Fanless system w/ multiple LAN ports?

Info & chat about quiet prebuilt, small form factor and barebones systems, people's experiences with vendors thereof, etc.

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Derpington
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Fanless system w/ multiple LAN ports?

Post by Derpington » Thu Jul 31, 2014 3:02 pm

I've been thinking about building a kickass custom router for when my ISP contract ends and I can get something a lot faster. Fanless mini-ITX or NUC seem ideal (if expensive), but I quickly ran into a problem: 2 x LAN ports seem to be the maximum, and I need at least 3 (don't want a switch for neatness / space-saving). Even if a mini-PCIe connection is available for an additional ethernet card, no small-size fanless enclosure I've seen has the holes for additional LAN ports or space for an extra panel like this.

The only product I've found after some intense Google-fu is this Jetway, which would be pretty much perfect, except I'd rather have something more powerful than Atom D525 for futureproof reasons. (Atom seems fairly pointless to me when a low-power Celeron or i3 can give you several times better performance on similar power.)

TL;DR looking for a small, fanless case or barebones kit w/ 3+ LAN ports or available expansion slot for an ethernet card. And something juicier than Atom.
Last edited by Derpington on Fri Aug 01, 2014 5:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

xan_user
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Re: Fanless system w/ multiple LAN ports?

Post by xan_user » Thu Jul 31, 2014 3:12 pm

the concept of future proofing must die!!!! :twisted:

Atom is fully up to the task of being a router and then some. :mrgreen:

CA_Steve
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Re: Fanless system w/ multiple LAN ports?

Post by CA_Steve » Thu Jul 31, 2014 4:52 pm

Can't you just use an external Switch to get more ports? Cheap, low power, does the job. Or do you have a need to manage each port?

xan_user
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Re: Fanless system w/ multiple LAN ports?

Post by xan_user » Thu Jul 31, 2014 5:21 pm

http://www.mitxpc.com/proddetail.asp?pr ... 50&cat=116 has 6 sata ports, plus msata, which is kind of sexy.

http://www.mitxpc.com/proddetail.asp?pr ... 03&cat=116 rack mount, if that appeals.

course you could just source the mobo, and parts, and brew your own.
Last edited by xan_user on Thu Jul 31, 2014 5:26 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Abula
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Re: Fanless system w/ multiple LAN ports?

Post by Abula » Thu Jul 31, 2014 5:22 pm


Derpington
Posts: 19
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2012 3:29 am

Re: Fanless system w/ multiple LAN ports?

Post by Derpington » Sat Aug 02, 2014 10:29 am

Thanks, everyone. I found two more possible hardware combos in addition to your suggestions, so I guess I have some choices.

If anyone's interested, first there's this mini ITX Jetway NF9Q-Q87 motherboard:
http://www.jetway.com.tw/jw/ipcboard_vi ... e=NF9Q-Q87
It can be expanded using this daughterboard for +4 LAN ports (6 total):
http://www.jetway.com.tw/jw/ipcboard_vi ... ADE4INLANG
But the overall price is surprisingly high, and the CPU choice is limited (mobile CPUs seem kinda hard to buy separately?)

Second is buying an ASUS Q87T motherboard and expanding it via mini PCIe:
http://www.logicsupply.eu/expansion-cards/admpeidla/
Gives you total 4 LAN ports. Many CPU choices, can go Celeron or Pentium for saving money, or even an i3 4130T.
Could save money by choosing a cheaper thin ITX motherboard, but they only have 1 built-in LAN ports instead of 2.

As for the case, been looking at H1.S from HDPLEX. The only small one I've seen which actually has an expansion slot.

Anyway, sorry if this wasn't strictly on topic (prebuilt, barebone, etc.) For prebuilt, I've found this:
http://www.logicsupply.eu/systems/firewall/fw200f/
This is exactly the kind of box I want, but the price is rather high (build around the aforementioned Jetway NF9Q-Q8 motherboard). Will see if I can make my own for cheaper.

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