"Embedded system"

[Bill McGonigle]

On Dec 23, 2005, at 14:22, Ken D'Ambrosio wrote:

> Does anyone know of any hardware that might fit the bill?

I'm developing a firewall for a client using a Pentium-M based system 
from a Taiwan OEM.  Basically a laptop-style board in a rackmount case 
(about 19X10x1U) with a PCI slot and an IDE flash slot (CF).  I'm using 
the flash for storage, takes a laptop memory chip, and has 1 PCI slot 
though I can't imagine why you'd use it because the case wouldn't fit 
on (maybe they sell a 90 degree adapter).  But it has 4 ethernet ports 
on it and a serial port and 2 USB on the front, so I'm not expecting to 
need a PCI slot.  There's a 3.5" bay I'm not using.  The mono LCD 
display I haven't played with yet - I think it's serial too.

The biggest problem is they chose the absolute worst case fans they 
could find.   If I stick pencils in the case fans it's nearly quiet - 
the Intel Pentium-M fan is very good.  And... the fans are soldered 
right to the power board - they're not modular.  I'm complaining to the 
OEM and they're going to see what they can do.  As it, I'm not 
recommending the product but I'll put you in touch with their sales rep 
if you want an incredibly noisy unit or are willing to violate warranty 
to put in your own fans.

Also, I just saw these yesterday which may be more interesting:

   http://www.sd-omega.com/

I want one of those units with the automotive-savvy power supply from 
Santa!

-Bill

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