Low powered router + caching proxy server + news server downloader

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Pada

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As the title states:
I'm looking for a low powered device that I can use as a:
1) router (to dial multiple PPPoE accounts) - preferably Mikrotik Router OS in a VM,
2) transparent proxy server to cache HTTP content
3) NZB downloader (not really important, but it would be a bonus)
4) Wireless 802.11n AP

It doesn't necessarily have to be a single device, but it would be a bonus if I can limit the amount of devices.

I'm not sure if something like the expensive (~R3k) ZOTAC MAG HD-ND01 would be capable of doing all this.
I would then run like Ubuntu 10.10 with XBMC + VirtualBox with RouterOS + Squid Proxy + sabNZBd on it.

Another alternative would be something like the Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH (~R1k) router with squid package and an external HDD.

I'm OK with DD-WRT, but I prefer MikroTik's RouterOS.

Update:
I just found a RouterBoard 411USB (~R660) + Mikrotik R52N 802.11N (~R280) + RouterBoard 411 Indoor Case (~R135) + 5dBi Dual Band Antenna MMCX (~R80) which should be able to do the trick (for under R1200) - seeing that I already have an ADSL modem (Telkom 5100) with 4x 100Mbps ports that I can use as a switch.
 
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Thanks. I'll look into those VM options of the RB4xx series & x86 platforms - but so far it seems like I'll have to go with ROS on an Intel Atom with a guest OS in the VM, and then that Zotac is way too expensive.

I've given my ROS VirtualBox image to 2 friends of mine who have Intel Atom processors, so that I can actually see if the speed is good enough to run Ubuntu (host) + ROS (guest) in a VM.
 
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Pada said:
I've given my ROS VirtualBox image to 2 friends of mine who have Intel Atom processors, so that I can actually see if the speed is good enough to run Ubuntu (host) + ROS (guest) in a VM.
Click to expand...

Why do you want to run something as bloated as Ubuntu? I would just do a base install of Arch, add the services & packages you need and leave it at that.
 
I'm just used to Ubuntu, but I'd definitely consider going for Arch like you said :)
 
I might be missing something, but if indeed you did go the Atom based route, wouldn't an OS like IPCop/m0n0wall/PFSense be a better choice?

If indeed you do go the PC route, get an Atheros based wireless card. You'll notice all Mikrotik products also use Ahteros based wireless NICs. The reason is that they are the best supported in OSs other than Windows.

Also get Intel based Ethernet NICs. A single onboard Intel network card with an off board Intel Pro/1000 GT should do the trick.
One wireless option could be going for the Atheros AR5BXB92, although I see it is only available from Amazon.
Realtek are supported but in my quest for a very fast NAS I've done extensive benchmarks and every time the Intel based solutions are far quicker. Also some Realtek adapters say they are supported but the driver crashes, etc.

You could always just go for a Mikrotek wireless NIC, but they are all mini-PCI slots and I haven't seen those slots on standard motherboards... They do have a mini-PCI -> PCI adapter tho, but atom based system only have 1 PCI slot which could complicate the whole affair.

EDIT: Seems this one is also Atheros: http://www.miro.co.za/detail.aspx?p...ni-PCI Express Cards&spp=802.11n - 2.4 & 5GHz
Info on the chip used in that card: http://www.atheros.com/technology/technology.php?nav1=47&product=85

At work we have a whole bunch of servers running OpenVZ, so if you go virtualization, that is what I would recommend. It is incredibly powerful and very low overhead. Only Linux is supported tho as it isn't hypervisor and instead uses kernel "virtualization" (hence the low overhead)
 
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