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Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2012 12:05:21 -0400
From: Gary Palmer <gpalmer@freebsd.org>
To: current@FreeBSD.org
Subject: Re: Buying recommendation for silent router/fileserver
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On Thu, Oct 11, 2012 at 04:54:53PM +0200, Ulrich Sp??rlein wrote:
> 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?

I'd recommend the Soekris net6501, but it's even more expensive than the
intensepc (I suspect due to low hardware volumes but thats just a guess)

http://soekris.com/products/net6501.html

You also don't specify what kind of storage you need, which is obviously
an important factor for a file/media server.

Gary