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Hardware Suggestions for an x86 Linux WAN Router?

Posted by Cliff on from the please-toss-your-thoughts-into-the-cookie-jar dept.

il_seba asks: "We are looking for x86 hardware which could be used to build a stilish/compact WAN router for our LUG. The main requirements, in no precise order, are: small size, fanless operation (low power/low heat CPU + compact flash boot medium), on-board fast ethernet and a single PCI slot. The actual candidates are IGEL thin-clients and ALLWELL STB1030N, although if you have more, we'd appreciate knowing about them. We just need the barebone system, as we'll provide software by ourselves."

5 of 18 comments (clear)

  1. Re:a real controller... by Cato · · Score: 3

    It all depends what you are trying to do....It's unlikely a LUG is building a 128 Gbps backplane router, to say the least.

    A Pentium or even a 486 is fine for most WAN links - e.g. I run a 1 Mbps ADSL connection with a Linux firewall based on an old 486/75 laptop. Most Cisco remote site routers are slower than this - the old 2500 was about the same as a 386.

  2. this is it by chrismcc@netus.com · · Score: 5

    Hello...

    This is _exactly_ what you want. and it has 3, that is three, built in eithernet ports.

    http://www.embsd.org

    http://www.embsd.org/order.html

    Specifications:

    * 133 Mhz. AMD ElanSC520 (486DX)
    * 32 or 64 Mbyte SDRAM, soldered on board
    * 1-4 Mbit BIOS/BOOT Flash
    * CompactFLASH Type I/II socket, 8 Mbyte FLASH to 1Gbyte IBM Microdrive
    * 3 10/100 mbit Ethernet ports, RJ-45
    * 1 Serial port, DB9.
    * Power LED, Activity LED, Extra LED(software programable)
    * MiniPCI type III socket. (for optional hardware encryption?)
    * PCI Slot, right angle 3.3V only. (for optional WAN board or more ethernet interfaces or maybe a HDD?)
    * Board size 5.5" x 5.5"
    * Power either 5V DC fixed or 6-20V DC, max 8W
    * Operating temperature 0-60 C

    --
    Christopher McCrory "The guy that keeps the servers running" chrismcc@gmail.com http://www.pricegrabber.com
  3. a real controller... by selectspec · · Score: 3

    x86 makes for losy controller cause Intel and AMD microprocessors don't handle low-latency I/O very well. If you are building something that really needs to crank, you need a real I/O controller. Something like Sibytes mercurian probably will do the trick. You can run a MIPS linux on it and its low power (approximately 10 Watts). Its a MIPS64 instruction set. The thing has an interprocessor bus that can crank out like 128Gb/s.

    --

    Someone you trust is one of us.

  4. Linux Router Project by Change · · Score: 2

    Try the Linux Router Project. Designed to fit on a floppy and then expand to a RAMdisk. It should work with just about any PC you've got sitting around.

  5. Check out embedded platforms by JohnTheFisherman · · Score: 3

    Though neither supports a PCI slot directly, try PC-104 (www.pc104.com or www.pc104.org) or Compact PCI (http://www.picmg.org/). Depending on what options you need in the end, these can offer Ethernet, video, audio, and almost anything else you need in a small form factor. PC104 is ISA in a smaller form factor, so it's slower, but pretty reasonably priced now.

    --
    +5:offtopic,but anti-American