Untangle on Intel D201GLY?

[bmitchell]

First, I have to say what a great product. Thank you! Here is another hardware recommendation question:

Will Untangle work on an Intel D201GLY (http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/D201GLY/index.htm)? I would add another NIC (PCI) and 1 gig of RAM, but I am not sure how the 1.33 GHz Celeron processor will do. I plan on using it for my home network, mostly to filter the web for my kids. At most, only 3 people will be surfing at any given time. I may also use OpenVPN, and will probably play around with the other functions, possibly using those that prove useful. Thanks in advance.

[bmitchell]

Maybe I should rephrase my question, so it makes a little more sense. I have read the hardware requirements page, and understand that the lowest verified hardware configuration processor speed is 800 MHz for 50 users. However, the requirements page also says that this "provide[s] reliable — albeit sometimes slower — performance."

So, lets say every Untangle function is being used in a setup where a maximum of three users are online at any given time, what kind of performance issues (if any) will I see using a 1.33 GHz Celeron, 1 Gig of Ram, and a 20 GB hard drive? That is, what are others' experiences with slower (older) hardware specs?

[Homebrew]

I'm interested in hearing others responses as well. I just bought one of these boards and intend to run it as a firewall/router and am looking to switch from Clark Connect to more of a UTM package. I got untangle installed on it last night, but it's going to be a while before I can finish setting it up and give actual performance feedback since I'm in the process of moving. I will say after I installed it, I briefly tested it with one of my computers and I did notice a speed decrease based on online bandwidth meters. It went from an average 3-4mbps(comcast cable) with Clark Connect on a 500mhz celeron system to an average of 1.5-2mbps with Untangle and the D201GLY with 1gb of ram. Now there was no extensive testing, so this really doesn't mean anything. It could very well be that I just need to do some tweaking. It could also be that my secondary network card is the bottleneck. Could be any number of reasons for the decrease. However, I'm concerned that this particular board is not going to be enough to get decent performance from Untangle. I've noticed most people seem to recommend much beefier systems with Untangle. Once I get finished with the move, I'll work a little more with the setup and see what I can come up with. I'm in no way trying to discourage you from the D201GLY as I myself still have high hopes. My results thus far don't really mean squat as I'll I did was install Untangle and the open source package. I'm hoping it works out since it would make a great cheap/low power system.

-Kevin

[bmitchell]

Thanks Homebrew for the reply. I look forward to hearing about your additional testing.

It would totally be a bummer if the D201GLY was not up to the task, considering it is an inexpensive, small, low power board. You do not find to many of those types of setups without forking out lots of cash. BTW, what kind of case do you have it in?

As far as bandwidth goes, I only get 1.5Mbps (due to the apartment we are in), meaning that it is possible that I could achieve the speeds you are, unless the bandwidth is proportionally lower. Just to know that it works with the Untangle software, though, is good to know, in an of itself, for those users where lower bandwidth isn't as big of an issue.

Keep me (and others interested in the thread) posted. Thanks again!

-Ben

[Homebrew]

I'm using a morex T-3310. I love the way it looks, but it was a severe pain to get it to work with the D201GLY for this application. First the power supply included doesn't have a P4 connector so I had to get a molex to P4 4-pin adapter. Then the power supply cable was too short to reach the ATX plug on the motherboard so I had to get an extension. Plus I didn't take into consideration that this case wasn't designed to allow the pci slot to be used. I was able to get a low profile ethernet card in, but not with out alot of work. I had to remove the mounting bracket and trim away the metal inner casing and trim a hole in the outer casing for the port. I had tried a flexible pci riser, but it wasn't able to help. All in all it was a big pain, but I'm still happy with the case. I feel it looks a little more router-ish and less like a PC, which is what I was going for.

-Kevin