"Mini" system for 150/65Mbps connection
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Now this is very intriguing. Would the 1.1ghz model be enough? Which did you use? Do you think this would work out running pfsense from USB instead of investing in an SSD?
In terms of size, power consumption and performance reported by AudiAddict, this little box must be hard to beat.
The specs say "Bootable from HDD, USB thumb drive, USB CDROM, USB hard disk, over network". Maybe AudiAddict could confirm booting pfSense from the USB. I don't have one - yet ;) It's about what you want to use it for. -
The Realtek issue is more about the FreeBSD driver than the hardware itself, I think, considering I've had no issues with them in Windows. Same reason we recommend certain wireless chipsets over others - drivers.
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Now this is very intriguing. Would the 1.1ghz model be enough? Which did you use? Do you think this would work out running pfsense from USB instead of investing in an SSD?
In terms of size, power consumption and performance reported by AudiAddict, this little box must be hard to beat.
The specs say "Bootable from HDD, USB thumb drive, USB CDROM, USB hard disk, over network". Maybe AudiAddict could confirm booting pfSense from the USB. I don't have one - yet ;) It's about what you want to use it for.I have successfully booted and run pfsense from a USB stick. It is a bit slower IMO. Most likely won't last as long as an SSD or HDD, but it will work in a pinch. (HDD was DOA, but had to move forward with the deployment, replaced the USB with the replacement HDD when it came in. Love the backup and restore in pfsense.) There is a boot option you must set. It is the same as pressing 3 when you boot pfsense normally before it works reliably.
Efonne - That is a good point. Since we are all using BSD with our pfsense deployments, it does affect us. But I would like to say that even in Windows, I have had more of them fail and under perform than intel. Even newer ones. They are cheap and you get what you pay for.
Mmmmm … fuel for the fire.
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I have successfully booted and run pfsense from a USB stick. It is a bit slower IMO. Most likely won't last as long as an SSD or HDD, but it will work in a pinch. (HDD was DOA, but had to move forward with the deployment, replaced the USB with the replacement HDD when it came in. Love the backup and restore in pfsense.) There is a boot option you must set. It is the same as pressing 3 when you boot pfsense normally before it works reliably.
Thanks. The reason I'm debating USB is of course price as this is just for a home set up. I would assume the USB version loads most everything to do with routing into RAM, and I don't use any of the more advanced features at this time, just routing. I'll probably give it a shot and then upgrade in the future if I need to.
Ben
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Now this is very intriguing. Would the 1.1ghz model be enough? Which did you use? Do you think this would work out running pfsense from USB instead of investing in an SSD?
In terms of size, power consumption and performance reported by AudiAddict, this little box must be hard to beat.
The specs say "Bootable from HDD, USB thumb drive, USB CDROM, USB hard disk, over network". Maybe AudiAddict could confirm booting pfSense from the USB. I don't have one - yet ;) It's about what you want to use it for.I did just realize something. AudiAddict is saying this works great for him, but it's not Intel network cards as everyone described, its Realtek RTL8111..
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That is true, in the end, it is your system and we don't have to live with it. If you are comfortable with realtec, then go for it. We are only giving you suggestions based on our experience.
If you are going to run on USB, just make sure that you use a quality one and have backups (as you should anyway). If you can, avoid onboard realtec nic (you cannot replace those without replacing the MB).
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AudiAddict is saying this works great for him, but it's not Intel network cards as everyone described, its Realtek RTL8111..
You also have to consider that those little boxes aren't that cheap but they do seem to perform, chew very little power and make no noise. I think those things were among your criteria but the Fit-PC was only a suggestion. You have to decide what's best for you.
What podilarius says is very true - everything in one of those Fit-PCs is on one little board and if anything breaks you have to replace the whole thing. You can usually recycle a lot of stuff after a failed motherboard, assuming the whole system wasn't welded together by some massive power surge :D
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I did just realize something. AudiAddict is saying this works great for him, but it's not Intel network cards as everyone described, its Realtek RTL8111..
It works but the reliability of the hardware tends to be a hit an miss affair.
I had a D945GCLF2 running with the onboard 8111C for more than a year continuously on 1.2RC2 till 1.2.3. It worked fairly well (granted I was shaping for a mere 40 gaming PCs on a 4M/768K DSL line) until I had to take down the machine for a scheduled power grid maintenance.
The nic pretty much died right after. Connection flapping and all. Switched in a spare Intel MT dual-port and it ran till the day I wound up the business (about 2 years). Even then, I re-used the card in another pfSense rig for another year and a half. Very good deal for the price I paid (US$27 brand new in box with international shipping).
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Hi All,
Tacking on one final question before I make the decision between the larger Jetway machine with Intel NICs and the smaller Fit-PC with Realtek. The specs for the Fit-PC show:
6W at low CPU load
8W at full CPU load
1W at standbyWhile all I can see about the Jetway (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856107095) is a 60W power brick. Given the Atom 1.1ghz vs 1.8ghz in each, power consumption will likely be near the same between the two boxes regardless, right?
Thanks!
Ben -
I would imagine that if you use powerd, you could keep the power usage low.