On Sat, 22 Oct 2005, michael hast wrote:
> Eben King wrote:
>
> >On Sat, 22 Oct 2005, michael hast wrote:
> >
> >>How much processing power and memory should I have to set up a proxy
> >>server/gateway-router for my home network? Would a 500MB processor
> >>w/~300MB ram do it? Are there any pros or cons to beefing up the power?
> >>If I should set up such a deal, would I be able to double it as a web/mail
> >>server, or would I be better off using a different machine for that
> >>purpose? I'm sure that all of you can tell that I am limited in these
> >>arts, so what kind of a quest do I have in front of me to achieve such
> >>goals? Thank you in advance.
> >
> >Well, I used a 486-66 dx/2 with <1G HD and <100MB RAM, but that was with
> >no X, kernel 2.2, not handling any services but IP routing and DHCP for
> >4-8 clients AFAIR and old router SW. Its load was almost always 0.00.
> >I'd say, an old, slow, small machine is fine for the task. Maybe one
> >that's too slow for general use.
> >
> So, in other words, I may not want to waste hardware even like what I've
> got for a project like that?
It wouldn't be a *waste* to make one, but don't spend a lot of money on the
hardware; it's not a very demanding application. You'll get more bang per
buck by buying kick-butt NICs and a less studly CPU than the other way
around, I think.
> I bet I could locate something really slow for cheap, cheap, cheap.
Free, even, if you dumpster dive or ask the right people.
> I have a .4GB hard drive I could use for it.
400 MB? That's pushing it. You might have trouble installing onto
something that small.
> And I suppose I'll save the ram for something that could make good use
> of it.
Say one of your machines is full of N MB DIMMs. You could replace one of
them by a bigger DIMM and put the displaced N MB DIMM in the new router box.
Voila, each machine gets an upgrade.
> There are plenty of machines around here that I could probably use it in
> if the gateway wouldn't need it.
Not running X or unnecessary services on the gateway would help with memory
appetite too.
> The only problem is that I feel bad wasting a cd on it, but I don't
> really use any floppies anymore.
Eh, use a CD-RW in that case. CDs cost what, a quarter anyhow?
> There are only a couple of computers in the house that even have them
> anymore.
Yeah, I took the cable out of one machine to improve airflow. The BIOS
still thinks it's there; I need to convince it otherwise one of these days.
-- I firmly believed we should not march into Baghdad ...To occupy Iraq would instantly shatter our coalition, turning the whole Arab world against us and make a broken tyrant, into a latter-day Arab hero assigning young soldiers to a fruitless hunt for a securely entrenched dictator [.] - George Bush Sr.----------------------------------------------------------------------- This list is provided as an unmoderated internet service by Networked Knowledge Systems (NKS). Views and opinions expressed in messages posted are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of NKS or any of its employees.
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