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Can an old Thinkpad be used as a Firewall Router by adding a GigE NIC? Which ones? Prefer non USB

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crashnburn
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Can an old Thinkpad be used as a Firewall Router by adding a GigE NIC? Which ones? Prefer non USB

#1 Post by crashnburn » Thu Mar 03, 2016 8:22 am

Can an old Thinkpad be used as a Firewall Router by adding a GigE NIC? Which ones? Prefer non USB

I am wondering of the Express Card slots would perform here.. are they equivalent of PCIe on Desktop Mobos?

What would be good candidates for this?

PS: Would this be the equivalent..? http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/MiniPCI_Express_slot - I am wondering how to get a GigE RJ 45 port out of this?
T61 8892-02U: 14.1"SXGA+/2.2C2D/4G/XP|Adv Mini Dock|30" Gateway XHD3000 WQXGA via Dual-link DVI
X61T 7767-96U: 12.1"SXGA+/1.6C2D/3G/Vista|Ultrabase
W510 4319-2PU: 15.6"FHD/i7-720QM/4G/Win7Pro64 (for dad)
T43 1875-DLU: 14.1"XGA/1.7PM-740/1G/XP (Old)

jaspen-meyer
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Re: Can an old Thinkpad be used as a Firewall Router by adding a GigE NIC? Which ones? Prefer non USB

#2 Post by jaspen-meyer » Thu Mar 03, 2016 8:40 am

Are you asking 'which thinkpads' or 'which NIC cards'?

T43 and T61 should work but I haven't tried it.
T420 i7 3612QM seabios; T420 i7 3630QM; T400 Q9100 seabios; T61 P9600; T60 libreboot; x62; x60s libreboot, led; x24 xiphmont led

axur-delmeria
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Re: Can an old Thinkpad be used as a Firewall Router by adding a GigE NIC? Which ones? Prefer non USB

#3 Post by axur-delmeria » Thu Mar 03, 2016 1:30 pm

crashnburn wrote:Can an old Thinkpad be used as a Firewall Router by adding a GigE NIC?
Yes.
crashnburn wrote:Which ones? Prefer non USB
You can use Expresscard LAN adapters like this one from Startech or Syba.

Any Thinkpad model that has Expresscard slots can be used.
ExpressCard/54
R51e, R52, R60, R61, R61i, R500
SL300, SL400, SL400c, SL500, SL500c
T43, T43p, T60, T60p, T61, T61p, T400, T500
Z60m, Z61m
W500, W700, W700ds, W701, W701ds
X200, X200s, X200 Tablet, X201, X201i, X201s, X201 Tablet, X220, X230

ExpressCard/34
Edge 14", Edge 15"
L412, L512
SL410, SL510
T400s, T410, T410i, T410s, T410si, T420, T420i, T430, T510, T510i, T520
W510, W700, W700ds, W701, W701ds
Important reminder: some particular T61 models have a Smart card reader or 4 in 1 memory card reader instead of the Expresscard slot.
Planned Purchase: T480s i5-8350 FHD Touch
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons :lol:
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E :cry:

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Re: Can an old Thinkpad be used as a Firewall Router by adding a GigE NIC? Which ones? Prefer non USB

#4 Post by crashnburn » Thu Mar 03, 2016 2:22 pm

Thanks for the insights Axur.

I guess I look at Tabook for differences in specific models to weed out the "MemoryCard" ones.

Can these adapters physically work in both 34/ 54 Express slots or specific ones have to be chosen?
PS: They seem to be Win, OSX & *Nix compatible from the read/ r&d i've done.
Last edited by crashnburn on Fri Mar 04, 2016 2:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
T61 8892-02U: 14.1"SXGA+/2.2C2D/4G/XP|Adv Mini Dock|30" Gateway XHD3000 WQXGA via Dual-link DVI
X61T 7767-96U: 12.1"SXGA+/1.6C2D/3G/Vista|Ultrabase
W510 4319-2PU: 15.6"FHD/i7-720QM/4G/Win7Pro64 (for dad)
T43 1875-DLU: 14.1"XGA/1.7PM-740/1G/XP (Old)

TonyJZX
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Re: Can an old Thinkpad be used as a Firewall Router by adding a GigE NIC? Which ones? Prefer non USB

#5 Post by TonyJZX » Thu Mar 03, 2016 8:33 pm

You dont say what distribution. Does pfsense support the variety of express cards?

And even then, is it worth it. You can build firewalls from the scrap pile of Windows terminals that have common brcm intel and even pci express cards.

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Re: Can an old Thinkpad be used as a Firewall Router by adding a GigE NIC? Which ones? Prefer non USB

#6 Post by crashnburn » Fri Mar 04, 2016 2:55 am

TonyJZX wrote:You dont say what distribution. Does pfsense support the variety of express cards?

And even then, is it worth it. You can build firewalls from the scrap pile of Windows terminals that have common brcm intel and even pci express cards.
Worth it or not is a personal assessment very unique to situation and scenario.

Getting back to subject.. Looking at Pfsense, Sophos, Untangle and few others - Either direct or in light weight VM.
T61 8892-02U: 14.1"SXGA+/2.2C2D/4G/XP|Adv Mini Dock|30" Gateway XHD3000 WQXGA via Dual-link DVI
X61T 7767-96U: 12.1"SXGA+/1.6C2D/3G/Vista|Ultrabase
W510 4319-2PU: 15.6"FHD/i7-720QM/4G/Win7Pro64 (for dad)
T43 1875-DLU: 14.1"XGA/1.7PM-740/1G/XP (Old)

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