Pfsense custom build help $450 budget from ($200)
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It's hard to recommend anything other than the Rangely Atoms right now since so many of the reference platforms are going that way. If you can afford it.
If you need to push 100Mbps of VPN traffic that immediately rules out some things, both the previously linked older Atom boards for example.Steve
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Thanks "stephenw10" if you had to pick between the two boards what one would you pick? Between the two its about a $30 price difference. How much bandwidth do you think the Atom C2758 or Atom F2758 can handle?
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I've got a couple of these http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apex-Mini-ITX-AL-8250SFX-Intel-D410PT-Atom-2GB-DDR2-160GB-DVD-RW-Complete-PC-/281582664738?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item418fa27c22 that I yanked the dvd drive from and added a dual broadcom Gig NIC card to (three NIC's total). I don't need all of them. If you want one, I'd send it to you for $65 plus whatever the actual shipping cost is.
Honestly that looks great and the offer is appreciated, I am looking to build something myself. I am a young college student that just got out of high school. This system that I am building would be for educational purpose. I don't need top end sever hardware, just something that is not low end and won't really do anything for me.
If any questions arise please ask. Or any feedback would be great.
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if you had to pick between the two boards what one would you pick? Between the two its about a $30 price difference. How much bandwidth do you think the Atom C2758 or Atom F2758 can handle?
There's not much in it. I guess if you have a space requirement go for the mini-ITX.
It can handle a lot of bandwidth. >1Gb/s of firewall/NAT. >1Gbps of VPN once Quick Assist is enabled by all accounts. These Atom CPUs are nothing like Atoms of old.
Steve
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if you had to pick between the two boards what one would you pick? Between the two its about a $30 price difference. How much bandwidth do you think the Atom C2758 or Atom F2758 can handle?
There's not much in it. I guess if you have a space requirement go for the mini-ITX.
It can handle a lot of bandwidth. >1Gb/s of firewall/NAT. >1Gbps of VPN once Quick Assist is enabled by all accounts. These Atom CPUs are nothing like Atoms of old.
Steve
Wait these newer Atoms can handle 1GB NAT WAN to LAN???/ hmmmm…
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Read up on your motherboard to be sure you can install only 4gb RAM. Go to the manufacturer website, nowhere else. I got a supermicro c2758 board and while I wasn't shopping for 4gb ram I also don't think I saw it in the list of compatible configurations. You need 2 sticks for most of these boards. I got 2x8gb sticks for mine so I can upgrade to 32 if performance is good enough for extra VMs.
The rest of you, go read intel's documentation for these rangely c2*58 chips. They are intended to replace i7s and even e-series chips for router, firewall and vpn duty.
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Biggest difference I see is the memory type supported and the input power options. If you are going with one of these boards, I would go with the same one used by the pfSense team in there store. I'm not sure, but I would guess it is probably the A1SRi-2758F.
You could purchase it in a cbare bones config with case and power if you wanted to up your budget.
http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1u/5018/sys-5018a-ftn4.cfm
http://www.amazon.com/Supermicro-Rackmount-Barebone-Components-SYS-5018A-FTN4/dp/B00G3ED7D4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423114535&sr=8-1&keywords=SYS-5018A-FTN4
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816101837&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC--pla--Server+Barebones-_-N82E16816101837&gclid=CPH49vuJysMCFQYJaQodLm4AWw&gclsrc=aw.ds
A1SRi-2758F
http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/atom/x10/a1sri-2758f.cfmKey Features
1. Intel
Atom processor C2758, SoC,
FCBGA 1283, 20W 8-Core
2. Up to 64GB DDR3 1600MHz ECC
SO-DIMM in 4 DIMM sockets
3. Quad GbE LAN ports
4. IPMI with dedicated LAN
5. 2x SATA3 and 4x SATA2 ports
6. 1x PCI-E 2.0 x8 slot
7. 4x USB 3.0 (2 rear, 1 via header,
1 Type A), 2x USB 2.0 ports (rear)
8. 12V DC or ATX Power input
9. Operating Temperature: 0°C - 60°C
10. 7-Year product lifeA1SRM-2758F
http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Atom/X10/A1SRM-2758F.cfmKey Features
1. Intel Atom processor C2758, SoC,
FCBGA 1283, 20W 8-Core
2. Up to 64GB DDR3 1600MHz ECC or
non-ECC UDIMM in 4 DIMM sockets
3. Quad GbE LAN ports
4. IPMI with dedicated LAN
5. 2x SATA3 and 4x SATA2 ports
6. 1x PCI-E 2.0 x8, 1x PCI-E 2.0 x4
7. 7x USB 2.0 ports
8. Operating Temperature: 0°C - 60°C
9. 7-Year product life -
Biggest difference I see is the memory type supported and the input power options. If you are going with one of these boards, I would go with the same one used by the pfSense team in there store. I'm not sure, but I would guess it is probably the A1SRi-2758F
A1SRi-2758F
http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/atom/x10/a1sri-2758f.cfmKey Features
1. Intel Atom processor C2758, SoC,
FCBGA 1283, 20W 8-Core
2. Up to 64GB DDR3 1600MHz ECC
SO-DIMM in 4 DIMM sockets
3. Quad GbE LAN ports
4. IPMI with dedicated LAN
5. 2x SATA3 and 4x SATA2 ports
6. 1x PCI-E 2.0 x8 slot
7. 4x USB 3.0 (2 rear, 1 via header,
1 Type A), 2x USB 2.0 ports (rear)
8. 12V DC or ATX Power input
9. Operating Temperature: 0°C - 60°C
10. 7-Year product lifeA1SRM-2758F
http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Atom/X10/A1SRM-2758F.cfmKey Features
1. Intel Atom processor C2758, SoC,
FCBGA 1283, 20W 8-Core
2. Up to 64GB DDR3 1600MHz ECC or
non-ECC UDIMM in 4 DIMM sockets
3. Quad GbE LAN ports
4. IPMI with dedicated LAN
5. 2x SATA3 and 4x SATA2 ports
6. 1x PCI-E 2.0 x8, 1x PCI-E 2.0 x4
7. 7x USB 2.0 ports
8. Operating Temperature: 0°C - 60°C
9. 7-Year product lifeMotherboard
I have decided to go with A1SRM-2758F - the reason being is that it holds two PCI slots and can use ECC or non ecc. I plan on using ECC
http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Atom/X10/A1SRM-2758F.cfm
Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108065
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144139
Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167190
Ram
Not sure yet… this board can do ECC or Non-ECC
I would like ECC.Network Card
Not sure yet. I also want a wireless adapter since this board has two pic slots. Any ideas? I would also like an intel board.Looks like my build went from $200-450 now I am just not sure....
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You dont need a network card. It has 4 Ethernet ports on it. Me personally, I would use a router with DHCP turned off as a WAP. Lot better control and feature set. You can also upgrade it at a later date . Use one of the ethernet ports WAN, 1 Lan and 1 connected to the WAP. That leaves one free.
If you wanted to save a little money, you could go with a 2558 board. As a pure pfSense machine, it would probably serve you fine.
http://www.amazon.com/Supermicro-Mini-A1SRI-2558F-O-Motherboard-Combo/dp/B00HS4NLHA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423115896&sr=8-1&keywords=A1SRi-2558F
While it cost more, the 2758 is a stronger board. If you possibly wanted to run VMs I would go with the 2758.
That the problem with putting one of these together, feature creep and the associated cost.
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Any suggestions on ram?
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"I have decided to go with A1SRM-2758F - the reason being is that it holds two PCI slots and can use ECC or non ecc. I plan on using ECC"
I'd bet the one that only uses ECC is actually going to be better. And since ECC is what you are buying, why bother with non-ecc compatibility?
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I agree, if you are going ECC anyway, go with the MBD-A1SRI-2758F-O.
Get a good mini-itx case.
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One is a mini-itx board and the other is micro atx. The Micro is only stated to use ECC and non ECC. It also has two pci slots.8x & 4X along with 7 USB ports 2.0 only
while the mini-its has usb 3.0 and can only use ECC and has 1 pic slot 8x
Mini-Itx
http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Atom/X10/A1SRi-2758F.cfmMicro-Atx
http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Atom/X10/A1SRM-2758F.cfmThe A1SRI-2758F is DIFFERENT from the A1SRM-2758F
I just bought this on Amazon "I couldn't found it on Newegg….. Now I just need to find the ram I want along side a good wireless card. Please any suggestions on a card and ram???
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GO9E61K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 -
I bought this one, which I don't think has been mentioned yet: http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Atom/X10/A1SRM-LN7F-2758.cfm
The advantage is 7x Intel nics, 6 of which can be failover pairs.
The disadvantage is a single PCIe v2 4-lane slot.
I chose 16gb ecc registered memory as 2 8gb sticks, so I can upgrade to 16gb. I intend to run pfSense as a VM and use the remaining CPU for other VMs. If there is still available performance and not enough RAM I can double it without wasting money on these sticks. Also according to my manual this board has a minimum configuration of 8gb in 2x 4gb sticks.
I also have an OCZ Vector 150 240gb ssd and a 500gb spinning rust drive.
Gotta say though, I more than doubled your "bigger" budget. Not a lot of peripherals but they pack a punch right to your bank account.
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I bought this one, which I don't think has been mentioned yet: http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Atom/X10/A1SRM-LN7F-2758.cfm
The advantage is 7x Intel nics, 6 of which can be failover pairs.
The disadvantage is a single PCIe v2 4-lane slot.
I chose 16gb ecc registered memory as 2 8gb sticks, so I can upgrade to 16gb. I intend to run pfSense as a VM and use the remaining CPU for other VMs. If there is still available performance and not enough RAM I can double it without wasting money on these sticks. Also according to my manual this board has a minimum configuration of 8gb in 2x 4gb sticks.
I also have an OCZ Vector 150 240gb ssd and a 500gb spinning rust drive.
Gotta say though, I more than doubled your "bigger" budget. Not a lot of peripherals but they pack a punch right to your bank account.
Thats cool on " doubled: budget. I came into this project not knowing what cost would be. But anyways back to my topic I got my motherboard picked out now I just need to get some quality ram. Once I get everything I will post pictures & I am sure you will see me around asking the questions.
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Did you look at the tested Ram?
http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/atom/x10/a1srm-2758f.cfm -
You'll see me around asking questions too. I started first but if your router project is in the fast lane you'll probably finish first. I have lots of honey-do's and other projects that are keeping my c2758 in the 'assembled but no operating system' state.
More important than the tested RAM IMO is to look in the owner's manual and check the supported memory configurations. As I said earlier, my board (not the OP's chosen board) supports a minimum of 8 gb.
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Agreed on looking at the manual.
I also like Crucial memory
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for/Supermicro/a1srm-2758f
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I'd love it if you could get mushkin ram. Its never ever been flakey, finiky or failed me. Alswys just works. Not sure if they sell it for your box or not but I suspect yes. They do server ram and do it well.
(couldn't find any low profile ram with mushkin for that )-:
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One thing about my board is it takes standard sized sticks. And when I got it the ecc registered memory was only about $4 more per stick than non-ecc for 8g sticks. Which brings me to another idea.
When I was shopping I noticed that there wasn't much difference between 4g and 8g sticks. I don't know exactly how fast the c2758 is but a 64g max memory and support for VT-x gives me hope that it will support not only a full pfSense install but also a few other VMs.
If you have the cash and bigger sticks aren't much more than littler sticks you might consider going to more memory. It won't hurt anything to be sure.
I don't have a favorite brand of memory but I do stick to the folks who have been doing it awhile and google for problems before buying a specific stick.
