Thanks ai-danno.
I had a fair read. Many items I knew of although some I didn't.
I could have gone out and bought a mini-ITX (for example) a long time ago.
It doesn't sit well with me to have an item sitting away doing a specific function with bells and whistles that are not associated.
I would rather buy a porsche without a radio than with one. Not that I could.
Anyway, it bothers me to buy an appliance with stuff that I see no use for.
I guess that what makes an appliance. A specific purpose piece of hardware.
If I bought something with an extra hole in the back I might wake up one night and smash it with a hammer. :]
Considering what I want it to do, I need HDD, preferably SATA.
Ethernet, gigabit not necessary, but must have 2 for firewalling. 3 is ok.
1 USB is nice. 1 serial also nice.
The closest items to what I want are NAS devices.
Actually there are many of them I would buy tomorrow except for one common feature. NAS devices generally have only one ethernet.
Other than that they are well suited. Generally lots of SATA, lots of USB, no other bells or whistles. Some even have serial.
For instance:
http://www.netgear.com/Products/Stor...adyNASDuo.aspx
There are very few NAS boxes in my price range (around $500) with two ethernet.
In fact the only ones I know of are ironically supported by OpenBSD. Thecus n2100 and n4100. Why don't I buy one? The construction is cheap.
Plastic cases, overheating problems.
This is kind of a last call for assistance.
If I can't find something better I will probably buy a Thecus n2100.
http://www.thecus.com/products_over....471591e39c5bf0
Perhaps someone knows of a suitable box that will give me an alternative.
I would be more than happy to buy a board and case it myself.
Best wishes.