[Madlug] small form-factor, low-power hardware for Linux

[Matt Radtke]

> I do have considerable experience working with this type of hardware.
> I've used Soekris net4801 and net5501 boards and several boards based on
> VIA processors (from the original VIA EPIA to the latest C7 based
> boards).  It really depends what you're looking to do with the board.
> My uses varied from a firewall to a car-pc.  All of these boards support
> PXE booting.  Most are available with multiple internet connections
>
> The new Soekris boards and PC Engines ALIX boards are based on the Geode
> LX processor.  It's the current Geode processor.  AMD has discontinued
> the older Geode processor used on the net4801 and PC Engines WRAP board.
>   These boards make great firewalls and very capable Asterisk systems
> for small offices.  They lack VGA and sound and require a serial console
> connection for configuration.  Most of these boards have a mini-pci slot
> to allow the addition of a wireless adapter.

I've been using both a Soekris 4801 and a WRAP--the Soekris as my
firewall and a the WRAP as a wireless access point.  Both work very
well.  Both have 3 NICs, CF adaptor, and a MiniPCI slot.  The Soekris
also has an IDE bus for a laptop sized hard drive, although I would
never really consider using one.

My only complaint with either machine is the cost of launching a
python interpreter--painful.  (Little 266mhz boxen were not meant to
launch such a thing quickly).  And since I use some python bits for my
captive portal, I'll be looking into upgrading to an ALIX in the near
future.

-Matt
-- 
Matthew Radtke
matthew.radtke at gmail.com

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