web proxy appliance

Question

I'm looking for a cheap, simple, reliable web proxy appliance. Just a box that plugs into power and ethernet, and that redirects HTTP traffic to other existing web servers. It's intended for low volume web sites.

Should I

• build a tiny, ultra low power pc to do this
• buy a cheap consumer-level router with this feature
• buy a dedicated enterprise-level appliance

Please indicate which solution you recommend (hardware and/or software), and feel free to share any experiences.

[not sure if this question belongs on stackoverflow, but I guess the web developer crowd might have some experience with this]

Answer 1

It entirely depends on your environment.

If it's your own thing at home, then use an old pc.

If it's mission critial work stuff then buy something and spend accordingly.

Answer 2

It sounds like a low volume but still commercial deployment. If low power and cost are priorities, consider a small embedded Linux server like the Etrax. It uses very little power, is cheap, and runs 'proper' Linux so would be very easy to set up as a proxy. Also, this particular model has two Ethernet interfaces so could be used as relatively secure firewall too.