Buying recommendation for silent router/fileserver

[Hendrik Hasenbein]

On 12.10.2012 11:03, Ulrich Spörlein wrote:
> On Thu, 2012-10-11 at 17:05:46 +0200, Rainer Duffner wrote:
>> Am Thu, 11 Oct 2012 16:54:53 +0200
>> schrieb Ulrich Spörlein <uqs at FreeBSD.org>:
>>
>>> Hey guys,
>>>
>>> I need to replace an aging Pentium IV system that has been serving as
>>> my router, access point, file- and mediaserver for quite some time
>>> now. The replacement should have:
>>>
>>> - amd64 CPU (for ZFS, obviously)
>>> - 2x GigE (igress, egress interfaces)
>>> - some form of wlan interface (I currently use an Atheros based PCI
>>> card)
>>> - eSATA for attaching a backup disk where I stream ZFS snapshots to
>>> - serial port is always nice, for when I mess up an upgrade
>>> - fan-less if possible
>>>
>>> So far, this here seems to fit the bill perfectly
>>> http://www.fit-pc.com/web/fit-pc/intensepc/
>>> but pricing seems to defy any reality.
>>>
>>> It does not state directly which chipsets are used for Wifi and
>>> Ethernet, the block diagram claims Ethernet chips to be Intel 82579
>>> and RTL8111D, but I don't trust that fully.
>>>
>>> For Wifi I can always fall back to sticking in a supported USB stick,
>>> although that's kinda hacky.
>>>
>>> So how well is networking going to be supported by FreeBSD? Should I
>>> just bite the bullet and find out?
>>
>>
>>
>> What about the 
>>
>> HP ProLiant N40L
>> ?
>>
>> It's not fanless, of course - but it's IMO more suited for a
>> server-type system than anything else in that price-range.

It has a big fan which doesn't generate much noise. It is also decent
looking in case you need to integrate it into a living room.

>> I don't have one (I have no need for anything beyond what an
>> AlIX-system can do) - but if I would need a home-server, I'd buy a N40L
>> (it can boot from USB and you can thus boot FreeNAS from it)
> 
> Interesting one, with only one GigE port though, both PCIe slots would
> need to be populated to get a second Ethernet and a Wifi port ...

I don't think that would be a drawback unless you want to cramp in a
second SSD (or more) into the 5.25" slot. Maybe there is a
wireless/wired combo card, but I havent found one. The USB boot + SSD
(zfs cache) + 4 disks is a nice storage solution.

mata ne,
Hendrik

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