Re: [seul-edu] Advice on Linux servers - LRP

[Cameron Miller <cdmiller@adams.edu>]

Paolo Pumilia wrote:

> Speaking about routers/server, i run across 'openrouter':
> http://www.inaccessnetworks.com/projects/openrouter/
> a project sponsored by UE, it seems.
> 
> It is intended for SME and SOHO, but it could also be used 
> in schools.
> It is more expensive than a box out of the shelf, but 
> i guess it should perform much better. 
> What are pros/cons of chosing a specfically assembled hardware
> to set up a router?               
> 
 

I have had nothing but good experiences with in house built Linux 
routers.  Depending on the task, a Linux router is quite capable.  At 
one time I had a small campus backbone running on a Pentium 133 LRP 
machine, (32MB RAM), replacing a dead Cisco 4000.

Advanced features such as QOS support apparently work fairly well 
according to some reports I have read.  The QOS just looks like a pain 
to comprehend and set up.  I am unaware of how well the 802.1q VLAN 
tagging and policy based routing works.  If these last items work well 
it is one of the last barriers to using an LRP type solution versus a 
vendor like Cisco in most smaller routing situations.

Currently for a simple router, (static routes, port filtering, NAT, 
QOS), an LRP solution is great. If you have older hardware available, it 
costs nothing to at least try it out.


- cameron

-- 
- cameron miller
- UNIX Systems Administrator
- cdmiller@adams.edu