Supermicro X7SPA-HF-D525 or D2500CC, would they be up to the task?

MrT0ad · Oct 18, 2012, 8:58 AM

Hi beautiful people:

I'm looking at building a box for a friend, whisper quiet and low power.

After reading the forums I've come up with two possible propositions keeping it as simple as I possibly can, as I have the distinct feeling I will be doing the maintenance, so no maintenance, happy batrachian.

X7SPA-HF-D525 + Intel PRO/1000 PT Quad (I already have this, bought a few from eBay) + 4GB RAM

D2500CC + Commell MPX-574D (I already have this from a previous experiment) + 4GB RAM

Haven't decided on storage yet (DOM, USB, CF… I believe either will do).

Will either (or both) proposition handle 140-150 Mbps of combined (two load-balanced FTTC connections) firewall throughput? (No swines, no cephalopods, no VPN, just firewall).

Thanks for reading :)

PS: I don't seem to find a supplier this side of the pond for the D2500CCE, what is the difference? Same board, extended MTBF for the "E" flavour?

stephenw10 · Oct 18, 2012, 10:26 AM

Both of those processors will be able to firewall/NAT at >550Mbps so should be no problems at all for you.
You won't need anywhere near 4GB if you're not going to use Snort or Squid.

Steve

MrT0ad · Oct 18, 2012, 10:49 AM

@stephenw10:

Both of those processors will be able to firewall/NAT at >550Mbps so should be no problems at all for you.
You won't need anywhere near 4GB if you're not going to use Snort or Squid.

Steve

Thank you for your reply stephen :)

He doesn't need any of the additional features the Supermicro board has to offer, so I think I might go for the Intel one and save him some £££.

The RAM I have here @ no cost, but I will take heed and maybe put 2GB instead of 4GB. He is unlikely to get tangled with Snort…

stephenw10 · Oct 18, 2012, 11:01 AM

There was a problem with the built in graphics in the chipset for the new Atoms. I believe this has been patched in recent 2.1 snapshots. Anyway it can make installation a bit tricky as there are artifacts on the console. There is an extensive thread about it.

Steve

MrT0ad · Oct 18, 2012, 11:04 AM

@stephenw10:

There was a problem with the built in graphics in the chipset for the new Atoms. I believe this has been patched in recent 2.1 snapshots. Anyway it can make installation a bit tricky as there are artifacts on the console. There is an extensive thread about it.

Steve

Whoops, don't like the sound of that, thanks for the heads up.

Will search on the forum for info before I get that board.

stephenw10 · Oct 18, 2012, 11:10 AM

Not a show stopper just something to be aware of. Here's the thread:
http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,46489.0.html

Steve

MrT0ad · Oct 18, 2012, 11:41 AM

@stephenw10:

Not a show stopper just something to be aware of. Here's the thread:
http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,46489.0.html

Steve

Gonna have to buy you a beer :)

Last post on that thread is a success story and after reading throughout you were right, is not a show stopper.

Gonna go for that board, thanks again for your help :)