Pfsense into dell poweredge R200 advise

sujyo1

Hello all…
I have dell poweredge R200 with folloing hardware. Can I install pfsense from live cd easily? If I can then which pfsense should I install AMD 64 or i386? SAS Hard drive will work? or require SATA hd? please advise me...Thanks

Processor: Intel Xeon DC-3085 3.0 GHz or 3.00 Ghz Intel Xeon Dual Core Processor E3110
Memory: 4 GB
Hard Drive: 2x 146 GB SAS
ROM: DVD-ROM

sujyo1

Any one please advise….

stephenw10

The R200 is available for sale in the pfSense shop so I'm going to say, yes you can install it! ;)

Which of those CPUs do you have? I would use 64bit either way.

Steve

sujyo1

Thank You for your Reply Steve…
Using pfsense since last year for my business. I am learning a lot how to make, rules, config interfaces, pkgs, etc using pf forum regularly. I have read lots of your reply in to pf forum. U know a lot about pf. I Like pfsense so purchase hp thinclint (1.6MHz Atom, 40GB HD, 2GB memory) pfbox online but Its keep freezing when 80 client log on Captive Portal same time have to restart once a month. I am using 24/7 environment, Squid, Sarg, Snort, Corn, pfbloker, nmap etc packages for reports & logs. Also I have to store all reports & logs for at least 2 years. So decided to build one on higher cpu. I know R200 is power hungry but its stable for 24/7 use.

I have several choice to select form Dell poweredge R200 (under $60-$90 :) my friend is updating his network) in CPU as listed below. I already make pfsense i386 ISO on CD and DVD while some unit have only DVD. I am trying go easy route just insert pf iso live CD or DVD and install full on HD. The sata & sas HD and i386 or 64bit make me confuse. I do not know how to use command lines. So please advise me which way to go.

Intel Xeon DC-3085 3.0 GHz 2gb
3.00 Ghz Intel Xeon Dual Core Processor E3110 2gb
Xeon X3360 Quad Core 2.83GHz, 4gb memory, 250 7.2k SATA HD
Core2 Duo E7400 2.8ghz Dual Core, 4x1gb, DVD, 2x 250gb HDD
Quad Core ,Xeon x3220, 2.4GHz, 64bit, DVD, 250GB HDD

Thank You...

Darkk

I install 64bit OS in various flavors on those Dell servers all the time. Works great. Using 64 bit OS will allow you to expand beyond 4 gigs of ram if necessary. I like the cool factor of running it.

i386 is perfectly fine if you don't plan on using more than 4 gigs. Just remember only way to switch from 32 to 64 is re-install provided you make a back up of your configuration.

Install away!!

stephenw10

Running all those packages in 2GB, especially Snort, I imagine you are running out of RAM. However if most of the time that Atom box is functioning fine then you clearly don't need that much processing power. Any of your CPU choices will be much more powerful and should have no trouble. Use 4GB since 2 proved inadequate.
The disk controller is what I'm unsure about. I've never used an R200. There are plenty of other people using them, including the devs, so it's clearly possible. Did Dell fit more than one type of controller in these boxes? Try it and see. You may have to change the controller configuration.

Steve

sujyo1

Thanks for reply Steve, Darkk…

Will try to install pf AMD64 (not i386) on SAS, quad, 4GB and see...

Here I have found about controller from
(dell.com/downloads/global/products/pedge/en/pe_r200_spec_sheet_new.pdf)
Drive Controller:- Embedded SATA Controller, Optional SAS 5/E Controller
RAID Controller:- Optional SAS 6/iR or PERC 6/E

Once again Thank You very much for your help... :)

stephenw10

PERC 6 is probably supported by the mfi(4) driver.

Steve