nanog mailing list archives
Re: real hardware router VS linux router
From: "David E. Smith" <dave () mvn net>
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:43:06 -0600
Ryan Harden wrote:
It's quite possible to build Linux-based devices with few or no moving parts. Small embedded boards, and flash drives, are common and cheap; and for low-load situations it's possible to build a passively-cooled (i.e. no fans, so zero moving parts) system.While you could probably build a linux router that is just as fast as a real hardware router, you're always going to run into the moving pieces part of the equation. In almost all scenarios, moving parts are more prone to failure than non-moving parts.
Higher-performance setups with a few moving parts (mainly fans) are still possible, but at some point you have to balance the time and effort of R&D and performance-tuning your system. If you save a few thousand dollars on hardware, but spend a few days tweaking everything, you may not come out ahead after all.
At least two vendors (Imagestream and Mikrotik) offer complete packages based on Linux; the latter also sells the software separately, for installation on your own hardware, and both offer support if you need it.
David Smith MVN.net
Current thread:
- real hardware router VS linux router Deric Kwok (Feb 19)
- Re: real hardware router VS linux router Ryan Harden (Feb 19)
- Re: real hardware router VS linux router David E. Smith (Feb 19)
- RE: real hardware router VS linux router Bill Blackford (Feb 19)
- Re: real hardware router VS linux router Jack Bates (Feb 19)
- Re: real hardware router VS linux router Patrick W. Gilmore (Feb 19)
- Re: real hardware router VS linux router Joel Jaeggli (Feb 19)
- Re: real hardware router VS linux router Ingo Flaschberger (Feb 19)
- Re: real hardware router VS linux router Steve Bertrand (Feb 19)
- Re: real hardware router VS linux router Bill Nash (Feb 19)
- Appropriate list for Linux routers (was: real hardware router VS linux router) Brian Keefer (Feb 19)
- Re: Appropriate list for Linux routers (was: real hardware router VS linux router) Adrian Chadd (Feb 19)
- Re: real hardware router VS linux router Eric Gearhart (Feb 20)
- Re: real hardware router VS linux router Ryan Harden (Feb 19)