Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 17:29:55 -0500 From: Vulpes Velox <kitbsdlists@HotPOP.com> To: "J. Seth Henry" <jshamlet@comcast.net> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: FreeBSD as router - performance vs hardware routers Message-ID: <20030814172955.07971694.kitbsdlists@HotPOP.com> In-Reply-To: <1060871994.5979.12.camel@alexandria> References: <1060871994.5979.12.camel@alexandria>
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On 14 Aug 2003 10:39:55 -0400 "J. Seth Henry" <jshamlet@comcast.net> wrote: > Hello, > I have recently been having problems with my Netgear RT314 broadband > gateway router. Having decided to replace it, I started searching for a > new router - only to discover that every sub $300 router I found had a > history of problems. Lockups, random reboots, or worse, they would just > turn into black holes (like my RT314). > > First, and I know this is off-topic, is anyone here happy with their > router enough to recommend it? I'd prefer to go with a hardware router, > but I prize reliability and stability apparently higher than the current > crop of manufacturers. Even the Cisco SOHO9x/83x series has a bad track > record, and they are $250/$500 respectively! I'd like to keep it under > $300, as I can build a mini-ITX box with everything I need for a router > for about that. > > Barring finding a decent, reliable router, I thought about building a > mini-ITX system (with the 800Mhz C3) with a second NIC, and a CF card > for storage - and using FreeBSD as a router. I'm fairly certain that I > can get most of what I need to work going, DHCP client on the WAN link, > DHCP server and NAT/PAT on the LAN side. Apparently, firewall support is > built-in as well. > > What I'm not sure about is performance. Has anyone built a cable modem > gateway router using FreeBSD and "low-end" hardware like this? If so, > what were your results? > > Also, can a FreeBSD router support things like the Vonage VOIP box (the > Cisco ATA186)? > > Thanks, > Seth Henry I personally would go with FreeBSD as a router. I have been used both a 200Mhz P1 and a 300Mhz P2 as routers with out problems. I personally have really liked being able to ssh into it su to root and change what ever I want to. It makes for a really flexible system. BTW I would suggest staying away from rl cards. I have a problems with them befor, especially under heavy load. Fxp cards and dc cards have done well from my experience.
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