Supermicro X7SPA-H*-D525 – anyone using it?
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If you are considering saving power while using pfSense take a look at the idle power consumption of i3 processors as compared to Atom. It is surprising but for just a few bucks more you can get an latest i3 second generation LGA1155 system built and is 20 times more powerful than an Atom but at the same time it uses similar or at times even less power than an Atom.
I am using an i5 (seems like an overkill but it is working in extremely power efficient manner) system since last 6 months and love it.
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What are you running, and were you motivated by power-consumption considerations?
I'm running an old Watchguard Firebox that I got from Ebay. See: http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,25011.0.html
Mostly I was motivated by that fact I could get a box that orginally cost £1000's for £40! :D
However since this is for home use and it's on 24/7 power is always a consideration. I swapped out the cpu for a less powerful one. My box draws around 40W at the plug most of the time.
You should be able to achieve less that 25W with an Atom. If you choose an NXXX Atom and use a DC-DC power supply you can get very low consumption.
I agree with Asterix though, take a look at an i3 system. You will likely be drawing similar power but if you ever need to use VPNs, Squid or Snort extensively you will be much better prepared.What bandwidth are you firewalling?
Steve
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It is surprising but for just a few bucks more you can get an latest i3 second generation LGA1155 system built and is 20 times more powerful than an Atom but at the same time it uses similar or at times even less power than an Atom.
I also agree with this. I recently built a SB Celeron G530 and does everything I need. Plus it can always be upgraded as/if needed:
http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,44269.0.html -
If you are considering saving power while using pfSense take a look at the idle power consumption of i3 processors as compared to Atom. It is surprising but for just a few bucks more you can get an latest i3 second generation LGA1155 system built and is 20 times more powerful than an Atom but at the same time it uses similar or at times even less power than an Atom.
I am using an i5 (seems like an overkill but it is working in extremely power efficient manner) system since last 6 months and love it.
After reading your suggestion, I looked around for boards that might work. But either I didn't look in the right place, or there are no combinations that would come in at anywhere near the price.
Too, I'm less concerned with the system's consumption when idling than with its consumption when going flat out.
I don't intend to host a site visible to the outside on my LAN, so I'll be happy if whatever I choose has enough muscle to keep the bad guys out of my sandbox without bottlenecking, and possibly run a VPN pipe at a useful speed. If it turns out that at some point I need more, it'll only be because I'm being paid for it. In which case I'll be able to afford another build ;D
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What do you consider a useful speed?
The D525 will do approximately 500Mps firewall/NAT or 60Mbps VPN in one direction.
See: http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,27780.0.htmlSteve
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I'm running an old Watchguard Firebox that I got from Ebay. See: http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,25011.0.html
Mostly I was motivated by that fact I could get a box that orginally cost £1000's for £40! :DGood grief, that thing's a monster!
However since this is for home use and it's on 24/7 power is always a consideration. I swapped out the cpu for a less powerful one. My box draws around 40W at the plug most of the time.
You should be able to achieve less that 25W with an Atom. If you choose an NXXX Atom and use a DC-DC power supply you can get very low consumption.Forty watts isn't awful - especially for your one - but I admit I'm more hoping for a 20-25W draw when it's going flat out.
I agree with Asterix though, take a look at an i3 system. You will likely be drawing similar power but if you ever need to use VPNs, Squid or Snort extensively you will be much better prepared.
The problem, tho, as I remarked to Asterix, is that I can't find anything that looks like I could bring it in for anywhere close to that SM board. I might be looking in the wrong place.
What bandwidth are you firewalling?
At present, only 1Mb - it's all I can get where I now live. But if I succeed in moving to a larger city, I'll be able to get 5.
I mostly do software, and have my LAN rigged up as a pico-Inet sandbox. My main goal is to keep the vandals out of my sandbox, and I might have a use for a single VPN pipe in future. But that's the lot. It's really totally boring.
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What do you consider a useful speed?
The D525 will do approximately 500Mps firewall/NAT or 60Mbps VPN in one direction.
See: http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,27780.0.htmlThat sounds like it could be fast enough ;D
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If you only need 5Mbps then consider an Alix box which draws <5W!
Steve
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The Alix mamaboard with the 3 ethernet ports was the first board I looked at, and I nearly settled for it then and there.
But after looking at it in more depth, I was glad I hadn't. It seems more a "project" board for hobbyists or unattended applications, not the kind of thing you'd want to talk to very often if at all.
I could imagine an Alix doing a nice job running a security system, where it does nothing but poll cameras and sensors and send the data back to a machine that has actual power and personality. But even then I'd assign two Alicies to the job, because the other thing that bothered me about them was that they look like they're made cheaply.
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I can't speak from personal experience but the Alix boards generally enjoy a very good reputation.
They are capable of firewall/NAT at 85Mbps so should be easily capable in your situation.Steve
