Spec me a VERY small PC

[Lunawolfy]

Hey all,

I am looking to make something which is small in both size and requirement all it will be doing is processing packet captures so its not very intense in a home environment, needs to be:

- Small form factor, its low power so it should be small
- No OS or peripherals needed
- Two network interfaces needed (so +1 from MB and +1 from NIC?)
- 8-16GB RAM, does not need to be highly clocked, just large amount of it
- No GPU needed

What do you recommend?!

 

[OhEsEcks]

Sounds like the perfect job for a Raspberry Pi, Beagle Board, or something of that ilk. Although RAM might be a problem.

 

[ubern00b]

NUC? 2 network interfaces is a problem but maybe a USB3 network adaptor would suffice.

 

[Quartz]

Yes, check out the NUC boxes and the Zotac ZBox PCs. Many of them have two NICs.

 

[OhEsEcks]

Just thinking. Why not build a network tap yourself and analyse it with your current machine? Or do you need continual 24/7 analyses and storage of network traffic which a dedicated box would be better for? (which raises questions about what exactly you're doing [do you work for a shadowy government agency ]).

 

[Lunawolfy]

They don't have the performance I am looking for, its going to be running my firewall and IDS systems. Ergo I need a small rig made up.

 

[Lunawolfy]

Just thinking. Why not build a network tap yourself and analyse it with your current machine? Or do you need continual 24/7 analyses and storage of network traffic which a dedicated box would be better for? (which raises questions about what exactly you're doing [do you work for a shadowy government agency ]).

I could however my current rig is mostly for games and I don't leave it on 24/7.

At least with this I can leave it on for storage and other things

Plus mirrored port switches are expensive

 

[OhEsEcks]

Have you looked at hardware firewalls?

 

[Lunawolfy]

Have you looked at hardware firewalls?

Yeah I don't require one, I need the box for packet inspection etc.

 

[SoundsGood]

HP Microserver + additional NIC

 

[ubern00b]

They don't have the performance I am looking for, its going to be running my firewall and IDS systems. Ergo I need a small rig made up.

What doesn't have the performance? A RPi or a NUC? Can't see how a NUC doesnt fill every single one of your requirements...

 

[AthlonXP1800]

Took me a while searched through Zotac models and compiled below lists of models supported up to 16GB RAM and dual NIC Ethernet ports so it depend on what CPU you look for.

ZOTAC ZBOX ID45 Plus (GPU: GeForce GT 640 2GB DDR3 CPU: Core i3 3227U 1.9 GHz)
ZOTAC ZBOX ID45 (GPU: GeForce GT 640 2GB DDR3 CPU: Core i3 3227U 1.9 GHz)
ZOTAC ZBOX IQ01 Plus (GPU: HD Graphics 4600 CPU: Core i7-4770T 2.5/3.7 GHz)
ZOTAC ZBOX IQ01 (GPU: HD Graphics 4600 CPU: Core i7-4770T 2.5/3.7 GHz)
ZOTAC ZBOX ID92 Plus (GPU: HD Graphics 4600 CPU: Core i5 4570T 2.9/3.6 GHz)
ZOTAC ZBOX ID92 (GPU: HD Graphics 4600 CPU: Core i5 4570T 2.9/3.6 GHz)
ZOTAC ZBOX ID91 Plus (GPU: HD Graphics 4400 CPU: Core i3 4130T 2.9 GHz)
ZOTAC ZBOX ID91 (GPU: HD Graphics 4400 CPU: Core i3 4130T 2.9 GHz)
ZOTAC ZBOX ID90 Plus (GPU: HD Graphics 4000 CPU: Core i7 3770T 2.5/3.7 GHz)
ZOTAC ZBOX ID90 (GPU: HD Graphics 4000 CPU: Core i7 3770T 2.5/3.7 GHz)
ZOTAC ZBOX ID89 Plus (GPU: HD Graphics 2500 CPU: Core i5 3470T 2.9/3.6 GHz)
ZOTAC ZBOX ID89 (GPU: HD Graphics 2500 CPU: Core i5 3470T 2.9/3.6 GHz)
ZOTAC ZBOX ID88 Plus (GPU: HD Graphics 2500 CPU: Core i3 3220T 2.8 GHz)
ZOTAC ZBOX ID88 (GPU: HD Graphics 2500 CPU: Core i3 3220T 2.8 GHz)
ZOTAC ZBOX ID42 Plus (GPU: GeForce GT 610 512MB DDR3 CPU: Core 1.1 GHz)
ZBOX EN760 Plus (GPU: GeForce GTX 860M 2GB DDR5 CPU: Core i5 4200U 1.6/2.6 GHz)
ZBOX EN760 (GPU: GeForce GTX 860M 2GB DDR5 CPU: Core i5 4200U 1.6/2.6 GHz)
ZBOX EI750 Plus (GPU: Iris Pro 5200 128MB eDRAM CPU: Core i7 4770R 3.2/3.9 GHz)
ZBOX EI750 (GPU: Iris Pro 5200 128MB eDRAM CPU: Core i7 4770R 3.2/3.9 GHz)
ZOTAC ZBOX EI730 Plus (GPU: Iris Pro 5200 128MB eDRAM CPU: Core i5 4570R 2.7/3.2 GHz)
ZOTAC ZBOX EI730 (GPU: Iris Pro 5200 128MB eDRAM CPU: Core i5 4570R 2.7/3.2 GHz)

 

[Lunawolfy]

What doesn't have the performance? A RPi or a NUC? Can't see how a NUC doesnt fill every single one of your requirements...

Going into the future it'll need a lot of storage. I need something expandable, not something with a 2.5" bay. Plus I'd rather have more performance than less, I don't want the potential for increased latency.

I'm Torn between an i3 or one of AMDs multi cored offerings. However I've been away from AMD for years.

 

[ubern00b]

You didn't mention any of that in your OP, just saying

 

[Lunawolfy]

You didn't mention any of that in your OP, just saying

That is just occurring to me now XD

I wasn't particularly specific :/

 

[Lunawolfy]

I've been looking at components etc and I think this would work. Is the motherboard and CPU compatible? (Never used AMD before )

CPU: A8-6600K 3.90GHz (Socket FM2)
Motherboard: Asus A55BM-E AMD A55 Chipset (Socket FM2+) DDR3 Micro ATX
RAM: TeamGroup Vulcan RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit
PSU: Silverstone Strider SST-ST30SF SFX Series - 300 Watt Power Supply
Case: Aerocool Qs-101 Micro-ATX Case - Black
NIC: TP-Link Gigabit PCI Express Network Adapter (TG-3468)

The only worries I have is will the CPU work in the main board and is the ram compatible? Unsure if high-frequency RAM will work.