:) Thanks so much.. It recognigned my NIC….

You may want to check out this post: https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=67823.msg371086#msg371086 That isn't a supported configuration though. Your install may fail etc…  ;) Steve

I have a number of those "OEM production" units in service for some time, and they work great for me.  Not sure why you want to stay away from SSD.  I think the reliability issues have been solved. so mine are using SSD with TRIM enabled.  Would have preferred intel LAN chips, but the broadcom NICs are reportedly pretty solid too; they have been for me. The other system you linked to has only one built-in LAN port, so you need to budget for another card unless you are using VLANs.

@gonzopancho: @Jason: Everything works fine in 2.1.1 and newer.  2.1 and older will not see the NICs. please, please recommends 2.1.4 or newer.  The number of bug-fixes between 2.1.1 and 2.1.4 is enormous. Post edited.

we haven't gotten to 802.11n yet (it's in pfSense 2.2). 802.11ac:  not for a while (measured in years)

Yes, I would use a hypervisor like ESXi rather than running virtual box under Windows. That way you can reboot/update your Windows VM without killing your whole network. Steve

Nice one.  :) Having a serial cable that doesn't support hardware flow control can really give you a hard time. Steve

@matthew1471: Biggsy - I've never really seen good throughput from an Atom, it's not really what they're designed for The Rangley range is certainly designed for network communications, it is a shame they called it an atom because its nothing like the old atoms. Have a look and you may be surprised at whats changed. pfsense/ESF are selling them for good reason http://store.pfsense.org/c2758/ either way good luck whatever you decide on

This is Grande.  AT&T is also offering 1Gbps/1Gbps in ATX, but even though they have fiber on the side of my house, they don't want to offer me the service. When Google arrives, I'll be keeping both.

Yep, it's an Ultra Small Desk Top (USDT) in the picture.  There are no slots for a LAN card. You need a Small Form Factor (SFF) dc7900, which has one PCI, one PCIe (x1), one PCIe (x4) and one PCIe (x16).  Work very well as an ESXi host. Either that or use VLANs and a VLAN-capable switch.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/ADVANTECH-AIMB-272-MAIN-BOARD-/281364963292?pt=BI_Control_Systems_PLCs&hash=item4182a89fdc&_uhb=1 These have some quirks with standoff height in cases but otherwise these are fully featured industrial quality boards with adjustable fan speed. You can get an i5-2520m for less than $50 for it. It has full Intel AMT features with this such as serial over lan and full IP KVM.

@chemlud: My deepest condolences! I couldn't survive something like that for longer than 1 week… ;) Rather thankful for this wonderful invention called air conditioning.  ;) Nevertheless, the Haswell setups are incredible at efficiency.  An i5 with a 3.5" HDD & a SSD takes up about 40W at idle to low loads even without a high efficiency DC PSU.

TS140 are rock solid and are a good choice for standard workstation or micro server in Mid-size tower but if it need to be in a rack … well, you will lost a lot of space (4u maybe 5). if ou have a little more budget (not quite much!), take a look at the RS140. it is like a TS140 in a 1U rackmount machine with 2 (or 3, the third is for remote management) integrated Intel NICs. It is much elegant and less lost of space then putting a TS140 in the rack ;) I'm awaiting my supplyier to get one for testing since it is a new product.

@MauriceS: I got help from Lanner - it's an OEM board of the FW-7500. It required a VGA cable (the MB has a dual pin 2mm spacing 12 pin header) for the video hookup. A simple setting in the bios - and stuff works. Maurice Do you happen to still have the pinout for the VGA cable? Thanks, Happy

Hi there, We used to use USB NICs and can confirm this flapping behavior - UP/DOWN within seconds. The only solution is NOT to use USB NICs with pfSense/FreeBSD. Go for VLAN switches and non-USB NICs. Thanks, msu