Ask Slashdot: Enterprise-Grade Linux Networking Hardware? 140
An anonymous reader writes "In spite of Linux's great networking capabilities, there seems to be a shortage of suitable hardware for building an enterprise-grade networking platform. I've had success on smaller projects with the Soekris offerings but they are suboptimal for large-scale deployment due to their single-board non-redundant design (eg., single power supply, lack of backup 'controller'). What is the closest thing to a modular Linux-capable platform with some level of hardware redundancy and substantial bus/backplane throughput?"
Re:Server (Score:5, Interesting)
Cisco is crazy overpriced for the throughput you get. A cheap linux server acting as a router can easily beat many cisco devices.
Trying to compete with switches on the other hand is crazy talk.
Re:Server (Score:5, Interesting)
If they want networking hardware, linux *ISN'T* the way to go.
Juniper, Cisco, others.... (I dunno anymore but there is I'm sure).
As you said yourself, you get what you pay for. If you buy crap, you'll get crap throughput.
Actually, that isn't true at all. Linux can compete toe to toe with Cisco, Juniper, Big Iron, and others. This is specifically why Vyatta [vyatta.com] has so much invested in it. Vyatta has come up with a Linux distro that is designed to replace this proprietary hardware. To boot, Vyatta has scored several major Fortune 500 players. Additionally, OpenBSD [openbsd.org] has routing facilities that are a force to be reckoned with. Several of my clients use Lenovo M71e's with OpenBSD as routers that I built. I replaced the traditional HD with an SSD and bought high-end intel networking boards. Contrary to "conventional" wisdom, these have been near perfectly reliable. They use BGP and IPSEC to interface with my Amazon VPC.
Don't tell anybody... (Score:4, Interesting)
...but I use Sun Microsystems hardware for this task.
The X2100, X4100 series servers more than meet my needs, and are available on the used market for a song these days.
The lights-out management works great, the rackmount kits and cable management arms are first-class, the hardware is well-made, and they look cool. Heck, they're even certified to run RHEL 5 or so.
Best of all - buying used Sun gear and putting Linux on it pisses off Larry Ellison. What more could you ask for?