I saw an announcement that the OpenMicroServer (OMS) is now available in the U.S. It has been produced in Japan for some time but has just been made available domestically. What’s cool about it is that it is small and can be powered from an Ethernet port. It reminded me of the BlackDog USB Server that made a splash a couple years back.The little OMS only measures 9” x 4” x 1.3′ It’s officially supported for Debian (Etch) and NetBSD. Plat’Home also maintains their own OS SSD/Linux which is a combination of Linux and BSD code. I love little gadgets like these and try to figure out some innovative ways to use them.
The OMS would be a cool security device that could run Nessus or Snort to scan for security vulnerabilities. Or you could use it as a little virus scanning device running ClamAV. For highly secure data centers you could turn the OpenMicroServer into a portable YUM server to bring in updates only have they have been downloaded and tested the downloads outside the firewall. It looks like Plat’Home, the company that distributes the OMS, is also advocating it as a VPN server running their software but I don’t see any reason it couldn’t be used with an OSS solution like OpenVPN.
First off the OMS doesn’t have a hard drive but does have a compact flash slot for storage for a persistent OS.
The specs for the OMS are as follows:
- Gigabit Ethernet (2 ports)
- Separate Ethernet port for administration or dedicated line
- Internal Compact Flash card slot
- USB 2.0 ports (2)
- Dust-resistant semi-hermetic construction
- Stable under maximum ambient operating temperature of 50°C/122°F(when using PoE)
- RoHS environment directive compliant
Full specs are here.
What would you do with a Ethernet-powered server that small?
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