Mike Smith wrote:
>
> > I'm putting together some specs for a type of firewall appliance using
> > the eventual released version of FreeBSD 4 (targeting 4.x because I need
> > GCC 2.95.x as core compiler). My current machine specs use the
> > following hardware which I am not yet sure will be well supported.
> >
> > FIC PAG-2130 Micro-ATX motherboard with 2/MB cache (Apollo MVP4 chipset)
> > AMD K6-III/450 processor
> > (2) 10.1GB Maxtor DiamondMAX Plus 40 7200 RPM IDE HDDs (mirrored)
>
> These should all be fine, although you may want to go for something in the
> 5400rpm range if thermal issues concern you. The speed differential
> isn't massive, and disk speed probably isn't an issue for you.
This hard drive seems to be somewhat extraordinary in regards to heat
generation. I'm using two now in a test machine, it remains cool to the
touch after a 'make world -j4' under FreeBSD 3.3 even though enclosed in
a standard single fan cooled ATX case. It also outperformed a 10k WD
Digital Advantage SCSI drive in the same task by about 7%. I have to
really hand it to Maxtor for releasing some exceedingly high quality
drives as of late.
I'm concerned about possible poor interactions with the new ATA driver
however. I have seen very little posted regarding the MVP3 or MVP4
chipset in freebsd-current.
> > Poware IM-7500 IDE Hot Swappable IDE RAID device
>
> This one might be interesting. Does it do automatic rebuilds?
>
Yes, it claims to do on-line recovery. It is also OS independent. I
will be testing a few of these units this month. Try
http://www.poware.com.tw for more info.
> > Intel EtherExpress PRO/100+ Dual Port NIC (this is recognized as two fxp
> > devices?)
>
> Yup.
>
> > I have not been running CURRENT extensively, so I would like to know
> > anyone's experiences with any of the above hardware, or any
> > recommendations on hardware with a better price/performance ratio at a
> > low thermal (chassis is very compact).
>
> You might want a slower and cooler CPU (consider a Celeron), a board with
> less cache (cooler), and slower disks. Without any sort of benchmarking
> feel for your application, it's hard to know where tradeoffs are
> worthwhile.
I was looking at the PPGA Celerons earlier. I'm a little concerned
about the cache size though. What is interesting to me is the
K6-III/450's and their 64KB Level 1 cache and 256KB Level 2 cache. I am
guessing that coupled with the FIC PAG-2130's 2MB Level 3 cache, there
could be a significant performance advantage for memory intensive
processing. I may put together a Celeron 500 system and benchmark it
against a K6-III/450 with the FIC motherboard. Perhaps the K6-III cache
size advantage is just theoretical.
Processing performance is critical as I would like to minimize as much
as possible the additional latency added by the firewall and filtering
applications, as the amount of conditions being processed is extensive.
> > I was also considering using a NIC from 3COM, or Netgear, or even
> > Kingston, but it seems that the Intel EtherExpress PRO/100+ is currently
> > the best option. I understand the 3C905 may also be good, but it lacks
> > an onboard processor.
>
> The EtherExpress Pro/100 also 'lacks an onboard processor'. Both the
> Intel and 3Com adapters are good choices; I would be choosing based on
> price and performance in your application.
Aah, yes, I was thinking of the Pro/100 Intelligent Server Adapter with
the i960 processor (I'm don't see any driver support for this one).
Hmm... is there any supported NICs with a processor to offload the main
CPU? What about the Thunderlan based cards? Perhaps spending more on a
NIC could justify a lower powered CPU.
> --
> \\ Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. \\ Mike Smith
> \\ Tell him he should learn how to fish himself, \\ [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> \\ and he'll hate you for a lifetime. \\ [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Thanks for the insights.
--
Nathan Kinsman |[EMAIL PROTECTED]| |http://www.mentisworks.com|
Managing Partner / Network Systems Architect, Mentisworks LLC
Voice/Fax: | Chicago | +1 312 803-2220 | Sydney | + 61 2 9475 4500
All correspondence should be considered confidential.
To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
with "unsubscribe freebsd-current" in the body of the message
