Linux Routers Was Re: finding cheap hardware for Linux?

[Greg Dickerson]

Speaking of linux routers.You may want to look at Freesco(see below).. It's
based on the linux kernal, boots off a single floppy and requires no more
than a 486MB/16M RAM and 2 NIC's. I'm using mine on the inside of a DSL line
giving me a no routable 172.16/16 DHCP LAN.

Any one else using somthing like this?

Greg

********* Snip from http://www.freesco.org
FREESCO (stands for FREE ciSCO) is a free replacement for commercial routers
supporting up to 3 ethernet/arcnet/token_ring/arlan network cards and up to
2 modems.
Why should you use Freesco?
Ease of use - it's insanely easy to set up
Thoroughly documented - it's more or less self contained, read one doc and
you're off and running
Like most players in this field, it runs off one floppy
FreeSco runs in as little as 6 Mb RAM.
Unique Web Control Panel
Freesco is the easiest to use, one disk Linux system available.
*********
***************
Greg Dickerson
President GTWorld.net
Visit our website at www.gtworld.net
Email: greg at gtworld.net
***************
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mitch Petenaude" <mrp at sonic.net>
To: <nblug-talk at lists.sonic.net>
Sent: Sunday, January 07, 2001 1:08 AM
Subject: Re: finding cheap hardware for Linux?


> On Sat, Jan 06, 2001 at 06:47:55PM +0000, E Frank Ball wrote:
> > Wattage is what matter for power dissapation in the microprocessor (how
> > big a heatsink you need), but if it runs off a 5Volt power supply
> > current is what matters if you are worried how fast that little wheel in
> > your power meter will be spinning.  The processor plus the voltage
> > regulator on the motherboard draw 5V from the power supply.
> >
> > 1A at 5V=5watts.  720hours/month*5watts=3600watthours or 3.6kW hours.
> > PG&E is charging 13.3 cents/1kW hour above baseline usage.
> > Add in a 10% rate hike, and figure 70% power supply efficiency
> > and you get less than a buck a month for the 486, $2/month for the P60.
>
> Well, I think most chips dissapate more than 5W.  I think that the average
> PIII disappates about 30W, and that some of the athalons will dissapate
> 50-75W.  That raises the price a little.   The other big power sinks in
> PCs are the Monitor (100-300W), and the hard drives (don't know the
> dissapation, but I suspect it's in the 10-20W per drive range while
> it's spun up.
>
> I just picked up a compact-flash<->IDE adaptor (I got mine from
> http://www.tapr.org/tapr/html/Fcfa.html), and am hoping to make
> a 24/7 router from an old 486.  I hope that with no drives, I can
> pull the MB out of the case, do away with all the fans and have a
> quiet, convection cooled machine.
>
>    -- Mitch