Like many folks on this list (I'm guessing), I have a lot of PC-type
hardware at tower locations. Right now, it's mostly RouterBoard 230s and
WRAPs, but those systems just don't have all that much CPU power, and
I'd like to try to improve things. When you start seriously tinkering
with traffic shaping, firewalling, and especially some of the advanced
filtering you can do with Linux these days, 233MHz just doesn't go as
far as it used to.
There are all kinds of cheap computers out there, so getting something
with more CPU power than those boards (both of which are basically
Pentium 233s or so) isn't the problem.
The problems are size/space, and that pesky weather.
Ideally, I'd like something with at least double the raw horsepower (a
P-500 or better), not too much larger than a RouterBoard, and that can
handle temperatures from -20 to +120 (Fahrenheit, obviously, and those
numbers are the highs and lows from the last couple years, with a bit of
breathing room). I'm shooting for "no moving parts," so a fanless system
would be ideal.
And while it needs to be small, it also needs to have at least two
Ethernet ports, and for bonus points, access to a PCI slot (for adding
things like miniPCI card adapters).
I'd also like a flying car. :D
If it existed, a Soekris 5501 would probably fill the bill, but it's
been listed as "coming soon" since late 2004. There's also a number of
low-end VIA EPIA-based boards that, while a bit larger than I'd really
prefer, would probably work. (Eje at wisp-router sells a couple systems
that look like they'd do the job.)
So, does anyone have any recommendations on specific hardware for
something like this? Surely someone else out there has run into the same
kind of problems. I suspect my size constraint will be the most
difficult, but it's also the most flexible. Reliability is obviously my
top concern.
David Smith
MVN.net
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