On Tue, Nov 23, 2010 at 1:51 PM, Robert Csaba Molnar wrote: > I need to choose a processor for a router (like) box. > > Here are the requirements: > -=A0 must run Linux with vpn (OpenVPN), http (Apache?) and possibly ssh (= OpenSSH) > - 3 PHY interfaces at 10 Mbit/s > > Users will connect to the LAN through a secured VPN, and there will be at= most 10 users. Traffic will be limited to 10 Mbit/s even if the MAC+PHY is= capable of more. > It is required to keep response times below 10 ms at all times. > > Since I do not have any experience in this field, I=A0 ask your opinion o= n this subject. What would be a good micro-controller and mac+phy choice? > Shoudl I opt for something that has 3 different MAC's or for something wi= th 1 MAC and a switch chip with VLAN support (will this be enough?). > > Qlwo what is more suitable for this task? ARM based, MIPS,=A0 PowerPC or = some other micro? Personally i lean towards MIPS, tends to perform better i= n case of such tasks and from what I've learned is more Linux friendly. > > Let's say I go with MIPS, will a 24KEc at 480 Mhz be enough or do I need = something more powerful? I'm partial to the 1.2 GHz Marvell Kirkwood 6281 (aka SheevaPlug). Since you are going to be doing encryption, whatever you choose, I highly recommend one with a hardware crypto engine supported in Linux. I think you will find it difficult to support 10 users doing encryption on an embedded CPU. Micrel makes some nice switches with VLAN tagging, and many are supported in Linux. --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .