Developed, built and sold by Plat’Home, Japanese leader in Linux Servers since 1993, our almighty OpenBlockS600 is their latest ultra compact yet powerful server made for everything Linux Server.

Specifications
– CPU AMCC PowerPC 405EX @ 600MHz
- 1GB (DDR2 SDRAM)
- Flash ROM (NOR) 128MB (user are ca. 64 MB)
- Storage : internal Compact Flash card slot & USB 2.0 2x external
- Interfaces Network 2x 1000Base-T (Gigabit)
- Serial port 2 five-pin RJ-45 ports, for console and peripheral devices (RxD, TxD, RTS, CTS, GND)
- Size 81 x 133 x 31.8 mm (0.5 mm rubber feet)
- Weight 240g.
- Case material Aluminum alloy

First Impression
Entirely made in Japan, the OpenBlockS600 may not feature the most exciting design ever made to mankind, but who would argue that design for this kind of a product is important? After all, what we want and need here is something extremely reliable, easy to handle and rock solid… And believe me, the OpenBlockS600 is ALL of those in one tiny white aluminum box.

Opening the OpenBlockS600 to swap its internal CF in order to add one of yours with your own little cooked Linux OS, is plain easy, added to that not having neither an HDD or a Fan for the CPU makes our OpenBlock dead silent… Maybe, just maybe if you could glue your ear on the motherboard you may hear something, but there again this will just be your imagination.
Just for you to know, sorry as we could not test this live, Plat’Home announces a 0 to +50°C ambient operating temperature, making the OpenBlockS600 your ideal companion if you have ever wanted to build up your own LAN party in Alaska in Winter in the wild.

Usage
Well, this part may be a little bit tricky to explain and I am not going to delve into it too much here as I am a Linux illiterate… However, we sent this baby to MagicalTux (our server Guru) in order for him to play a little with it and provide us with his feedback.
To put it simply, the OpenBlockS600 just offers what exactly Plat’Home announced! Yep, that sounds quite simplistic for an answer, but for once a manufacturer marketing speech matches the final product performances.
Yes, for sure the OpenBlockS600 may not be suitable in order to run a Website with millions of unique visitors per day but to be honest Plat’hone has never intended to build the OpenBlockS600 for that anyways.
Our little server is more fit for SOHO usage or for dedicated needs on critical locations.
The OpenBlock can be used for many different things, as a simple but powerful router, or as NAS, a VoiP business solution, Mail server …well, you name it, since what we have here is a REAL server after all.

Of Course, Plat’Home offers its own Linux distribution with a very basic system in both English and Japanese, but like most servers, you will be able to install your very own solution, and as for today OpenBlockS600 supports Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu, NetBSD.

Conclusion
The OpenBlockS600 is an amazing little server, well built, solid and reliable. Our compact White box is a dream come true for many professionals or simple Geeks. Personally I would love to own an OpenBlockS600 to get better performance than my actual Linux Router/Server/Torrent/Nas solution at home, but sold at a 599 USD suggested price, this solution makes it a bit difficult to suggest to any Geek for Home usage, nope, the OpenBlockS600 is a real professional tool and not a Toy, capable of working for years in extreme situations, exactly what many IT departments may need for their IT solution.
Now if you can afford this little baby, and want to utilize it at home, well, you won’t regret it a single moment !