Lanner announced a network appliance that employs Intel's recently announced, 32nm Core i3 or Core i5 CPUs. The FW-8760 offers eight gigabit Ethernet ports, up to 16GB of DDR3 RAM, Mini PCI and PCI Express expansion slots, and storage via either CompactFlash or hard disk drives, the company says.

According to Lanner, this mid-range network appliance is ideal for network security applications, firewalls, IPS (intrusion prevention systems), and WAN acceleration. In a release, the company touted the FW-8760 as being compatible with 32nm Core i3, i5, and i7 CPUs, though the company's data sheet lists only the i3 and i5 as possibilities.

Whatever the case, the system is said to support LGA 1156-socketed CPUs with clock speeds of up to 3.33GHz. Its Intel 3450 chipset, meanwhile, replaces a separate northbridge and southbridge with a relatively simple I/O controller, says Lanner.

Lanner notes that the 32nm Core CPUs come with integrated memory controllers, and adds that the FW-8760 accepts up to 16GB of DDR3 RAM via four 240-pin DIMM slots. Meanwhile, mass storage on the device is provided by SATA hard disk drives (one 3.5-inch or dual 2.5-inch drives) and by a CompactFlash Type II slot, the company says.

Lanner's FW-8760

The FW-8760 includes eight gigabit Ethernet ports, with all four pairs supporting abnormal-state packet bypass in case of system failure, Lanner says. An optional module is said to add eight more ports, for a total of sixteen, though we couldn't work out from looking at the picture above where additional connectors would be located.

According to Lanner, the FW-8760 has an RJ45 port for a serial console — there's no onboard VGA — plus two USB 2.0 ports. Internal expansion, meanwhile, includes both Mini PCI and PCI Express x8 slots, plus an OPMA (open platform management architecture) slot that can optionally provide management via IPMI (intelligent platform management interface), the company says.

Four cooling fans allow the FW-8760 to operate in temperatures from 32 to 104 deg. F (0 to 40 deg. C), notes Lanner. Meanwhile, a front-panel display (two lines of 20 characters each) allows monitoring system status, adds the company.

Operating system support was not detailed. However, other network appliances from Lanner, such as the FW-7580 announced last month, have supported Linux, Windows, OpenBSD, and FreeBSD.

Features and specifications listed by Lanner for the FW-8760 include the following:

• Processor — Supports LGA 1156-socketed Core i3, i5 (and perhaps i7) CPUs up to 3.33GHz
• Chipset — Intel 3450
• Memory — up to 16GB of DDR3 RAM via four 240-pin DIMM slots
• Display — serial console only
• Storage — accepts 2 x 2.5-inch SATA HDDs (hard disk drives) or 1 x 3.5-inch SATA HDD and CompactFlash
• Expansion:
  • 1 x PCI Express x8 slot
  • 1 x Mini PCI
  • 1 x OPMA slot
• Networking — 8 x gigabit Ethernet ports (82574L), with LAN bypass on all four pairs; 8 more ports via optional module
• Other I/O:
  • 1 x RJ45 for serial console
  • 2 x USB 2.0
• Power requirements — 220 Watt ATX power supply
• Operating temperature — 32 to 104 deg. F (0 to 40 deg. C)
• Dimensions — 17 x 15.55 x 1.7 inches (431 x 395 x 44.4mm)
• Weight — 18.1 pounds (8.2kg)

Availability

Pricing for the FW-8760 wasn't detailed, but the device appears to be available now. More information may be found on Lanner's website, here.

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