP send redirects" and let the debugoptions free. Now click on "services" on the left side. Check if there are two entries called "socks". Both are on port 1080, one udp and one tcp. If this is not the case, you have to add them manually:
1. Click on "Add"
And enter the following things in the fields. Use TAB or Return after EVERY entry, if not they'll go to nirvana.
2. Name: socks
3. Port: 1080
4. On the right click on tcp
And now the second service: 1. Click on "Add"
2. Name: socks
3. Port: 1080
4. On the right click on udp


Choose Inetd (left) and add the following entries: (Use Return or TAB after every entry)
1. Click on "Add"
2. Service: nameserver
3. Enambled: Yes
4. User: root
5. Server: amitcp:serv/named
6. Click on udp
7. Choose dgram
8. Choose wait
9. Let Cli-Name and Args free


Check if everything is correct:
nameserver dgram udp wait root amitcp:serv/named enabled


Now the socks-server. Enter the following:
1. Click on "Add"
2. service: socks
3. Enabled: Yes

4. User: root
5. Server: amitcp:serv/minisockd
6. Click on tcp
7. Choose stream
8. Choose nowait
9. Cli-Name: minisockd
10: Let Args empty


Now there should be the entry:
socks stream tcp nowait root amitcp:serv/minisockd minisockd enabled


Click on "Access" on the left. Check if there are 4 entries, all have to be on allow !:

finger 127.1 allow log
ident *.*.*.* allow log
$ *.*.*.* allow log
* $ allow log


Click on "Save" and you are done with the Amiga !


We have to configure the client:


Maybe you have to think, what I mean, because I don't use an english Windows..
Start Windows and click with the right mousebutton on the network-icon. A new window appears. Doubleclick on the TCP/IP protocoll that belongs to your networkcard. On my computer its called:
"TCP/IP -> Realtek RTL8139(A/B/C8130) PCI Fast Ethernet (NDIS4/Win95_OSR2 driver)".
In the new window choose "DNS-configuration" and click on "activate DNS" (Maybe its not called like this). Add a new DNS-server. You have to enter the IP of your Amiga-router, the one you had to enter by installing the Genesis LAN interface on your Amiga before. By me it is 192.168.000.002 .Click on the button to bring your entry in the list. Now write something in the field "hostname". Write in what you like, its not important, but there has to be something. Close all windows by clicking on "OK" and restart windows. At last, we have to configure a browser.


Internetexplorer: (remember, I don't have an english version!)
Start the IE and choose the menuentry extras->internetoptions. Click on the label "Connections" and choose "Setup". In the new window choose the entry which lets you configure a network over a LAN manually. On the next page choose "manual proxyserver". The following page asks you for the servers. In the field "Socks:" enter the IP of your Amiga again (By me its 192.168.0.2) and the portnumber 1080, thats all. Two pages later DON'T setup an email-account. Before we finish this setup go to your Amiga and go online ONLY with you Internetconnection. After this go online with your LAN connection. Go back to the PC and finish the setup. Now the PC should be able to access pages on the internet through your Amiga


Netscape: (remember, I don't have an english version!)
Start Netscape and open the preferences. (Maybe called options). On the left side click on the small "+" before,.. hmm, how is it called expanded or extended, maybe. Now there should be an entry (left) "Proxies". click on it and choose on the right "Manual Proxy Configuration". Click on diplay, show it,... to open a new window. In the field "Socks:" enter the IP of your Amiga again (By me its 192.168.0.2) and the portnumber 1080, thats all. Save everything and hope it will work. Go to your Amiga and go online ONLY with you Internetconnection. After this go online with your LAN connection. Now the PC should be able to access pages on the internet through your Amiga


Problems with the clients: On some URLs the browser fails to load the page, or youre unable to send mails through the router. This is because most drivers of your networkdevice having a default value of 1500 for the MTU. What you have to do is to change this value to 1462 (fast) or 552(slow, not recommendet). On an Amiga as client you can change the MTU directly in Miami or Genesis. On Linux this should be possible, too. If your using Windows on your client, there is - however - a problem. Windows doesnt offer the possibility to change the MTU. I used a tool called Dr.Tcp, which I found with www.google.de (a search engine). Just start the tool and change the MTU on the possible fields to 1462. Restart the computer and your done.