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I want to create a static route through a CentOS 7 Server (so that a print server can access a printer). CentOS 7 Server has two interfaces: em1 (10.0.0.5/24 faces the print server) and em2 (10.0.0.6/24 faces the printer). I have not defined a gateway for em2. Print Server has IP address 10.0.0.60/24. Printer has IP address 10.0.0.4/24. The printer's gateway is 10.0.0.6. Services iptables and firewalld are disabled. The intent is to enable and use one of them as a firewall once we figure out routing. enter image description here Steps I have taken:

  • Added the following line to /etc/sysctl.conf: net.ipv4.ip_forward=1
  • Issued the command:
    ip route add 10.0.0.4 dev em2
    This allowed me to ping the printer from within the server but not from outside
    If this route is not set, I cannot ping the printer from the CentOS server.
  • Attempted adding the command
    ip route add 10.0.0.254 dev em1
    To set a route from the em2 to the default gateway. This had no positive effect.
  • Removed both of the previous commands using ip route del
  • Created file /etc/sysconf/network-scripts/route-em2 with the following line:
    10.0.0.4 dev em2
    Restarted network using systemctl restart network
    Still unable to ping from outside, but able to ping the printer from the CentOS 7 printer but not from the network.
  • Enabled iptables and ran the following commands to enable ping through the server:
    iptables --flush
    iptables -A FORWARD -i em1 -o em2 -p icmp -m state --state NEW,ESTABLISHED -j ACCEPT
    iptables -A FORWARD -i em2 -o em1 -p icmp -m state --state NEW,ESTABLISHED -j ACCEPT
    Running these iptables commands did not affect my ability to ping the printer from the print server, but I am still able to ping the printer from the CentOS server.
  • Using the nm-connection-gui, I added the ip address of the printer as an additional ip address on em1. Doing this allows me to ping 10.0.0.4 (printer IP). However, this merely sets up the server as the destination for that IP, and does not allow me to connect to the printer.

Thus far I cannot ping the system from an outside server.
A couple of other things:
- em2 does not have a default gateway specified.
- In the GUI connection manager, the routes shown in the route-em2 file are shown under "Routes" - I did not add them.
- In the GUI connection manager, "Use this connection only for resources on its network" is checked. If I uncheck it, the apply button does not highlight.
- In the GUI connection manager, there are no routes specified for em1. The "Automatic" switch is "ON" for routes on both em1 and em2.

It seems like I have routing set up properly on the local server. I need to figure out how to get other servers to connect to the printer via my CentOS 7 server.

enter image description here

ifcfg-em1 file contents
TYPE=Ethernet
PROXY_METHOD=none
BROWSER_ONLY=no
BOOTPROTO=none
DEFROUTE=yes
IPV4_FAILURE_FATAL=no
IPV6INIT=yes
IPV6_AUTOCONF=yes
IPV6_DEFROUTE=yes
IPV6_FAILURE_FATAL=no
IPV6_ADDR_GEN_MODE=stable-privacy
NAME=em1
UUID=98f63db9-9676-4b85-acce-8292ceee303b
DEVICE=em1
ONBOOT=yes
IPADDR=10.0.0.5
PREFIX=24
GATEWAY=10.0.0.254
DNS1=10.0.0.3
DNS2=10.0.0.6
DOMAIN=REDACTED-FROM-THIS-POST
IPV6_PRIVACY=no

ifcfg-em2 file contents
TYPE=Ethernet
PROXY_METHOD=none
BROWSER_ONLY=no
BOOTPROTO=none
DEFROUTE=no
IPV4_FAILURE_FATAL=no
IPV6INIT=yes
IPV6_AUTOCONF=yes
IPV6_DEFROUTE=yes
IPV6_FAILURE_FATAL=no
IPV6_ADDR_GEN_MODE=stable-privacy
NAME=em2
UUID=f43a309a-a80f-4200-a252-02cf2648574a
DEVICE=em2
ONBOOT=yes
HWADDR=50:9A:4C:6C:79:0B
IPADDR=10.0.0.6
PREFIX=24
IPV6_PRIVACY=no

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    All of the IP addresses you give are 10.0.0.x/24. That means as far as the computers are concerned, all of them are on the same subnet, 10.0.0. What you are describing implies to me that you want 2 different subnets. Try setting up one side to be something like 10.0.1.x/24. Leave the other side as 10.0.0.x/24. – Lewis M Oct 24 '18 at 18:30
  • Lewis M: I have been working on this to replace a deprecated server. The previous server was set up similar to this. – user315445 Oct 24 '18 at 19:09
  • Also, this is to eventually be a firewall. I believe that the desire is for the printer ip addresses to be the same subnet as the print server. – user315445 Oct 24 '18 at 19:20
  • Based on your comments, I get the feeling your diagram is not totally accurate. I suspect that there are 2 switches at least involved, yes? If so, could you update your diagram to show that? What you have currently could be interpreted as all being on the same subnet connected to the same set of switches that can talk to each other. If each side has switches that cannot talk to each other, showing that in the diagram clarifies that the CentOS box is your router/firewall. – Lewis M Oct 24 '18 at 19:26
  • You are correct - I have edited the drawing. There may actually be more than one switch between the print server and the CentOS 7 server, as they are in different buildings. The CentOS7 server - printer side is accurate now. – user315445 Oct 24 '18 at 19:43
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The solution to this problem is not routing, it is the creation of a bridged firewall. The problem I was having with routing was that the systems on both sides of the firewall are from the same subnet. Most literature about firewalls (online and in print) assumes that the firewall is a router or is adjacent to one, and that machines on different sides are on different subnets. When the machines are on the same subnet, a network bridge is the easiest solution.

I was able to implement a solution using a very simple bridge interface configuration as is described in the Red Hat Administration documents here. Once this bridge was in place, I utilized Shorewall software to mange firewall rules. While Shorewall was my choice, a knowledgeable administrator would be able to do the same using iptables services or firewalld. Shorewall provides a helpful instructional page specific to building a bridged firewall here, and this was instrumental in my choice.

I would like to offer my appreciation to the other users who supplied thought-provoking comments to this question.

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