SmallWall Developers' Handbook

Lee Sharp

This guide is based on the work of Chris Buechler and others from the m0n0wall Handbook.

SmallWall Version 1.8.x, May 2015

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Redistribution and use in any form, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

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  • Neither the name of the SmallWall Documentation Project nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this documentation without specific prior written permission.

THIS DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS DOCUMENTATION OR THE ASSOCIATED SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

May 2015

Abstract

A guide for SmallWall developers.


Table of Contents

1. The complete guide to building a SmallWall image from scratch
1.1. Installing FreeBSD
1.2. Updating and installing needed packages
1.3. SVN Checkout and Build Scripts
1.4. Running the SmallWall build scripts
2. SmallWall Hacker's Guide
2.1. Modifying a running firewall with exec.php
2.2. Modifying an image with workon.sh
2.3. Working with a running file system with pxe boot
2.4. Unpacking/Editing/Packing the Source
2.5. Submitting Changes
3. Other Documentation
4. Development Frequently Asked Questions
4.1. I don't have a FreeBSD box to develop new features for SmallWall, is there an easier way?
4.2. What patches have been applied to the FreeBSD source that is used in SmallWall, and are they available?
4.3. Where can I find the SmallWall source code?
4.4. Is there any information available on the unsupported extensions support?