Quoting Martin Husemann (martin@duskware.de):
> > For similar $$$, I can build a much better machine with top quality
> > components (RAM, Power and cooling are key to the life of a computer).
> 
> And lots of noise. My 486/50 router was used (diskless) because it made about
> zero noise. It was replaced by a (much older, but much more reliable) Sparc
> Station 2, still diskless. Moving the router to another room was prohibitive
> expensive (cabling, thick walls, time...)
> 
> Installing NetBSD on both machines took the same time (hey, they use the
> same [fast] NFS server).
> 
> Once anything breaks, I'll go out and buy a replacement.
> Ooops, you can't buy silent i386 based computers at the local store? Ouch...
> Your picture of the world is incomplete. Cope.

http://www.soekris.com
486/133  Boots from a compact flash. Will route about 60MB/s.
         No fan, 12v external PS.  < $300

It replaced my home's SPARC 2/router because the thing sucked
power ($20/month), the disks whined and it made lots of heat.

Your 486/50 will handle a T1 with only a little latency (and
few IPFilter rules).

Your Sparc 2 won't fill a single 10baseT network, let alone route
2 (okay, those were LE tests, hme may have fixed).

However, I was suggesting buying a machine for the SAMBA server
which is where the 100baseT card came up.


Would I risk my business on a Sparc 2 (circa 1993) acting as
the router?  No.  If it dies when I was away, my business is
screwed.  Bad business.  My partners/bosses wouldn't stand for it.

As far as noise, frankly, 85dB of fan noise for a server buried
among the Cisco Switches, the Router, the telephone PBX and the 
other stuff in a typical machine room/closet makes no difference.


What would I love for a router?  I'd love to see an ARM chip
that had a slot and supported the HiFN chipset (see also soekris).
I'd love to see it with 3 or 4 Ethernets and support to boot
from a compact flash or a DiskOnChip.  For < $300.