NIC crashes or freezes under heavy traffic - S930 - Try a lot

[Leon98]

I had time to test again at home today. My internet connection is significantly slower, but that doesn't matter.
Booted up the S930 Thin-Client with the quad port NIC and did a speed test, it froze again. Nic installed in a desktop PC and installed pfsense, several speed tests without any problems. Then I put the NIC back into the Thin-Client and I was able to do several speed tests without changing anything. This completely confuses me now...

To briefly say something about the project: it's about a small hotel with a restaurant that wants to make internet available to its guests. In addition to a few own devices, a few access points for the WiFi are installed. In total, I'm counting on 100 - 200 devices, although of course not all of them need a lot of internet. The pfSense only has to separate the networks (VLANs and Routing), Captive Portaland assign DHCP addresses...

[stephenw10]

Potentially could have updated the NIC firmware if it ever booted into a different OS or newer pfSense.

[Leon98]

@stephenw10 said in NIC crashes or freezes under heavy traffic - S930 - Try a lot:

Potentially could have updated the NIC firmware if it ever booted into a different OS or newer pfSense.

The Quad Port NIC is from Fujitsu with Intel i340 chipset. As far as I know, it can't be updated normally.

[w0w]

@Leon98
So you have been entered BIOS and checked the log as @slu mentioned?

[Leon98]

@w0w Yes. The BIOS also doesn't show any messages except an old message that the RAM has been replaced.
I tested it several times today and had no more problems. Even if I removed and reinstalled the NIC. I didn't change any settings or anything. How can the problem suddenly disappear into thin air?

Somehow I don't trust it and I think I'm looking for other hardware. Maybe a used SG Sophos and then pfSense? Or an SFF PC?

[claudio69]

@Leon98 Hi, I have the same Fujitsu i340 T4 card, it is a server class controller, it works great in all hardware where I have pfsense installed.
It is currently in use on Lenovo M920Q Tiny i5 8500T which could be a more robust solution for managing a network of 100-200 connections, VPN, etc
15w / 20w consumption, lots of information on the net.

[w0w]

@Leon98
SFF is the best for me, and literally any mATX PC will do the job.
@Leon98 said in NIC crashes or freezes under heavy traffic - S930 - Try a lot:

Even if I removed and reinstalled the NIC. I didn't change any settings or anything. How can the problem suddenly disappear into thin air?

Cold soldering, or detached BGA (Ball Grid Array), bad slot contact, too much dust in slot. Anything.

[Leon98]

The idea that it could be due a cold soldering is a good one and I hadn't even thought of that.

For under €200 I can get a Sophos firewall (XG210, SG210/230 or UTM220). With the Sophos firewalls, you could upgrade the CPU. In many posts you also read about Supermicro servers (Xeon / Atom CPU) or other servers like the Dell R210 II. Or of course a normal SFF PC or firewall hardware from other manufacturers like Juniper or Protectli.

I think that 8 to 16GB of RAM is sufficient. And first the quad port gigabit NIC with Intel chipset. You can always switch to a NIC with SFP later. I'm really overwhelmed when it comes to choosing a CPU and can't even estimate which one makes sense. Firstly, which Intel CPU itself (Xeon, Atom, i3, i5, i7) and then also how many cores/threads are needed and the clock speed.
Most of the instructions and discussions deal with the hardware for a home network. However, my project requires significantly more power, for at least a gigabit uplink and perhaps over 200 DHCP clients (users).

[ahking19]

@Leon98 take a look at the Netgate hardware comparison chart and compare the CPU's vs performance that they are spec'ing in their products to get an idea.

I wouldn't mess with repurposing a Sophos unit if you don't already own it. Maybe as a side project to use as a cold backup.

However, my project requires significantly more power, for at least a gigabit uplink and perhaps over 200 DHCP clients (users).<<

Its all relative but most modern Intel CPU's can handle a GB uplink easily.

There are plenty of threads discussing new hardware if you share your budget and requirements - packages running, VPN, etc.

[w0w]

@Leon98
"Buy cheap, buy twice." Do you know what this means?

Consider the Minisforum MS-01 or the Qotom Q20332G9-S10 along with a managed 10/1/Gbit switch. These are good alternatives if you don't want Netgate hardware.