.In September-ish 2008, RussellSenior bought a couple Alix boards (from PC Engines) to play with. One got turned into an AlixStumbler and the other got used as a router at OneWebDay2008. Having played with the Alix.2d3, he found it has some nice properties and would make a decent router/gateway device. He also began to consider the downsides of the current NuCab infrastructure as it remains deployed in about 25 nodes around town.

In December, he put out a call to raise the funds necessary to make a bulk purchase of 30 of these devices to completely replace the existing NuCabs. As of the end of 2008, the drive has raised over $1800. The total cost of 30 devices would be approximately $5200. We additionally have some cash in our checking account to help fund the purchase. In order to leave ourselves with a cushion of cash, we minimally still need to raise another $700 or so. More, of course, would be better.

The AlixCab can accommodate the following features:

• Three ethernet ports:
  • WAN
  • Public LAN (connect to existing APs)
  • Private LAN (possibly prioritizing Private traffic)

• NoCatAuth captive portal software (stable, most users are comfortable with)

• OpenVPN tunnels
• OLSR (to connect the disparate networks via the VPN tunnel)
• SNMP network performance monitoring
• QoS?

• <insert-desired-feature-here>

The Alix.2d3 is about twice as capable, CPU-wise, as the standard NuCab. It uses much less electricity, between 4 and 6 Watts, compared to about 60 for the NuCab (a savings for the node host of nearly $40 per year in electricity). It has no moving parts to wear out. It occupies much less space (about 6 x 6 x 1 inch).

Anywho, that's the general idea. Input, technical and financial assistance are welcome. Contact RussellSenior or post to the mailing list. Thanks!

Purchasing

On March 26, 2009 after repeatedly receiving the Board go-ahead, RussellSenior made initial phase of hardware purchase.

From PCENGINES.CH:

• Qty Part#      Description                     Price       Ext HTS code  Origin Weight
  10 alix2d3     ALIX.2D3 system board         123.50    1235.00 8471.5000  TW    2100g
  10 cr2032      battery kit                     0.50       5.00 8471.8000  CN      50g
  10 case1c2redu Enclosure 3 LAN, red, USB       9.50      95.00 8517.7000  CN    2150g
  10  poe1a2     POE adapter                     2.00      20.00 8473.3000  TW     290g
  10  cf1024dp   CompactFlash card 1GB           8.00      80.00 8523.5100  TW     150g
    1 cf1024fd   CompactFlash card 1GB FreeDOS   8.75       8.75 8523.5100  TW      15g
    1 post5a     MiniPCI POST code adapter      12.50      12.50 8473.3000  TW      13g
  52             Shipping + Handling                       76.70                  4768g
                 Subtotal                            USD 1532.95
                  0% VAT                                USD 0.00
                 Total                               USD 1532.95

This is the first 10 of the planned 30, with a few one-off accessories (the FreeDOS flash card, 10 PoE injector adapters, and the POST code adapter). We may ultimately get creditted some of the shipping and handling back (I got about half back on my September order about three months later, not really sure why);

From NETGATE.COM:

• 30 x AC/DC 15V 1.25A 18W Switching Adapter   $255.00
  Federal Express (Home Delivery)               $22.93
  Total                                        $277.93

I requested the Community Wireless Networking discount in a comment on the order, and today received an email from Netgate that we'd be creditted $22 of our purchase back to our debit card. For these, I chose to get all 30 in one whack in order to save on the shipping overhead.

Excluding the one-off purchases, this works out to a rate of $157.70 for each device, with an estimated total project cost of $4772.28.

Placing an order for the second batch of 10 Alix boards with PCENGINES.CH:

• Qty Part#      Description                 Price       Ext HTS code  Origin Weight
  10 alix2d13    ALIX.2D13 system board    102.90    1029.00 8471.5000  TW    2100g
  10 case1c2redu Enclosure 3 LAN, red, USB   7.88      78.80 8517.7000  CN    2150g
  10 cf1024dp    CompactFlash card 1GB       8.40      84.00 8523.5100  TW     150g
  30             Shipping + Handling                   56.00                  4400g
                 Subtotal                        USD 1247.80
                 0% VAT                            USD 0.00
                 Total                           USD 1247.80
                 PayPal fee (3%)                 USD   37.44

The prices have dropped somewhat since the last batch. If the last batch is obtainable at the same price, the estimated total project cost is now $4381.36.

The first few AlixCab's have been deployed:

• NodeLuckyLab (2009-07-18)

• NodeHotPepper (2009-07-29)

• NodeCedarHillsCrossing (2009-07-30)

• NodeMississippi (2009-08-12)

• NodeFreshPot (2009-12-28)

• NodeCommunitecture (2009-12-30)

• NodeHawthorne (2009-12-30)

• NodeBasementPub (2009-12-30)

• NodeEcotrust (2009-12-30)

• NodeWorldCup (2009-12-30)

• NodeBuffaloGap (2009-12-31)

• NodeFirstUnitarian (2009-12-31)

• NodeWestover (2009-12-31)

Nodes where AlixCab's to go in:

• NodeHollywood

• NodeNorthstar (WgtCab instead?)

This should maybe get reorganized, but there are three nodes that want to become SoekrisCab's:

• NodeLabarre

• NodeRodneyAndSkidmore

• NodeShack