looking for gigabit network appliances

[Paul Schenkeveld]

On Sun, Mar 27, 2011 at 10:04:11AM -0400, Maxim Khitrov wrote:
> On Sun, Mar 27, 2011 at 9:16 AM, Paul Schenkeveld <freebsd at psconsult.nl> 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. Â On my wish list are:
> >
> > Â - Can run FreeBSD >= 8.2 (i386 or amd64).
> > Â - Models with 4 to 8 (or more) network interfaces, at least 4 gigabit
> > Â  Â but all gigabit is better. Â Preferrably Intel em or igb chips.
> > Â - Preferrably a choice of low power CPUs (Intel Atom D510/D525?) and
> > Â  Â more powerful CPUs (Core 2/Xeon)
> > Â - Bootable from flash or (SATA 2,5") SSD
> > Â - 1U rackmount models available but preferrably also small passively
> > Â  Â cooled desktop boxes.
> > Â - Serial console preferrable over VGA console.
> > Â - IPMI would be a plus but not absolutely required.
> > Â - 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 been looking at Supermicro too, that would solve the problem when
no more that 6 interfaces are needed.  However I have a number of boxes
with 7 (net4801+lan1741) or 8 (net5501+lan1741) interfaces in production
and those are the first ones that need replacement.  Anyway, thanks for
sharing your experience!

> 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

Paul Schenkeveld