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Hello,

> because my good SPARCstation LX cannot serve me as a DSL router any 
> more
> (it lacks the ability to connect the PPPoA USB DSL modem) I'm 
> considering
> to buy an old PowerMac as replacement. I'm looking for a machine which 
> ...
>
> 1.) ... works fine under NetBSD.
Most do, NewWorld Macs should be a bit easier to set up.

> 2.) ... has an on board ethernet port.
Most PowerMacs have onboard Ethernet, some Performas and the 4400 don't 
though.

> 3.) ... has either USB 1.1 or a free PCI slot.
All NewWorld Macs have onboard USB, all OldWorld PowerMacs have PCI. 
Some Performas are the exception again...

> 4.) ... is faster than a SPARCstation LX (because the PPPoA stack is
>     userland based and needs more CPU power).
The LX has a 50MHz MicroSPARC if I remember correctly - any 604(e) 
should be faster, most 603s too, at least in CPU terms.

> 5.) ... is quiet.
Most 604s, some G3s and a few G4 ( think PowerMac Cube ) don't need 
active CPU cooling so the only noise is from the PSU fan and harddisks.

> 6.) ... doesn't consume much power.
The older PowerPCs are pretty low-power.

> 7.) ... isn't too expensive (this rules out the Mac Mini).
YMMV...

> Nice to have:
> 1.) 100MBit/Sec ethernet
Get a cheap PCI card. If I remember correctly the first G4s and 
probably some later G3s were the first with 100MBit Ethernet onboard.

> 2.) Support for serial console
All OldWorld PowerMacs, some Performas and the beige G3. Later Macs 
don't have serial ports.

I guess your best bet is an OldWorld desktop Mac, maybe a 7300, it has 
onboard SCSI, Ethernet ( although only 10MBit ), can take a lot of RAM 
( 1GB ), 3 PCI slots so adding USB and probably IDE shouldn't be a 
problem and it has the usual OldWorld CPU slot so you can upgrade it up 
to a G4 or use whatever fanless CPU you want and serial console should 
just work. You may have some hassle with OpenFirmware though, it should 
have 1.0.5 which is known to be a bit touchy. I'd also recommend to run 
a -current kernel on this kind of hardware, it contains a LOT of 
improvements that didn't make it into 2.0.
Dig around on http://www.everymac.com/ - they have specs for almost 
anything Mac-like ever built.

hope that helps
Michael
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