Recommendation for a 1u colocated server

mitzkoff · Dec 13, 2011, 5:10 PM

Hi, can anyone recommend a good pfSense appliance for my 1u colocated server that is running an email server with 50 users and a webserver that serves basic webpages & images to about 30,000-50,000 visitors a month?

I was considering the Netgate m1n1wall 2D2 seen here: http://store.netgate.com/Netgate-m1n1wall-2D2-Black-P220C61.aspx
Is this powerful enough?

I'm in Toronto Canada, so local suggestions would be great too.

Thanks

stephenw10 · Dec 13, 2011, 8:17 PM

@mitzkoff:

Is this powerful enough?

For what?
What are you doing with the pfSense box, just firewalling?
What throughput do you need from the box?
Are you planning to use VPN, packages etc?

Steve

mitzkoff · Dec 14, 2011, 4:23 PM

Thanks for the reply. Yes, my main use is just firewalling. To give you a better idea, I want to replace the d-link dir655 that is currently doing the job :-)

My main goal is to be able to use the 6 public ip's that I have allocated to me from my colo provider which the d-link does not support, and maybe take advantage of some content filtering and other cool features that pfSense has.

I'm not sure about throughput, I have a standard 1u colocation contract, which gives me 10mbps I believe.

No vpn.

stephenw10 · Dec 14, 2011, 4:58 PM

The Alix inside that will support 85Mbps or NAT and firewall so should be fine initailly.
However if you want to do content filtering by using Squid and Squidguard you may find the box struggling.
Have a look here: http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,43782.0.html
Probably good for 10Mbps though.

Steve

mitzkoff · Dec 14, 2011, 5:44 PM

I see what you mean about the content filtering, the cf-card doesn't cut it. Do you have any recommendations for something a bit better then the Netgate 2D2?

stephenw10 · Dec 14, 2011, 8:53 PM

No I have no recommendations I'm afraid. :-
All my pfSense experience has been with second hand equipment.
There seems to be quite a jump from the Alix to some thing faster in price terms. The Supermicro 1U servers seem to get well received on the forum but I've never used one.

Steve

mitzkoff · Dec 14, 2011, 9:46 PM

Thanks, I was starting to see that price difference after the many hours of web searching. The next tier looks like + $500 devices unless you diy but the mini pc market looks like a huge mess.

I think I'll try the m1n1wall 2D3. It can't be any worse than the D-Link, and if I somehow manage to max it out, I can always use it for home. Thanks a lot for your time.

jp141 · Dec 14, 2011, 11:08 PM

Dont forget it can run on standard hardware too, you could pick up a cheap 1U HP/Dell server on ebay, just check the HW compatibility lists :)

mitzkoff · Dec 15, 2011, 6:34 AM

It would be an option, but I'm trying to stay at 1u. If the m1n1wall doesn't work out then I'll definitely try a used dell 1u. Thanks

network1 · Dec 15, 2011, 9:10 PM

I've just started a similar thread looking for much the same thing.

http://www.idotpc.com/TheStore/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=105

http://www.arbor-usa.com/catalog/network-communications/cat_soho-small-business-server-platforms.html

joako · Dec 21, 2011, 8:53 AM

Personally I would get something with alot of RAM, I think snort can be very beneficial in this scenario.

Supermule · Dec 21, 2011, 8:58 AM

I would go for an IBM X336 1U server with 8gb ram. Works very well and can handle 1gbit throughput…

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=ibm+x336+8gb&_sacat=0&_odkw=ibm+x336&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

Runs like a charm 24/7/365 :)

jwelter99 · Dec 21, 2011, 10:25 PM

@Supermule:

I would go for an IBM X336 1U server with 8gb ram. Works very well and can handle 1gbit throughput…

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=ibm+x336+8gb&_sacat=0&_odkw=ibm+x336&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

Runs like a charm 24/7/365 :)

Power is a pig on those so if you are paying for VA used you are better off looking elsewhere. But if power is unlimited they will work fine.

Supermule · Dec 22, 2011, 8:30 AM

Mine is currently using 160watts….so not a big issue.

jwelter99 · Dec 22, 2011, 3:02 PM

@Supermule:

Mine is currently using 160watts….so not a big issue.

My E3-1260L's are humming along at 68 watts (using SSD). In our co-lo that charges $0.70/VA/month that means it's saving me about $95 a month so the payback window is short.

Supermule · Dec 22, 2011, 4:38 PM

What hardware do you use then to support those processors?

jwelter99 · Dec 22, 2011, 6:06 PM

@Supermule:

What hardware do you use then to support those processors?

Supermicro X9SCL+F board with Intel X520 gig-e SFP+ NIC.

mitzkoff · Dec 31, 2011, 12:47 AM

Update

Hey guys, I ended up getting an alix 2d2 device from here: http://www.xagyl.com/store/product.php?productid=16296&cat=0&page=1. It came with pfsense preinstalled on a 4gb cf-card. I have it set up and it is working great! It was a lot easier to setup than I thought. It has so far been able to handle my server load with no problems at all. I can now use all my allocated public ip's from my colocation provider all on one nic on my server! It's great! I will report back in a month or so with more updates.

Thanks everybody for all the help.

Phonebuff · Dec 31, 2011, 2:47 PM

One other consideration for those that come across the thread..

The Soekris units 5501 & 6501 both now have a 1RU rack mount case option with internal A/C an HD options…

Although I know of a number of installs using the Netgate and SuperMicro solutions mentioned and all I can say is
"if it's PFSense, it's going to work" !!

Recommendation for a 1u colocated server

Happy New Year all..