Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search
    • Register
    • Login

    PFsense hardware recommendation HELP!

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
    19 Posts 6 Posters 2.6k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • E
      enesas @JKnott
      last edited by

      @JKnott said in PFsense hardware recommendation HELP!:

      @enesas

      I bought a Qotom mini PC, as described in my sig. Works well.

      IS YOUR CONFIGURATION SIMILAR TO WHAT I AM SAYING?

      I ASKED FOR COMPARISON.

      JKnottJ NollipfSenseN 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • E
        enesas @stephenw10
        last edited by

        @stephenw10 said in PFsense hardware recommendation HELP!:

        @enesas said in PFsense hardware recommendation HELP!:

        E5520

        Ok pretty old then but capable. If it's running at 90% it must be passing significant traffic. What bandwidth does the firewall need to pass?

        Almost any current CPU will be as fast or faster than that Xeon though.

        The Wan side has approximately 1 Gbit Bandwidth.
        If I do local or inter-Lan, this can reach 3-4 gbit.
        (not always)

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • JKnottJ
          JKnott @enesas
          last edited by JKnott

          @enesas said in PFsense hardware recommendation HELP!:

          IS YOUR CONFIGURATION SIMILAR TO WHAT I AM SAYING?

          The configuration depends on how you set it up. I do have a VLAN for example, but I do not use snort, etc.. You need hardware with enough resources to do what you want. With my system, the CPU is running at less than 10% when running speedtest at over 900 Mb down.

          Regardess, you don't have to get what I got. There are plenty of other mini PCs around and many are intended for use with pfSense or OPNsense. They are also available with varying number of Ethernet ports. Mine has 4.

          PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
          i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
          UniFi AC-Lite access point

          I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

          E 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • NollipfSenseN
            NollipfSense @enesas
            last edited by

            @enesas said in PFsense hardware recommendation HELP!:

            IS YOUR CONFIGURATION SIMILAR TO WHAT I AM SAYING?

            I ASKED FOR COMPARISON.

            So, why shout at him...no where in your original post did you asked for comparison...you asked for recommendation and indicated you're considering i5 or i7 processor. He gave you an i5 processor hardware recommendation, didn't he?

            Ultimately, only you, as network administrator of your network will determine what's best for you. We all had to make our own choice of hardware for what we want to accomplish with our network.

            pfSense+ 23.09 Lenovo Thinkcentre M93P SFF Quadcore i7 dual Raid-ZFS 128GB-SSD 32GB-RAM PCI-Intel i350-t4 NIC, -Intel QAT 8950.
            pfSense+ 23.09 VM-Proxmox, Dell Precision Xeon-W2155 Nvme 500GB-ZFS 128GB-RAM PCIe-Intel i350-t4, Intel QAT-8950, P-cloud.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • P
              Patch @stephenw10
              last edited by

              @stephenw10 said in PFsense hardware recommendation HELP!:

              What bandwidth does the firewall need to pass?

              @enesas Without providing that information very little specific advice can be given.

              You already have a bench mark (your existing system), relative generic processor comparisons are easily found online. For balanced systems bench marked for pfsense performance see https://www.netgate.com/pfsense-plus-software/how-to-buy#appliances

              There is no justification for shouting given your (some what lazy request) and considered responses received.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • E
                enesas
                last edited by

                I didn't shout at anyone! Maybe there is a pronunciation error due to translation. Don't be sorry about this.

                Thank you all for taking the time to help.

                stephenw10S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • E
                  enesas @JKnott
                  last edited by

                  @JKnott Thank you very much

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

                    @enesas said in PFsense hardware recommendation HELP!:

                    I didn't shout at anyone!

                    You wrote in all CAPS:

                    @enesas said in PFsense hardware recommendation HELP!:

                    I ASKED FOR COMPARISON.

                    It was probably just a mistake but it reads like you are demanding a comparison. 😉

                    It's all good!

                    Steve

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • E
                      enesas
                      last edited by

                      Thanks everyone I bought the hardware.

                      ⬇️
                      500gb NVM
                      i7 12 . GENERATION
                      32GB RAM.
                      Lan: sfp+ NIC

                      The hardware may be a little high, but that's okay, after all, we don't change it all the time. :)

                      NollipfSenseN 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • NollipfSenseN
                        NollipfSense @enesas
                        last edited by

                        @enesas Good choice...should last at least five-years...congrats!

                        pfSense+ 23.09 Lenovo Thinkcentre M93P SFF Quadcore i7 dual Raid-ZFS 128GB-SSD 32GB-RAM PCI-Intel i350-t4 NIC, -Intel QAT 8950.
                        pfSense+ 23.09 VM-Proxmox, Dell Precision Xeon-W2155 Nvme 500GB-ZFS 128GB-RAM PCIe-Intel i350-t4, Intel QAT-8950, P-cloud.

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

                          Yeah that should handle just about anything!

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                          • C
                            coxhaus @NollipfSense
                            last edited by

                            @NollipfSense
                            Why 12th gen? Is the CPU instruction set that much different?

                            NollipfSenseN 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • NollipfSenseN
                              NollipfSense @coxhaus
                              last edited by

                              @coxhaus said in PFsense hardware recommendation HELP!:

                              Why 12th gen? Is the CPU instruction set that much different?

                              It was the OP's choice and I just affirmed...

                              pfSense+ 23.09 Lenovo Thinkcentre M93P SFF Quadcore i7 dual Raid-ZFS 128GB-SSD 32GB-RAM PCI-Intel i350-t4 NIC, -Intel QAT 8950.
                              pfSense+ 23.09 VM-Proxmox, Dell Precision Xeon-W2155 Nvme 500GB-ZFS 128GB-RAM PCIe-Intel i350-t4, Intel QAT-8950, P-cloud.

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • First post
                                Last post
                              Copyright 2025 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate). All rights reserved.