27 November 2008
Harness the power within
Introducing our new rack mount ALIX 2-3 with internal power
Our dual rack mount ALIX 2-3 with internal power is our second rack mount server using our new 250mm rack mount case design, with standard IEC power connectors and stylish and durable port labels, etched into the cover plates.
The boards are also able to slide independently, and you can choose either one or two boards in the dual rack mount configuration.
Check it out on our rack mount cases page.
In other news...
New products
Due to popular demand, we are now offering our ALIX 1 "XL" case as a standalone product. With optional 20 x 2 picoLCD display and a range of brackets to suit popular PCI cards, this is a pretty amazing package.
We've finally pulled our heads out of the sand and replaced our Senao 400mW wireless card with the Senao 600mW wireless card, so now you can have an even bigger signal!
Product changes
Our 500MHz ALIX 2-3 board is now version 2D-3. This means it now includes a power header on the board, so you can connect power to it directly, like in a dual rack mount server, for instance.
Price changes
Thanks to those pesky exchange rates, our 8GB Ultra II CF cards have gone up by $10 this month. That's it, for now...
Price rise in January
The bad news is that the dollar has stabilised - for now - but so far down from where it was, that we are going to have raise our prices.
The good news is that we won't be doing that until January, so now's the time to buy if you want to avoid the hike.
Our apologies for the global economic crisis. We promise we won't do it again.
OpenBSD v4.4
OpenBSD have faithfully released their next version of their fabulously secure operating system. Visit our OS images page to download our updated ready-made images or add one to your next order.
Christmas & New Years hours
And it's the silly season again!
 To help you plan ahead, here are the important dates for our end-of-year period:
Monday, 22 Dec, 1:00PM - The absolute latest you'll need to place (and pay for) your order by, if you want it to arrive before Christmas.
You'll need to order even earlier if you're outside of the Express Post area (ask us if you're not sure), or if it's a large order. Of course we'll happily process your last minute order, but we just can't guarantee it'll arrive in time. So get in early, OK?
Tuesday 23 Dec, 1:00PM - When we close for our Christmas break.
Thursday 8 Jan, 9:00AM - When we reopen after our Christmas break.
You're more than welcome to place orders via the website during this period, but we won't be answering the phones, shipping orders, or responding to emails until we reopen.
And we won't be sending another newsletter until January, so best wishes for the holiday season from all of us here at Yawarra.
30 October 2008
 Black is back!
Introducing our new black net5501 case
Powdercoated in stunning gloss black, our new case provides full access to all the features of the net5501 board, including the second serial port.
Now the default option for our net5501, it also has space for a full height PCI card, and is a much neater solution, with no sticky-out bits and no chopping things off. (Ouch)
If you have a need for storage, you can also add a mounting bracket for SATA or IDE hard drive (just add hard drive).
The black net5501 can now also accommodate wireless applications, with an SMA punchout in the rear of the case, so you can install a pigtail and antenna.
It's also made of aluminium instead of steel, so it's light but durable, and it's made right here in Australia.
And you can mount in a cabinet or on a wall, with the DIN rail clip option.
Did we mention it's black?
 What's small and light and red all over?
Our new net5501 lite, of course!
If you don't need to use a PCI card with the net5501, why take up space for it in the case? What you need is our new net5501 lite.
With a small footprint, space for a SATA or IDE hard drive, and an SMA punchout to accommodate a pigtail and antenna, the net5501 lite is one very tiny shiny cool machine.
Available in red or black, the net5501 lite case is also made from aluminium and includes the DIN rail option, just like its big brother.
Check out lots of cool pictures of both of our new net5501 cases on our net cases page.
In other news...
Price changes
We've dropped the price of our miniPCI VPN accelerator by $25, so get in while they last because we won't be getting any more once they're gone.
And in case you're feeling confused, yes the price of our ALIX 1 "XL" has gone up by $30, sort of. Actually it's really the same price but we've decided to add a PCI riser to every box whether you buy a PCI card or not, so if you have your own PCI card, you've still got everything you need. There, aren't you happy we cleared that one up?
Last but not least, the old style Soekris green cases are still available on the net5501, and they're $20 cheaper than they were! So if you don't need the groovy features of our new case, and you don't mind the colour, save yourself some dough, please.
ALIX 1 "XL" case study - replicate yourself
This month we have a new case study for you, which is all about using the ALIX 1 "XL" with LCD to create a Compact Flash card duplicator.
If you're interested in writing a case study for us, which is a great opportunity for you and your project to be featured on our website, please read our case study guidelines and let us know.
And keep an eye out for our hard drive mounting bracket for the ALIX 1 "XL". It's currently under development and should be available real soon now.
m0n0wall 1.3b15
monowall have clambered yet another step closer to a release version with their next beta. Still available on the ALIX 2 or ALIX 3, v1.3 really should come out of beta very, very soon.
And now for something completely different!
Our plummeting Aussie dollar is currently putting pressure on our prices. If it doesn't start behaving itself soon, we're going to have to give it a time-out and send it to bed without any dinner. Oh yes, and we might have to consider raising our prices. Eeek! We'll keep you posted.
30 September 2008
Supersize me ALIX!
Check out our new 'double height' ALIX 1
Twice as tall as our previous ALIX 1 case, the new ALIX "XL" has room for a full-height PCI card, mounted above the board. In the photos, you can see it with a LAN1641 4-port ethernet card installed.
It also can accommodate a 20 x 2 LCD panel, so you can display impertinent messages to your users like "Don't touch that!" or "Error! Error! Deleting all files!"
Combine this with the already impressive features of the ALIX 1 - 500MHz processor, 256MB RAM, network port, USB and serial ports, miniPCI and PCI slots, plus VGA, sound, and PS/2 ports - and you get one impressive machine.
Watch out next month for our cool and groovy case study using this new beast.
And you can get up close and personal with the ALIX 1 "XL" on our ALIX cases page.
In other news...
New products
Also new in ALIX land this month is the ALIX 3 with VGA. Available as a board only or as an option on our ALIX 3, this baby is the ultimate in tiny shiny thin clients.
Hot on the tail of our disappearing 1GB Ultra II CF card, arrives the 8GB Ultra II CF card from SanDisk, plus a 512MB CF card from Transcend. Now you have even more choice! (Is that a good thing?)
Price changes
Shocking news this month - our 2GB Ultra II CF cards and 4GB Ultra II CF cards have come down in price, again. [Cue atonal voice] Will this madness never end?
Product changes
We're still having trouble getting stock of our 400mW Senao miniPCI wireless cards.
At this stage it looks like we're either going to have to discontinue it, or replace it with something similar, but we're currently pretending everything's fine. We'll let you know when we pull our heads out of the sand.
We also have lots of our old style "Classic" cases that suit the ALIX 2-3 with 433MHz. So if you like surprises and want to save a few dollars, try choosing 'any colour "Classic" [no USB]' with your next ALIX 2-3 433MHz. And no, despite our best efforts, we still don't have pink.
You now also have a choice of plug sizes when you buy a 12V 1.5A regulated power supply. Yes, more choices I'm afraid. If in doubt, buy one of each. Or ask us. There is always that option, I suppose.
m0n0wall 1.3b14
monowall have clambered one step closer to a release version with their next beta. This one's available on the ALIX 2 or ALIX 3, and hopefully v1.3 will come out of beta very, very soon.
Better shipping calculation
We've made our shipping calculation better and fairer, to accommodate those in-between sized orders.
Read a bit more about it on our scintillating shipping info page if you dare!
31 July 2008
The power is within 1U
New dual rack mount case with internal power supplies
Featuring internal 30W switch mode power supplies, with standard IEC connectors and illuminated power switches at the rear, this new 1RU case slots readily into your typical server rack environment.
Fractionally deeper than our previous dual rack mount case, at 250mm, the new design also features stylish and durable port labels, etched into the cover plates.
Our first product using this new case is a dual rack mount net5501. You can choose to pair a net5501 board with a second net5501 board, or with a 2-port LAN1621 or 4-port LAN1641 ethernet adapter. You can also choose a kit to suit the Digium TDM400 VoIP card, although you'll need to source the actual card elsewhere.
Explore the possibilities on our rack mount cases page.
In other news...
New products
This month we add two new PCI to PCI adapters to our range - a solid PCI to PCI riser and a flexible PCI to PCI riser, with a 7cm cable. These PCI risers allow you to mount PCI cards in tricky spots, such as above or below a board, further away from a board or at a different angle to a board.
Price changes
Our 4GB Ultra II CF cards have come down this month to $60.
Product changes
When buying a 12V 2.5A power supply, you now have a choice of two plug sizes - a 2.1mm plug to suit the net5501 or a 2.5mm plug to suit the ALIX 1. The size refers to the internal diameter of the plug, so make sure you choose the right size for a snug fit and a good connection.
Voyage Linux 0.5.2
Voyage Linux have released version 0.5.2. We've updated our Voyage images and you can visit our OS images page to download them or add one to your next order.
m0n0wall 1.3b13
monowall are up to beta 13 with their release of version 1.3. You can order this version on an ALIX 2 or ALIX 3, but we're waiting for v1.3 to come out of beta before we update our OS images page.
Thanks for the feedback
We'd just like to say a big thanks to everyone for regularly providing us with such valuable feedback.
Your suggestions help us to improve our business and it's always really nice to hear about the things we're doing well.
30 May 2008
Ride the rainbow
Orange, yellow and green "bookshelf" cases now available
Our magical rainbow of cases is back!
With the addition of green, orange and yellow to our ALIX 2 "bookshelf" cases, you can now truly 'surf' the rainbow.
Check out our ALIX case page for more stunning photos of our collection.
The new colours are available for all of our ALIX 2-2 and ALIX 2-3 boxes.
In other news...
New products
The ALIX 3 Outdoor case is the new addition to our collection of cases available for sale this month.
Just choose your pigtails, antennas and mounting options and off you go!
We also have limited stock of our "Classic" ALIX 2-3 cases, in a wide variety of colours. So if you don't need the groovy features of our new "bookshelf" cases, this might be an economical option for you.
Also new this month is a 5.8GHz reverse polarity SMA male antenna. It looks identical to our existing 2.4GHz reverse SMA antenna, so make sure you don't mix them up!
Product changes
Now you can choose all the bits to make a 6-port or 8-port router from a rack mount net5501 with just one click.
OpenBSD 4.3 released
OpenBSD v4.3 has been released and our CF card images have been updated. Visit our OS images page to download them or add one to your next order.
Small form factor projects book now in print
O'Reilly have decided to release their excellent book "Make projects: Small form factor computers - How to build a computer that fits inside anything" in hard copy.
Visit their website for more information or to order a copy.
5 May 2008
Closed for maintenance on 6 June 2008
Our office will be closed on Friday, 6 June 2008 for maintenance, so if there's anything you're going to need desperately from us before the Queen's Birthday weekend, please let us know well in advance.
Our apologies in advance for any inconvenience, and for the frustration and disappointment we know you'll feel as you find this out at the last minute when you ring us on Friday, 6th June.
30 April 2008
See the devil in our details
Improved rack mount case design
We really care about the details here at Yawarra. Everything has to be just so.
So we thought we'd show you some of those details, in our new and improved rack mount case design.
Network security never looked so good!
Note: Click on any image to see it in even more detail.
We've changed all of the case screws to hex socket screws, which means that they don't strip as easily, you need fewer tools to assemble the case and they look heaps better.
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We've made the face plate thicker to resist bending, which means you can slide the boards in and out without damaging your case. They're also now anodised, not powdercoated, and will soon sport laser-etched port labels.
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We've added an adjustable, depth-limiting locator strip to the slide rail kits for the ALIX boards, which means that the board now won't move when you plug in power and ethernet cables.
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We've increased the size of the board slots so you can now fit a PCI card, such as a Soekris LAN1621, LAN1641 or a Digium TDM400 card, alongside a net5501 board.
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And all of our rack mount server cases now come with cage nuts, washers and screws, just in case your rack doesn't have them already.
So that's how much tender loving care we put into our products. We hope you're as impressed as we are!
You can pick up one of these beauties on their own or with any of our dual rack mount servers.
And if you have one of our rack mount cases already and you'd like a locator strip for your WRAP or ALIX board to stop it moving when you plug things in, please contact us and we'll be happy to send you one or two free of charge.
In other news...
New products
This month we add the ALIX 3 indoor case to our collection of cases available for sale.
With an extruded, rather than folded body, this case allows you to just slide the boards in and out with ease, and looks very sleek. It includes punchouts for ethernet, serial and USB ports (optional), plus SMA (with blanking plug) and power.
There's also a new I/O shield to suit the ALIX 1 which you can use to mount an ALIX 1 board in any miniITX case or regular PC case.
And with the launch of our new and improved rack mount cases comes three new PCI card mounting kits - LAN1621, LAN1641 and TDM400. Each kit includes a mounting plate, cover plate, flexible PCI riser and fasteners to suit. You can choose one of these in the second slot of a rack mount net5501, in a dual rack mount case, or as a stand-alone kit.
Price changes
We've reviewed all of the products on the wireless page of our catalogue, with mostly good news.
Firstly, all of our wireless cards have come down by $20. All of them! This means that our wireless kits have also come down in price.
And secondly, our 8dBi 2.4GHz N-female antennas have also come down by $20 to $65. Bargain!
The only things that went up were our reverse SMA pigtails and antennas, to $15 and $20 respectively.
And along the way, our miniPCI VPN accelerator came down to $120 and our 4GB Ultra II CF cards are now $70.
Product changes
We're all out of 512MB CF cards, but we do have lots of SanDisk 256MB CF cards and 1GB Ultra II's.
m0n0wall v1.3b11 released
m0n0wall v1.3 beta 11 is now available on the ALIX 2 and ALIX 3 boards.
We still can't recommend it for production environments until it's out of beta, but if you want to give a try, we're happy to install it for you.
Orange, green and yellow still coming
We're still putting the final touches on our orange, green and yellow ALIX 2 bookshelf cases, so they're not here yet, but they will be very soon!
27 March 2008
ALIX 2 "bookshelf" case available now!
New and improved case for the ALIX 2
Our new "bookshelf" case for the ALIX 2 has finally arrived.
Designed and built right here in Australia, this stylish gloss "bookshelf" case is the perfect partner for the versatile ALIX 2 boards.
With an extruded, rather than folded body, this case allows you to just slide the boards in and out with ease, and looks very sleek.
It includes punchouts for ethernet, serial and USB ports, plus SMA (with removable blanking plug) and power.
The ALIX 2 case is completely fanless and much smaller than most mini ITX cases, so it doesn't take up much desk space. It can even be stood on its side in your bookshelf or desktop, taking up even less space.
And if that's not enough, this case is also made from aluminium, so it's light yet durable and has excellent heat dissipation qualities and it comes in a great range of colours - currently black, red and blue, with orange, yellow and green coming soon.
You can buy the case on its own or with any ALIX 2-2 or ALIX 2-3 box.
In other news...
Price changes
We've reviewed our pricing on the ALIX and net boards, and due to the strong Aussie dollar we've been able to drop our prices on the ALIX 2-2 (433MHz), ALIX 2-2 (500MHz), ALIX 2-3 (433MHz), net4801 (256MB), net5501 (433MHz) and net5501 (500MHz) boards by anywhere from $10 to $60.
Product changes
We're all out of WRAP 1-1's, which means we're all out of WRAPs, and we're all out of net4801 128MB boards as well.
We've reinstated our dual rack mount net4801, but it's now only available with 256MB boards.
m0n0wall v1.3b10 released
m0n0wall v1.3 beta 10 is now available on the ALIX 2 and ALIX 3 boards, which means you can now use an ALIX 2-2 or ALIX 2-3 to build a monowall appliance.
Being a beta version, we still can't recommend it for production environments, as it's possible that it contains serious bugs. But if you want to give a try, we're happy to install it for you.
29 February 2008
New "bookshelf" case coming soon
Extruded case for the ALIX 2
We're pretty excited about our new case design, and we think you will be too.
With an extruded, rather than folded body, this new ALIX 2 case allows you to just slide the boards in and out with ease, and looks very sleek.
In fact, we think it looks so good that you'll want to just slip it into your bookcase, between your copy of "HTML for dummies" and your LOTR DVD collection.
The new cases are currently in production, and will be available next month. Initially we'll be offering them in red, black and blue, followed soon after by orange, green and yellow.
In other news...
New products
This month we have a new SATA hard drive mounting kit for the net5501. You can buy it as a separate kit, or as an add-on to the net5501 box or rackmount server.
And we can't get hold of the same USB Compact Flash card readers that we've had for a while, so when they run out of stock, you'll have to grab one of our new SanDisk Compact Flash card readers instead.
Product changes
Now it's the WRAP 1-1's turn to run out of stock. At this rate they'll be gone within the month. And when they're gone, that's it - no more WRAPs, ever!
And we're running low on net4801's with 128MB of RAM. Thanks to the chips being discontinued, we can now only get 233MHz / 128MB boards, and we're thinking they're not such a great option any more. So we've discontinued our rack mount net4801, and are currently only offering 256MB boards in our net4801 boxes.
We still have net4801 boards with 256MB of RAM (and a 266MHz processor), and we're also reviewing pricing on all of our net boards, so keep an eye out for some changes next month.
pfSense v1.2 released!
pfSense have finally released version 1.2 of their excellent package. This version fully supports the new ALIX boards, so we're now offering it as an option on the ALIX 2 and ALIX 3 products.
m0n0wall v1.3b9 available on the ALIX
Even though it's still technically in beta, we've decided to start offering monowall 1.3 (beta 9) on the ALIX 2 and ALIX 3.
This latest version of monowall is based on FreeBSD 6.x, which means that it now supports Atheros cards - that is, our CM9, Senao 400mW, Ubiquiti SR2 and Ubiquiti SR5 wireless cards - and has a few new features as well. But that also means it needs a bit more grunt to run - perfect for the new ALIX boards.
Being a beta version, we can't recommend it for production environments, as it's possible that it contains serious bugs. But if you want to give a try, we're happy to install it for you.
New 'cases' page in catalogue
To reflect our growing range of case designs, we've added a new 'cases' page to our catalogue. Over the next couple of months we'll be reorganising and adding to our collection of cases, so if you're interested in getting your hands on one of them, watch this space.
New 'what we care about' section
We thought you might be interested to read about some of the things we care about here at Yawarra.
We like to take care of people - our customers, our suppliers and our staff - and we do what we can to minimise our impact on the planet, with plans to do more in the future. You can read more about it on our 'about us' page.
Storeperson job filled
Our storeperson job has now been filled. Thank you to everyone who expressed interest in the position.
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