Re-purpose a Sophos Machine

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Sophos manufactures expensive network equipment. However, older models are easily available almost everywhere. Some cost less than a Raspberry Pi. And some may be upgraded: additional memory, improved SSD.

Let’s consider the XG 105w and FreeBSD.

CPU: Intel(R) Atom(TM) Processor E3930 @ 1.30GHz (1286.40-MHz K8-class CPU)
FreeBSD/SMP: Multiprocessor System Detected: 2 CPUs
cpu0: on acpi0
CPU: Intel(R) Atom(TM) Processor E3930 @ 1.30GHz (1286.40-MHz K8-class CPU)
coretemp0: on cpu0

The Atom E930 is a capable processor and perfect for Spot-On. You may compile Spot-On directly on the device or another machine. A simple instance of Spot-On (4 listeners and a RSS machine) utilizes approximately 7.2 Watts. The machine at idle is about 7.

A new Sophos XG 105w costs as much as $730 while you may discover a used unit on eBay for $45.

Fan-less, quiet, powerful, energy-efficient, Spot-On-friendly, and re-purposed.

A PostgreSQL instance may also be deposited on the machine, serving remote clients. PostgreSQL, Spot-On, Spot-On-Lite, etc.

Since FreeBSD functions well, a light version of Linux such as Debian may also.