On Sun, Mar 27, 2011 at 9:16 AM, Paul Schenkeveld <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi, > > I've been happily using many Soekris network appliances for almost 10 > years now but Soekris is not in a big hurry to come with a gigabit > platform :( > > So I am looking for for a decent network appliance platform to start > replacing Soekris boxes. On my wish list are: > > - Can run FreeBSD >= 8.2 (i386 or amd64). > - Models with 4 to 8 (or more) network interfaces, at least 4 gigabit > but all gigabit is better. Preferrably Intel em or igb chips. > - Preferrably a choice of low power CPUs (Intel Atom D510/D525?) and > more powerful CPUs (Core 2/Xeon) > - Bootable from flash or (SATA 2,5") SSD > - 1U rackmount models available but preferrably also small passively > cooled desktop boxes. > - Serial console preferrable over VGA console. > - IPMI would be a plus but not absolutely required. > - Distribution channel in Europe. > > Any ideas? > > Thanks in advance, > > Paul Schenkeveld
I spent the past few months looking for the same thing in US. Unfortunately, I haven't found any existing devices that meet those criteria. The Soekris net6501 [1] should be out some time this year, as you may already know, but there has been very little information about the time frame. In the end, I decided to build my own system, which would meet most of your requirements. The components are listed below: Motherboard: Supermicro X7SPA-HF-D525 (Atom D525) Memory: Crucial CT2KIT25664BC1067 (2x2GB DDR3 1066) Network Card: Intel E1G44HT (4-port gigabit) SSD: OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE60G Enclosure: Thermaltake Element Q VL52021N2U The final price for all components was ~$680. I've had no problems setting up FreeBSD 8.2 amd64 on this box. The system has 6 gigabit ports total (2 em, 4 igb). There is IPMI with KVM-over-IP on em0. No issues with my choice of SSD, though I've now added a hot-swap 3.5" enclosure in the 5.25" bay, which will have a mechanical drive for backup purposes. You'll have to look around for a 1U enclosure. My case has a single fan in the power supply, which I don't mind. It's impossible to hear and creates a tiny bit of airflow right over the CPU heat sink. If you don't want any moving parts at all, take a look at picoPSU from mini-box.com. - Max [1] http://www.soekris.com/net6501.htm _______________________________________________ [email protected] mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-hardware To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[email protected]"
