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    pfSense Router recommendations?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
    24 Posts 6 Posters 3.5k Views
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    • M
      michmoor LAYER 8 Rebel Alliance @stephenw10
      last edited by

      @stephenw10 said in pfSense Router recommendations?:

      If you need 1G between separate interfaces internally you would probably want to step up to something like our new 4200.

      The 4200 doesnt come with a SSD?? Is this an oversight?
      HA Proxy recommendation is to use a SSD

      Firewall: NetGate,Palo Alto-VM,Juniper SRX
      Routing: Juniper, Arista, Cisco
      Switching: Juniper, Arista, Cisco
      Wireless: Unifi, Aruba IAP
      JNCIP,CCNP Enterprise

      JonathanLeeJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • JonathanLeeJ
        JonathanLee @michmoor
        last edited by

        @michmoor You can get the MAX it comes with one right?

        Make sure to upvote

        M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • M
          michmoor LAYER 8 Rebel Alliance @JonathanLee
          last edited by

          @JonathanLee
          There is no MAX option.
          The spec sheet has the following: 16 GB eMMC (onboard - soldered)

          I would HIGHLY recommend confirming if a bootable SSD is possible on this unit otherwise eMMC isnt remotely reasonable.

          Firewall: NetGate,Palo Alto-VM,Juniper SRX
          Routing: Juniper, Arista, Cisco
          Switching: Juniper, Arista, Cisco
          Wireless: Unifi, Aruba IAP
          JNCIP,CCNP Enterprise

          M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • M
            michmoor LAYER 8 Rebel Alliance @michmoor
            last edited by

            @michmoor

            The comparison pdf does say its upgradable but its not listed on the product sheet page oddly.

            389bbaea-525d-4f20-bd73-7fd5e7e9ceee-image.png

            But its all copper ports so assuming the internet will continue to be delivered via copper its fine. IMO, look at the 6100 just for port flexibility (Copper or SFP)

            Firewall: NetGate,Palo Alto-VM,Juniper SRX
            Routing: Juniper, Arista, Cisco
            Switching: Juniper, Arista, Cisco
            Wireless: Unifi, Aruba IAP
            JNCIP,CCNP Enterprise

            M S VerticalTechnikV 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • M
              mcury Rebel Alliance @michmoor
              last edited by mcury

              @michmoor said in pfSense Router recommendations?:

              @michmoor

              The comparison pdf does say its upgradable but its not listed on the product sheet page oddly.

              389bbaea-525d-4f20-bd73-7fd5e7e9ceee-image.png

              But its all copper ports so assuming the internet will continue to be delivered via copper its fine. IMO, look at the 6100 just for port flexibility (Copper or SFP)

              That 4200 looks really, reallyyyy nice with those speeds..
              I suppose the price drop is related to the 4 ports only ?
              4100 has 6 ports, 4 2.5Gbps ports + 2 1Gbps ports.

              I received the e-mail about this launch around 3 three weeks ago, but I thought that I couldn't speak about it since it wasn't officially announced .

              I won't be getting one because I'm pretty fine with 4100, but I'm interested if it supports additional storage.
              I have a few customers that I could be offering these to..

              dead on arrival, nowhere to be found.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • S
                SteveITS Galactic Empire @michmoor
                last edited by

                @michmoor said in pfSense Router recommendations?:

                comparison pdf does say its upgradable but its not listed on the product sheet page oddly.

                Good catch, I wonder if that's an error there. By contrast the 8200 is only listed as a Max in the store.

                Some models like the 2100 have a doc page with instructions for adding an m.2 but several others with Max versions do not...which as I recall from other posts is because it's problematic for the public to do so correctly.

                Pre-2.7.2/23.09: Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
                When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to restart, or more depending on packages and device speed.
                Upvote 👍 helpful posts!

                JonathanLeeJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • JonathanLeeJ
                  JonathanLee @SteveITS
                  last edited by JonathanLee

                  @SteveITS Mine came with one but I could still access the how to install page, again the SSD that was installed got better smart status results over my personal SSD M.2 card, that one works perfectly but some of the smart status items built into pfSense did not work with the KingSpec but did with the version that came with the firewall

                  Make sure to upvote

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • stephenw10S
                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                    last edited by

                    There's no MAX option for the 4200. Yet.

                    The 8200 is 'MAX only because is actually doesn't have any eMMC.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • JonathanLeeJ
                      JonathanLee
                      last edited by JonathanLee

                      Get that new 4200 it just came out it’s got intel processor also so it can do ips ids inline filtering it might even have a cryptography chip like the older 2100s,

                      It’s on sale also cost what my 2100 did new when I fist purchased it

                      Make sure to upvote

                      M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • M
                        mcury Rebel Alliance @JonathanLee
                        last edited by

                        @JonathanLee said in pfSense Router recommendations?:

                        Get that new 4200 it just came out it’s got intel processor also so it can do ips ids inline filtering it might even have a cryptography chip like the older 2100s,

                        It’s on sale also cost what my 2100 did new when I fist purchased it

                        If I was to buy a new device now, the SG-4200 would be a very good candidate..

                        dead on arrival, nowhere to be found.

                        M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • M
                          michmoor LAYER 8 Rebel Alliance @mcury
                          last edited by michmoor

                          @mcury
                          I dunno. Impressive specs except for the storage.
                          I just checked the manual as it's available and there is no Optional M.2 SATA Installation section.
                          As long as there isn't heavy use of local storage in any way I say scoop it up but I'm extremely weary of purchasing this without at least a robust ssd. The forums are filled with eMMC issues.

                          Firewall: NetGate,Palo Alto-VM,Juniper SRX
                          Routing: Juniper, Arista, Cisco
                          Switching: Juniper, Arista, Cisco
                          Wireless: Unifi, Aruba IAP
                          JNCIP,CCNP Enterprise

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                          • VerticalTechnikV
                            VerticalTechnik @michmoor
                            last edited by

                            @michmoor said in pfSense Router recommendations?:

                            @michmoor

                            The comparison pdf does say its upgradable but its not listed on the product sheet page oddly.

                            389bbaea-525d-4f20-bd73-7fd5e7e9ceee-image.png

                            But its all copper ports so assuming the internet will continue to be delivered via copper its fine. IMO, look at the 6100 just for port flexibility (Copper or SFP)

                            THX for all the replies, highly appreciated!
                            I might go with the Netgate-6100-Max, but still looking around and evaluating.

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • VerticalTechnikV
                              VerticalTechnik @stephenw10
                              last edited by

                              @stephenw10 said in pfSense Router recommendations?:

                              Do you need 1Gbps between internal interfaces?

                              Are you using VPNs at all?

                              The 100Mbps WAN could easily be handled by any of our devices.

                              If you need 1G between separate interfaces internally you would probably want to step up to something like our new 4200.

                              Steve

                              VPN = yes we use VPN
                              We use a lot of inhouse data-traffic between Workstations and Synology-NAS, 3 different Proxmox (Mail-Server, Bookkeeping-Management & Ticketing-Tool).

                              stephenw10S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • stephenw10S
                                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator @VerticalTechnik
                                last edited by

                                @VerticalTechnik said in pfSense Router recommendations?:

                                We use a lot of inhouse data-traffic between Workstations and Synology-NAS, 3 different Proxmox (Mail-Server, Bookkeeping-Management & Ticketing-Tool).

                                If those things are on the same subnet then that traffic doesn't need to pass the firewall and it only ever carries the 100Mbps WAN traffic. In which case the 2100 is more than sufficient.

                                But if you have separate internal subnets the firewall has to route between then you'd probably want more power. Like the 4200.

                                Steve

                                VerticalTechnikV 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • VerticalTechnikV
                                  VerticalTechnik @stephenw10
                                  last edited by

                                  @stephenw10 said in pfSense Router recommendations?:

                                  @VerticalTechnik said in pfSense Router recommendations?:

                                  We use a lot of inhouse data-traffic between Workstations and Synology-NAS, 3 different Proxmox (Mail-Server, Bookkeeping-Management & Ticketing-Tool).

                                  If those things are on the same subnet then that traffic doesn't need to pass the firewall and it only ever carries the 100Mbps WAN traffic. In which case the 2100 is more than sufficient.

                                  But if you have separate internal subnets the firewall has to route between then you'd probably want more power. Like the 4200.

                                  Steve

                                  Yes they are on the same subnet.
                                  Finally I have found the product name of our current Firewall-Hardware, which seems to be not bad: Varia IPFire Komplettsystem - APU4D4, 4 GB RAM, 16 GB mSATA SSD, rot

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                                  • stephenw10S
                                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                    last edited by

                                    Ok so that's just a rebranded PCEngines APU4. Those are close to 1Gbps throughput with pfSense.

                                    If you're only moving traffic that is routed via the WAN and that's only 100Mbps the 2100 can easily handle that. Even with a VPN.

                                    The 4200 would give you more 'future proofing' if you plan to upgrade your WAN or if you decide to separate your internal resources into different subnets and need to route that.

                                    VerticalTechnikV 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                    • VerticalTechnikV
                                      VerticalTechnik @stephenw10
                                      last edited by

                                      @stephenw10 Good day Stephen..
                                      How would you connect the Netgate 4200:
                                      Port1 = LAN ?
                                      Port2 = WAN ?
                                      Port3 = DMZ ?

                                      Regards, Tim

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • stephenw10S
                                        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                        last edited by

                                        That would work.

                                        The default config for any Netgate device uses the first port as WAN. I would always recommend using that because it makes reinstalling or resetting far easier.
                                        https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/solutions/netgate-4200/io-ports.html#networking-ports

                                        So:
                                        Port1 = WAN
                                        Port2 = LAN
                                        Port3 = DMZ
                                        Port4 = WiFi perhaps

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
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