I have a couple of 8 port switches that will lock up solid when plugged to an APC or any UPS and the mains loose power. Everything else on the same UPS will work fine. Even if it's for only a few minutes or less.  The switches need to be cycled to get them going again.
I swapped them both and keep them for spares.

@Ianes:

Since this topic is already on the right course, I decided to post here instead of making a new thread. I was wondering what to buy to get the cheapest possible build, similar to yours. A D525 board costs about 66€ around here and has one onboard NIC. So basically the hardest part is the storage and PSU/chassis. Any suggestions where to get those cheap?(I don't mind ordering internationally) Also, can an external USB flashdrive be used instead of HDD?

I would suggest the Mini-Box case as well. That is what I'm currently using. I'm currenty booting off of a 2GB Sony MicroVault Tiny flash drive.

So I increased my bandwidth this week to 50/8. The entire bandwidth is hogged up by users who are really excited with the extra speed. I see my CPU take a beating since I lowered it's voltage down to a 1600Mhz. Thinking about switching it back to defaults and let Powerd handle the frequency.

Any suggestions?

If you are planning to increase that WAN connection from 100Mb and adding packages like snort or squid sometime in near future than I would recommend you have a second look at i3 CPUs. Atoms are powerful enough for decent throughput but handling routing for large number of users with increased bandwidth might just be a bit too much for it. Plus the max you can go on Atoms for now is 4GB RAM. It sounds a lot for now but as technology is changing rapidly 4GB might just be a low end config mid next year.. who knows.. just guessing.

Unless you want pure 2Gbps (1Gbps each way) throughput, there shouldn't be much of a noticeable difference between onboard or PCI-e. I have tested onboard NICs on multiple mobo's and sure have seen differences in throughput. A lot depends on the NIC manufacturer (Intel vs Realtek vs Broadcom vs others) and the type of driver you have for it.

If you're looking at specifically that case (502L-200B), the bracket lines up with the first slot on any motherboard.  Which means that it will work with the X7SPA using regular rigid risers.

One question about the Backup. Are there also the Certificates from the OpenVPN Server included.

A simple google search can give you all the answers.

GA-H67N-USB3-B3 - mini-ITX.

SATA 6Gb/s - 2 x SATA 6Gb/s
SATA RAID - 0/1/5/10

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128484

Just 79.99 after rebate.

I am using this mobo with an i5 CPU. I don't need raid.

You wanted an opinion for new hardware.. I provided mine. If you are leaning with Dell then go for it. I am a person who doesn't like to pay someone if I can do it on my own for less.

Good luck !!

You're right, thank you.

I use Transcend 8GB 300x SLC CompactFlash cards.  I'm pretty sure they'd never give out with a NanoBSD install.  I've had about a dozen of these running in FULL installs for 3+ years now and only just recently had a "failure" (console showed write errors, no actual disruption in service) on my busiest system.  They are pricy though for the size.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017NIKTM/

EDIT: Just saw you posted a list of cards you can buy.  With that list, I'd recommend the SanDisk 4GB Ultra II.  I've got one of those at home with a 2GB NanoBSD install and it works fine.  The SanDisk Extreme cards would allow for faster updates to new releases, but they rival the pricing on the SLC card I mentioned.

What do you mean by safe?

if you want a good way of blocking sites, you can try squidguard, ipblock or countryblock. Snort is also a good thing but I found it "complicated".

If you're using 2.0, and you should be, then it's based on FreeBSD 8.1 so the hardware list is here.
Oh and FreeBSD is not Linux!  ;)

Steve

Although I'm not using one of these myself a mate of mine has one. I'm impressed with how quiet it is. You could run it anywhere no problem. Also it has a load of great features you usually only find on expensive 'server' grade hardware.

Steve

I built a i5 Sandy Bridge pfSense a couple of weeks back. Runs well.. except for the processor running hot due to poor air ventilation in my mini-ITX thermaltake enclosure.

Seems to me you could connect the two offices together with an ISP using Metro Ethernet, that is a layer two connection , and you could make it a /30 point to point. And then keep what you got that would keep the latency low for your VoIP.

I think the NSA 3500 use also a MIPS CPU (IMHO a quad MIPS?!)

@Jason:

There really isn't any such thing as a "software NIC".

I was referring to the type of cards such as the Realtek NICs vs the Intel's that people recommend.

That board has a 82579V which is connected via PCI-e x1.

I thought so, but I wasn't sure.  Where did you find the info?

I don't believe it's supported by pfSense at this time.

It is supported by 2.0-RC3.  Not sure about previous versions, as that's all I've loaded on it.

Either get a VLAN-capable switch or go get an Intel Quad PT on eBay.

Ok thanks for the responses. I'll just buy a decent one that's supported.