Sorry if I seem kinda all over the place but i recently came across some free money :) (500$) and have been wanting to play with one of these systems for a while (pfsense / mini-itx)
You could go with other hardware also if you want to assemble it by your own for sure and also
really powerful if you want to run many packets, a full UTM device. $500 seems to be right as I
see it right.
i will just throw a hypervisor on it
ok this might be a solution for sure, but please I don´t know why this must be done with a 64 Watt CPU!?
I don´t know from where you are (country) but over 5 years you will spend much more money for the entire
power consuming and for this money you could be getting now a more powerful self made appliance that is
saving then on top this money, but with also much power.
I am actually setting this stuff up to get away from black box solutions
Perhaps owed to my small english language skills, what you mean with black boxes?
at this point after seeing some of the performance some are getting with even less hardware than
i am planning.
Did you really see this or was it only based on forum or Internet talks?
So if you think that the pfSense team is only tune or pimp up their own sold hardware
this might be, but they have also no other chance to do other things! Please don´t forget this.
From where they should know our hardware before? But the hardware they are selling is also
to push the entire pfSense project and it is also very risky for them. Because all peoples could
now thinking that they (the pfSense team) is now making a lot of money and all spendings and
donations will be went back or break in.
And as you was stated you will try to start in time the Netgate 4860 might be a really win for you
without any pain and 100% supported by pfSense.
And this boards or units will be combine the best from both worlds as I see it right,
the three miniPCIe & SIM slots from the PC Engines APU series and the powerful Intel
Atom C2000 SoC form Intel. No other one sells boards with this combination!
Supermicro A1SRi-2558F ~280 €
Kingston Value ECC RAM 2 x 4 GB ~50 €
M350 case ~50 €
SSD 120 GB ~110 €
picoPSU-160-XT + 192W Adapter Power Kit ~90 €
perhaps free shipping
in total 580 €
Is nearly the same as the Netgate 4860, but without the miniPCIe & SIM slot
and also without the eMMC storage, drawing more power and not an ADI image
that is ready to take for. No mSATA or wireless option nor modem with SIM slot.
So $553 for an Netgate 4860 is not so high in price as I see it real. Ok perhaps you are from
the USA and can get your hands on the one or other part cheaper then me here in Germany
for sure, but compared to the SG or Netgate units a self made box is not cheaper to get.