Cool tech - if it doesn't exist, somebody ought to build it
I've been designing a device in my head. This ought to exist, but if it does I'm not quite sure what it would be called or how I could find it. Maybe some of you other techies out there can point me in the right direction - or set me straight.
It started with my long-held desire for a replacement wireless router. But I'd like one that is also a firewall (my current Vigor 2200We has this, but I understand that most routers have only rudimentary firewall functionality). I'd also like a simple WiFi registration system (I like the idea of sharing my internet connection, but want to have a way of asking people to play nice and warning them what will get them thrown off). And I'd like some other always-on services to allow access to my network from outside (eg. sending wake-on-LAN packets, proxy for my TiVos, etc).
All these functions can be performed by a Linux box. I could buy an old PC, stick Linux/apache/wol on it, write a few scripts, and I'd be away. This has several disadvantages:
What I'd like is a low-power box, a bit like a wireless router, that runs Linux. Actually some wireless routers do run Linux (eg. the Linksys WRT54GL), but they aren't really general-purpose boxes that can be easily expanded.
My ideal box, would be closer to a PC, but without disk or video card or sound card - ie. a low-power headless server. It wouldn't have to be i386 compatible - any processor supporting Linux would do. The only ports it would need would be ethernet, a few USB slots, and maybe WiFi (otherwise it could use a WiFi USB stick). It would have enough RAM for basic applications (128 MB?) and flash memory instead of disk - enough for a basic Linux installation and a bit more for other stuff (2GB?).
A low-power (in watts and MHz) processor would mean no fan. That, and keeping all expansion via USB would mean it could stay small - not much bigger than a home router. After all, that spec isn't much more than my PDA, so it should be possible. I really don't understand how tech is priced, but surely such a thing could sell for under £100 (dabs sells the WRT54GL for £41.67). Flash memory and RAM is cheap (2GB USB flash is £1 at Amazon, and 512 MB of RAM is ~£10 at dabs), so we could probably be generous there.
Actually, such a box could be used for all sorts of things: a personal web server or disk server (plugging in a USB drive) come to mind. I can also see various places they could be used at work: at the moment when we need a new service (DHCP server, say), it often entails buying a new PC for reliability, even though that is vastly over-specced for the requirement. One of these boxes could do the job.
It could come with Linux and Apache pre-installed, and a few standard applications controlled via the web - like most routers are these days. It would allow ssh access so you could install additional software (or even install a different OS) or detailed configuration. As something that looks like consumer electronics, but is a fully-fledged PC, such a device could find all sorts user-developed applications - as has happened with, eg. PDAs, TiVo, the WRT54GL. (This would be helped along if all its software were Open Source.)
So, does such a thing exist, or am I missing some point as to why it's more complicated to do what I propose? Maybe a processor sufficient to act even as a home router, low-traffic web or disk server is more expensive or hotter than I imagine.
It started with my long-held desire for a replacement wireless router. But I'd like one that is also a firewall (my current Vigor 2200We has this, but I understand that most routers have only rudimentary firewall functionality). I'd also like a simple WiFi registration system (I like the idea of sharing my internet connection, but want to have a way of asking people to play nice and warning them what will get them thrown off). And I'd like some other always-on services to allow access to my network from outside (eg. sending wake-on-LAN packets, proxy for my TiVos, etc).
All these functions can be performed by a Linux box. I could buy an old PC, stick Linux/apache/wol on it, write a few scripts, and I'd be away. This has several disadvantages:
- The cable box is in my bedroom, so the router would have to go there. Anything with a fan or disk drive would be too noisy, since I also want to sleep.
- A PC uses a fair amount of power. I wouldn't be happy leaving it on all the time - as such a device would need to be (even if just to keep jackfirecat happy).
- Even a small PC is quite a lot bulkier than my present router.
What I'd like is a low-power box, a bit like a wireless router, that runs Linux. Actually some wireless routers do run Linux (eg. the Linksys WRT54GL), but they aren't really general-purpose boxes that can be easily expanded.
My ideal box, would be closer to a PC, but without disk or video card or sound card - ie. a low-power headless server. It wouldn't have to be i386 compatible - any processor supporting Linux would do. The only ports it would need would be ethernet, a few USB slots, and maybe WiFi (otherwise it could use a WiFi USB stick). It would have enough RAM for basic applications (128 MB?) and flash memory instead of disk - enough for a basic Linux installation and a bit more for other stuff (2GB?).
A low-power (in watts and MHz) processor would mean no fan. That, and keeping all expansion via USB would mean it could stay small - not much bigger than a home router. After all, that spec isn't much more than my PDA, so it should be possible. I really don't understand how tech is priced, but surely such a thing could sell for under £100 (dabs sells the WRT54GL for £41.67). Flash memory and RAM is cheap (2GB USB flash is £1 at Amazon, and 512 MB of RAM is ~£10 at dabs), so we could probably be generous there.
Actually, such a box could be used for all sorts of things: a personal web server or disk server (plugging in a USB drive) come to mind. I can also see various places they could be used at work: at the moment when we need a new service (DHCP server, say), it often entails buying a new PC for reliability, even though that is vastly over-specced for the requirement. One of these boxes could do the job.
It could come with Linux and Apache pre-installed, and a few standard applications controlled via the web - like most routers are these days. It would allow ssh access so you could install additional software (or even install a different OS) or detailed configuration. As something that looks like consumer electronics, but is a fully-fledged PC, such a device could find all sorts user-developed applications - as has happened with, eg. PDAs, TiVo, the WRT54GL. (This would be helped along if all its software were Open Source.)
So, does such a thing exist, or am I missing some point as to why it's more complicated to do what I propose? Maybe a processor sufficient to act even as a home router, low-traffic web or disk server is more expensive or hotter than I imagine.