Recommendation for cheap reliable pfSense platform with 3+ Ethernet?
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I'm switching Internet providers as my old ISP is changing hands, and I'm considering doing a failover/load-balancing scheme with 2 consumer broadband up-streams. Max speed will be 5-8Mb/s downstream on one, probably 1.5Mb/s on the other, so it shouldn't need a high-end CPU to handle that many packets.
It would be nice to have a 3 port embedded-style box for this. My current pfSense install is on a fitPC with just 2 ports, and has been working great for a couple years, but it's not going to work quite as nicely for dual providers. (It might be workable if I stick a switch between it and the DSL/cable modems.)
It looks like a Soekris 4801 would be one option, in the $220 range + storage, or an Alix 2d3 for maybe around $150 + storage. Any other recommendations for low-cost hardware with 3+ LAN ports, ideally a complete system in a box? (A VGA console would be nice, if only for ease of installation.)
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Doh! And now I see I missed the list of recommended hardware vendors on the main pfSense web site. I'll go browse that a while.
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For that level of bandwidth, and ALIX would do nicely. They don't really need "storage" per se, just a CF card, and those are dirt cheap (less than $20 for a 4GB card)
Low power, no moving parts, it'll just do the job and sit there looking pretty (if you get a pretty case, anyhow :-)
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When we say "low power" for these boards, we really do mean low power! Only around 6W! :D
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We really need an embedded platform somewhere between an ALIX and an Atom that doesn't cost a fortune. C'mon hardware vendors! ;D
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Well ALIX runs ~$200 or so, and there are Atoms that can be built/found for less than $400 - There isn't much room between them, really.
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Well ALIX runs ~$200 or so, and there are Atoms that can be built/found for less than $400 - There isn't much room between them, really.
True…. I suppose I could add size, heat and power consumption to the requirements though, which makes it harder.
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There are Atom boards with no moving parts that only draw ~30-40w. Still hard to beat. :-)
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What we really need is something like an ALIX board with a couple more interfaces.
Speaking with the guy who made these boards, it isn't possible to add more NICs to the current design :(
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You can get a Soekris board that takes a multi-nic addon board, though I wouldn't want to run that many interfaces through a Geode CPU.
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There are Atom boards with no moving parts that only draw ~30-40w. Still hard to beat. :-)
True, but most of us just need 2x or 3x more speed than an ALIX. So 2-3x more power (under 20w) would be nice. :)
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There are plenty of boards out there with ~1GHz Via CPUs. Not sure of the price offhand but they fit that general profile, between ALIX and Atom.
Though given the relatively small difference between that and the atom and the vastly better performance of the atom, it's worth the couple extra bucks.
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Your FitPC would handle the bandwidth just fine. Why not get a Microtik RB250GS switch that supports VLANs? It's cheap - ~US$50 street, less online. Not to mention, you can reuse it in future for 'multiplying' physical ports on other setups so you have the option of using a single NIC low power mobo which is far more abundant on the market.
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There are Atom boards with no moving parts that only draw ~30-40w. Still hard to beat. :-)
You can do better than that with an Atom. I had a few 330 systems that would idle at 24W and jump to 26W when running hard. A single core 230 or one of the newer chips would probably shave a few watts off. A lot of that has to do with the efficient power supply.
More Info:
http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,14050.msg77639.html#msg77639What I'd really like to see is something that sits between the Alix and Atom on power consumption but is closer to the Alix's size. Something that can idle around 6-10W (my Alix at home sits around 2-3W) that is capable of maxing out 100Mbit/s symmetric would be perfect. The C7 is pretty close to that but the boards with multiple NICs are all Mini-ITX and end up WAY larger than an Alix system.
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I've just setup PFSense on a Jetway JNC9C MiniITX motherboards (passive cooling) with 5 NICs (2xRealtek, 3xIntel). Working very well so far.
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LogicSupply has some great low power stuff. Great customer service and tech's that will custom make your stuff. Many are using the jetway MB's with the optional daughterboard where you can buy a multi-homed NIC. I went with the intel NIC AD3INLAN-G
http://www.logicsupply.com/industries/firewall_networking
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How are you getting multiple nics on the Atoms? That's the problem I've been having with all of the setups. I need at least 4 nics.
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I'm using both the VIA and the Atom with from Jetway with the addon 3 intel nic card. They both work great.
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Do you have any links? Thanks.
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two installs are using this mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813153065&cm_re=jetway--13-153-065--ProductOne install is using this mobo http://www.logicsupply.com/products/nf92_270_lf
Both mobos are using this module http://www.logicsupply.com/products/ad3inlang
