Low power device to run 24/7?

[HavocXphere]

I'm looking for a device that can run 24/7 to do some downloading & perhaps act as a firewall/QoS.

Raspberry Pi would be ideal, but their website say 17 weeks till deliver.

HP Microserver is a bit of an overkill. Plus too expensive...cheaper to just run an existing PC 24/7.

Any other ideas on which device to use?

Also, to use it as a FW, I'd need to split ADSL modem & access point into 2 devices so that I can stick the FW device in between. Any advice on what to buy there?

[Pada]

You don't need to split the ADSL modem & AP into 2 devices. If you setup your DHCP server such that your FW becomes the default gateway, then you can limit/throttle all the Internet traffic.
The only thing that you can't do is to prevent people from dialing PPPoE accounts or from logging in on the web interface of the ADSL modem.

What OS do you intend to use for firewall & downloading?

[HavocXphere]

You don't need to split the ADSL modem & AP into 2 devices. If you setup your DHCP server such that your FW becomes the default gateway, then you can limit/throttle all the Internet traffic.

Ah clever.

In that case, whats the current favoured router? n standard, ADSL 2+, 4x ethernet type of deal.

The only thing that you can't do is to prevent people from dialing PPPoE accounts or from logging in on the web interface of the ADSL modem.

Nobody except me will be using the setup, so its more a question of making bits & bytes behave rather than people.

What OS do you intend to use for firewall & downloading?

Anything that can run FW, QoS and a CLI NNTP prog. Debian would be nice. Depending on the hardware perhaps Smoothwall etc since that might make the FW/QoS part easier.

Thanks Pada

[Chevron]

I'd say get something zacate based like the e-350/e-450.

[xumwun]

Your adsl modem should have a firewall built in.

[ponder]

http://www.h-online.com/open/news/it...m-1582805.html

See second paragraph for list of comparable options. There's also that chinese board I can't remember the name of right now.

[Pada]

ponder:
I'm a bit skeptical about running a firewall off an Android device. Is it at all possible to do that?

xumwun:
Very few ADSL modems include decent QoS schedulers. Most newer ADSL modems includes SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) firewalls, but that is pretty much where it stops.

HavocXphere:
How are you going to attach your storage to this device? Do you have a NAS or do you want to connect it via USB?

I bought an HP Microserver @ R1200 and 4x 2TB Seagate low powered drives, because I didn't have a NAS yet and I wanted to run MikroTik RouterOS and a transparent proxy server to cache web content. Unfortunately the hard drives and HP Microservers are quite expensive at this point in time, and you can run a current PC for quite a long while before you're going to save by buying an HP Microserver instead. My colleague configured his HP Microserver to power down his hard drives when they're not in use for 15 minutes. He's also downloading his torrent into a RAM drive and only copying them over to the hard drive once the download is complete - so he barely switches on his hard drives.

Nowadays you get standalone routers (not ADSL modems as far as I know) that can do NNTP downloads, attach USB storage devices, etc. - but they are about just as much as an HP Microserver (~R2000).

Perhaps you can try to source a Rasberry Pi from someone who doesn't want it any more

[GarethC]

I have an Intel D510MO which has served me well. Based on the Atom processor runs fairly well, low power and has Gigabit LAN.

[Pada]

A soon as you go for an Intel Atom build, then you'll probably end up with it costing you roughly the same as an HP Microserver, because you still need RAM, HDD, PSU and a case! I went that route before I knew about the HP Microserver, and the CFi case that I had was terrible, because it could only fit 40mm fans and the passively cooled Intel D525 did require active cooling in that small case.

You can always have a look at the Intel D2500 Mini-ITX build: http://www.prophecy.co.za/intel-houl...-p-115651.html @ R652.08 (for the CPU + motherboard).

[ponder]

ponder:
I'm a bit skeptical about running a firewall off an Android device. Is it at all possible to do that?

Dunno. I would just install linux on it anyway.

[HavocXphere]

Thanks for all the responses people. I've looked through them...its seems they are all either in the Microserver price class or have similarly long lead times. e.g. The APC can't even be pre-ordered anymore.

How are you going to attach your storage to this device? Do you have a NAS or do you want to connect it via USB?

Long term plan is a NAS. Short term plan is an external HDD - probably powered via USB hub.

I bought an HP Microserver

I'd go that route too, but I'm burning through cash rather fast atm (renovations etc), so I'm a bit price sensitive.

you can run a current PC for quite a long while before you're going to save by buying an HP Microserver instead.

That is perhaps the best option for now. I've check - a Microserver is about 1 year worth of desktop PC electricity bill.

How far can one push the electricity bill of a C2D down with underclocking & such? Can I run *nix without any gfx?

Thanks guys

[Pada]

I'd reckon that you can save quite a bit if you can let your hard drive power off when not in use after say 30 minutes + if you downclock and disable EIST (Intel Enhanced Speedstep Technology) on the CPU.
You'll probably save the most by letting your PC go into standby during the day if you're not home.

You should be able to run Linux without a graphics card present, but I haven't tried this.

[Pada]

I'd reckon that you can save quite a bit if you can let your hard drive power off when not in use after say 30 minutes + if you downclock and disable EIST (Intel Enhanced Speedstep Technology) on the CPU.
You'll probably save the most by letting your PC go into standby during the day if you're not home.

You should be able to run Linux without a graphics card present, but I haven't tried this.

I'm actually tempted to buy like a 16GB flash drive for like R150 and to let all my temporary downloads be stored on the flash drive and that only the final copies be copied onto my hard drive(s). I'd reckon I can save quite a bit by shutting down & using my 4x 2TB hard drives less - seeing that I'm pretty much just using them from like 20:00 - 01:00 on most days.

EDIT:
Ai. Seems like I'll have to run my OS from a flashdrive - like my colleague did it, because too many applications do stuff on the OS volume, and seeing that all 4x 2TB drives are in RAID, they are pretty much always active.

[czc]

One of these? http://www.landmarkpc.co.za/store/in...7c736303c15e13

[gregmcc]

Order the pi now and before you know it the 17 weeks will be over.

Im going to order a few more. One media center, one firewall with ipfire and one a download server