Date: Fri, 2 May 1997 12:52:49 -0500 (CDT) From: "M. L. Dodson" <bdodson@beowulf.utmb.edu> To: patb@commlitho.com, freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Rock Solid System Message-ID: <199705021752.MAA08231@beowulf.utmb.edu>
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> > Hi: > > I've noticed some differing opinions about this subject, so I would > appreciate > any advice from long-time sysadmins. > > I'm starting a small ISP operation in the next couple of weeks and I'm > looking for a box that will hold up without any extensive babysitting. > > I've created a "beta box" on a p100 w/32mb RAM, EIDE 2GB HD (Seagate), IDE > CD ROM (Some generic cheapo hitachi), 3com 10/100 NIC. So far the only > problem I have with this setup is the network interface seems to dissappear > on occasion. I currently have a bandaid on this problem with a periodic > ping setup from the console to keep the interface "up" > > I obviously plan on finding the culprit and fixing it permanently. But that > is why I'm turning to this list. I do not have extensive Unix experience, > and virtually none w/FreeBSD. I chose it because of price and user/support > reputation. > > I was plannning on using a P166 with intel PCI MB, 64Mb Ram, 4 Gb SCSI > drive (Hawk or Baracuda), Adaptec 2940w, and 3Com NIC. > > Any suggestions or experience based opinions would be greatly appreciated. > The Dec DC21x4x chip-based cards (de driver) are generally better choices for PCI-based ethernet cards on FreeBSD because of the quality of the driver. The driver for the 3Com cards has a somewhat checkered history, although the general lack of questions about them over the past several months would seem to indicate that the stability is now pretty good. I've seen several postings to the effect that 3Com no longer sets any kind of quality standard in ethernet cards. I wouldn't trust a business to one. Depending your subscriber base, 64Mb of ram may be rate limiting. There is a mailing list for ISP providers based on FreeBSD, I think. See http://www.freebsd.org for info. -- M. L. Dodson bdodson@scms.utmb.edu 409-772-2178 FAX: 409-772-1790
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