looking for gigabit network appliances

[Rick van Hattem]

On Monday 28 March 2011 19:29:47 Paul Schenkeveld wrote:
> 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!

Perhaps a device like that in combination with a managed switch can be an 
option? Assuming that you don't expect to fill all gbit ports simultaneously 
ofcourse.

Just trunk a few connections with LACP and use 802.11Q to give every switch 
connection a separate interface on the box and you've got a system that easily 
supports 24 gigabit ports.

You can use a Procurve 1810G-8 which is only ~$80 in addition to just about 
any machine with one (or a couple) of gigabit ports.

Rick van Hattem