On 8/17/05, Chris Zakelj <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Kevin wrote: > > >A friend needs to order a basic computer with a good warranty, > >to run as a very basic OpenBSD 3.7 firewall for a cablemodem. > >I'd put one together from parts, but I don't relish doing "won't boot" > >hardware support from 1600 miles away. > > > >Looking at the Dell Dimension line (probably the 2400 or 3000) > >one concern is that I don't see *any* reports, success or failure, > >running OpenBSD on this particular product? > > > >One reason to choose the Dell (with a CPU that is way overkill) is > >that the box may be eventually repurposed as an XP desktop... > > > > > >Alternately, any other suggestions for a US mail order PC > >vendor with fair prices, quick turnaround, a hardware warranty > >and a pre-built small tower which will reliably run OpenBSD? > > > >This is just going to get shoved under a desk, so rackmount > >is not a consideration, and it doesn't need to be perfectly quiet. > > > > > >Thanks, > > > >Kevin > > > I used one of the Dell Optiplex line about 2 years ago to build a > firewall at a chemical plant. I specifically asked my boss to get me > the bloody cheapest thing he could that had a PCI slot, and that's what > I ended up with. As long as you stick to the hardware compatibility > list, you shouldn't have any trouble. I will note that when I built > that firewall, the embedded NIC was an xl, which of course threw out all > sorts of "Command not completed" errors. Whether or not that is still a > problem on current kernels (this was built in the 3.3 days), I couldn't > tell you, as my current home firewall has an rl and an fxp in it. > >
I still use (in 3.7-release) several 3Com 3C905B-TX fast etherlink PCI boards and I don't see any errs as far as I can tell.
