Re: Ethernet Switch and MIPS

Hi,

On Fri, 13 Oct 2006, Bernd Walter wrote:

> >             We have a very interesting Embebed FreeBSD base system using
> > Netgraph, BGP, Voip over IP (SER and Asterisk), PF, Remote Desktop Client
> > (netboot), VLANs, Q-in-Q Vlan, VPN, L2tp, pptp, Xmail, Dhcp server, Wireless
> > etc.. All the setting and config files are created by a "central management
> > Platform"  (Web Interface and  Database) . We have more than 600 of this
> > devices running different services for 4 years.  We would like to release an
> > open free version of the system and also a commercial one and we would like
> > to know if you know about some kind of "Ethernet switch"  from 8 to 24 ports
> > able to run Freebsd  and also if somebody could give us an opinion or ideas,
> > we would like to know if this could be an interesting idea to do for the
> > Freebsd community.
> 
> Don't know what you mean by "Ethernet switch", but a switch is a
> switch and not a host.
> Do you think about doing lan bridging with FreeBSD?

I try to guess and think it is doing bridging using a small FreeBSD system 
so you have the functionality of FreeBSD like firewalling, DHCP, routing 
etc. on layer 3 + above.

To have it as a "distribution" ready (out of the box) to install or 
compile for different hardware (e.g. your ARM) sounds interesting, 
possibly with ways to let it boot from USB sticks, CDs or over the net if 
needed.

I am not familiar with the (just mentioned) Pico/Nano/Tiny versions of BSD 
but maybe it would fit into one of them + a port to get the functionality 
and configuration above (e.g. for the web interface and the db staff)?

If feasable the port could be more or less independant from the FreeBSD 
"distribution" you use. Imagine of one of the ARM hardware box dies.. 
Until you get a new one you set up the same on a Intel box as a temporary 
workaround:-)

Regards
Peter