DIY clone build, based on pfSense's C2758 1U.
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Yes, the last 2 I know, not hugely significant in my situation, the 1st point I'd forgotten about though.
It's definitely worth some consideration… Thanks for your input... -
Yes, I was just going to mention that. The power loss protection on the s3500 makes it a far better drive IMHO, epsecially for use in a pfSense box where drive thoughput is not often a factor.
I am running some older Intel drives for that reason.Steve
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Hope I'm not joining the conersation too late. I built my own c2558 supermicro based pfsense box for about $400.
Build details are here –> http://www.reddit.com/r/PFSENSE/comments/2gpckc/pfsense_aesni_accelerated_ipsec_in_22/cklb8at
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Will you be using disk intensive packages? If not, you could simply use NanoBSD from a USB stick or CF card (via a SATA-CF adapter) and it's gonna outlast any SSD or HDD ever…
That's how I'm deploying two C2758s now. -
The DC S3500 is an (entry) enterprise drive and has power loss protection,<snip>The first is extremely important for any server,</snip>
So consumer grade SSD's like the Extreme_II definitely don't have something like this? I've just started looking but so far I see nothing.
What about the Intel X25-V's? I have 3x 40GB units from ~4yrs back which are barely used…
N.B.
I'll have a UPS rigged-up alongside or inside the 19" rack I'm installing, it's mainly to protect this build & my NAS (+ several other less important things).Hope I'm not joining the conersation too late. I built my own c2558 supermicro based pfsense box for about $400.
Looking at those posts, it was a bit more than $400USD… :)
Thanks, but I'm only interested in a C2758 build, I haven't researched pricing carefully yet.
Best price so far (from Amazon) inc. shipping to my country is ~715USD.
That's for the 2x8GB RAM (which I may drop to 2x4GB) & doesn't include a SSD.
Not decided what I'll do WRT SSD, may use one of the models I already own.Will you be using disk intensive packages?
Quite open to what I'll be doing, I have some fixed stuff, but I don't necessarily want to be locked down to that.
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Most consumer-grade SSDs do not have any kind of power-loss protection, or it's limited (likely guarantees no corruption, but potentially loses data in flight). I think the exception was the Intel 320.
You can use whatever you want in your system, just be aware of the possible consequences. Reinstalling pfSense isn't hard, I've got the Auto Config Backup, and I run CARP, so I really don't care on my machines at work. My system at home, on the other hand, uses a better SSD.
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Think I'll just stick with the Sandisk then…
Esp. since I'll have a UPS for protection against sudden power-loss, & as you say it's not overly hard to get back up & running.Thanks mate!
I run some Intel 320s for that reason though in reality I almost certainly don't need the extra protection offered.
As Jason says re-installing is not hard if you have a backup config file which you will, right? ;)Of course…
Cheers.
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I run some Intel 320s for that reason though in reality I almost certainly don't need the extra protection offered.
As Jason says re-installing is not hard if you have a backup config file which you will, right? ;)Steve
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Very near to "pulling the trigger", just a few more things to knock over (from a sep. but related project) & then I see this:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9185/intel-xeon-d-review-performance-per-watt-server-soc-champion
Hmmm…. ;D
This could really be right, here are some benchmarks Xeon E312xxv3, Xeon E5, Xeon D1540.
http://www.servethehome.com/intel-xeon-d-1540-performance-comparison/But at these days, today I mean nothing beats a Intel Xeon E3-12xxv3 / 4 cores / 3,0 GHz
and related to the power consuming you should even also get an eye on what you need!
Saving power is a fine thing, but if I really need horsepower for 1GBit/s and 100 MBit/s VPN it is more secondary.'d really love to get this, but @1399 it's just too pricey
Supermicro C2758 Server for 850 €
8 GB DDR3 ECC RAM ~120 €
mSATA ~120 €
shipping cost ~50 €
= total 1140 € or $1.273but without any support and the system must be also installed and tuned by yours!
So why it is too high pricey?Intel Xeon D-1540 Broadwell 14 nm will be around ~900 € - 1000 € but for the board only!
- case and PSU
- mSATA/SSD
- cpu cooler
- RAM
= ~1300 € and no power saving but much more power!
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Thanks for your input,
I'm still more interested in the DIY route using the parts I've already decided on, or the other platform I linked recently.
Vastly cheaper once once does the currency conversion & includes shipping costs…
Sure that doesn't include support but I'm fine with that, we've already had that discussion in great detail previously.
The alt. platform (Xeon_D) I referenced most recently is very unlikely at this stage, I'll finalise my decision on that later.I need to know a tonne of practical/real-world examples of what I can do with the Xeon_D that I can't with the C2758.
That'll help me decide if I want to bother with it. If you can offer some examples -that'd be much appreciated.*
If none of them of them are compelling (once I understand them all), then I'm best-off going with the weaker but less power-hungry C2758.
If at least one of them is compelling, then I'll have to decide if it's compelling enough to justify the extra power consumption & cost.Cheers.
*do note that I have plans for a separate NAS build, which I intend to be much more powerful than this build -
do note that I have plans for a separate NAS build, which I intend to be much more powerful than this build
Why? The Xeon D platform is able to handle 128 GB ECC RAM instead of the Xeon E3 with 32 GB and USB 3.0 is also
given to realize FreeNAS on an USB Stick and Backup the NAS with an external USB 3.0 RDX drive, and this also very
fast! A Xeon E3-1231v3 is for ~200 € and a sufficient Board is for ~250 € enough to take all load from a full featured
pfSense 2.2.3 as I see it right.Supermicro D1540 Board
Supermicro FreeNAS
DGS1510-20 - 10 GBit/s Switch -
Because I want an "appliance" like situation there*, I'll likely be buying a QNAP.
One of the the very pricey RU's they have available for SMB+…So given that, would you suggest I go back to C2758 for my fw/gw/router build?
*at least initially
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So given that, would you suggest I go back to C2758 for my fw/gw/router build?
Not so easy to answer!
For highly usage, Power usage or users, many installed and running packets like snort, squid & squid guard
the C2758 would be wonderful enough but only on top strange VPN connections compared with urgent needed
high throughput I would go by an Xeon E3.I'll likely be buying a QNAP
Ok for sure if the Supermicro Board and miniITX case is not sufficient enough it would be a hint
or if the 4 drive bays are not enough no problem. But,- Supermicro D-1540 Board has a PCIe slot for an real RAID Controller
- 2 x USB 3.0 for USB & fast Backup options
- up to 128 GB of ECC RAM
- 8 Cores and 16 HT cores
- able to insert a DVD/BlueRay Player/Burner
This is all not given at QNAP and the real SMB+ NAS devices are not cheap, but not offering those options to you!
I don´t want to say do this or this, sleep about and think about, only you would be able to know what you really
want to do and what you really urgent need! A complete C2758 Platform from Supermicro is here in Germany where
I am able to buy a- C2758 board for ~350 €
- a miniITX case for ~90 €
- RAM 8 GB ECC 120 €
- SATADOM 64 GB for ~70 €
This is all for 630 €! And you will buy a D-1540 Board only for something around ~900 € - 1000 €!
So I really thing it is overkill, or I did not understand your needs, this is also able.
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Yeah I think I'll stick with the C2758 on the fw/gw/router build, Xeon's overkill when I'll already have another powerful CPU (not Xeon OOTB IIRC -but easily upgraded) in my NAS appliance.
I don't have time to go into detail about all of my projects (plus it's off-topic here), just know that I have several "on the boil"; a dedicated NAS appliance, a dedicated HEPC/PVR build etc.
The latter's mostly done a few yrs back, just some minor upgrades to do…
Thanks for the input, BR/Night.
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Raw throughput and quoted IOPS on a consumer drive are not factors in a SSD purchase for a server. The DC S3500 is an (entry) enterprise drive and has power loss protection, consistent performance under multi-user workloads, and a higher endurance rating. The first is extremely important for any server, the latter two can have a big impact if you're using something like Squid.
Not to mention it's bloody cheap for a server drive!
I currently even use the 80 GB DC S3500 for new client computers. If you're going to spend 800 euro, why not invest in a SSD which will start up tomorrow?This link has most of the information: http://lkcl.net/reports/ssd_analysis.html
ontopic:
Funny thing is I assembled a system myself, and only then viewed the pfSense shop. I have almost exactly the same build as their C2758 1U platform. I used the SuperMicro A1SRi-2558F, which is the same, but with a 4-core processor instead of an 8-core.
Of course I would like to have that Xeon-D motherboard, but that thing's bloody expensive! With this atom board I finally have a board that's cheap enough for home use. Small businesses up to 25 to 50 people would be fine too with that atom. At my work the pfSense router is an 'ancient' Sun Fire v60x (which is actually an rebadged intel board and chassis), it has a single socket 604 xeon 2.8 GHz (gallatin?), and that thing still handles everything.The only drawback of the SC505 chassis used in that build is that the power supply sucks donkeyballs. At least mine does. I still have to send it back. It makes a lot of noise. The A1SRi-2558F can run from 12 V, which I intend to do. This way it can run of my main server and benefit from the power supply efficiency and double power supplies from that thing.
In my opinion, for home use you don't need much more. Small business might benefit from an old clunky server here and there. I don't think you can virtualise a router. Everything else can run off your primary server. Some tasks might be better to delegate to an old server. But for home use that uses too much power and space, in my opinion.
Uhh.. what were we talking about? I don't know anymore… send me beer monies!
edit:
@BlueKobold:- Supermicro D-1540 Board has a PCIe slot for an real RAID Controller
Who in their right mind is going to use a RAID controller these days on FreeBSD with ZFS?
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The only drawback of the SC505 chassis used in that build is that the power supply sucks donkeyballs. At least mine does. I still have to send it back. It makes a lot of noise. The A1SRi-2558F can run from 12 V, which I intend to do. This way it can run of my main server and benefit from the power supply efficiency and double power supplies from that thing.
Yes, if the only thing you're saying sux is the PSU noise, SPCR made note of that in their review, not a big deal for me as it'll be in our isolated & large storage room.
But I wasn't a fan of the PSU output, was hoping for one that's much less than 200w (because one will rarely -if ever- hit the efficiency sweetspot with such a high wattage), but apparently they're very hard to come by.
Do you think it's possible to run my proposed build off of my NAS's PSU?* I haven't yet settled on exactly which QNAP RU model I'm getting, so I should probably suspend this Qn until I know the answer to that!
Cheers.
*if I go that route perhaps I'll ensure the model I buy has a redundant PSU -or the option to add one -
Yes, if the only thing you're saying sux is the PSU noise, SPCR made note of that in their review, not a big deal for me as it'll be in our isolated & large storage room.
It's not fan noise. It seems to be possessed, it 'screams'. I don't hope it's supposed to do that.
Do you think it's possible to run my proposed build off of my NAS's PSU?* I haven't yet settled on exactly which QNAP RU model I'm getting, so I should probably suspend this Qn until I know the answer to that!
Probably, you only need 12 V. But you do have to make a few wires of your own, or get a really long P4-plug extension. And if that QNAP thing has a spare P4 plug or a spare 5,25" drive connector you should be set.
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It's not fan noise. It seems to be possessed, it 'screams'. I don't hope it's supposed to do that.
In the SPCR review they put the noise down to the tiny fan, but maybe there's some other problem with your PSU:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1383-page6.htmlProbably, you only need 12 V. But you do have to make a few wires of your own, or get a really long P4-plug extension. And if that QNAP thing has a spare P4 plug or a spare 5,25" drive connector you should be set.
Is there a step-by-step tutorial of this somewhere, or have you seen someone document how to do it? (ideally with a Fw/Router build + NAS that's very similar to mine)
Thank-you.
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Coming back to this for the first time in ages…
Had a bunch of personal stuff go down with friends/family, so this & related projects had to hit the back burner :'(
Coming back to it now, & for the life of me, I can't find this damn model any more?!?
http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/5018/SYS-5018A-FTN4.cfmI see pfSense now offer 2 successor models, I think they still basically use the same MB/SoC (could be wrong):
https://store.pfsense.org/C2758/
Has C7258 been superseded by something even better, or is it still the best option for my intended use?*
I haven't exhausted all avenues, but so far I can't find it locally for a good price, & Amazon don't ship to Australia any more!Here's the other 3 Supermicro C7258 models, they're basically identical motherboards, with slight differences in chassis;
https://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/5018/SYS-5018A-MHN4.cfm
https://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/5018/SYS-5018A-TN7B.cfm
https://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/5018/SYS-5018A-TN4.cfmI may consider one of their Xeon-D models, but only if they're marginally pricier:
https://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/5018/SYS-5018D-LN4T.cfm
https://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/1018/SYS-1018D-FRN8T.cfm
https://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/5018/SYS-5018D-FN8T.cfm
https://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/5018/SYS-5018D-FN4T.cfmMaybe 1 of the 8 models above are available somewhere locally for a good price, or OS for an even better price + decent shipping?
Amongst the 4x C7258 based bare-bones units listed above, 5018A-FTN4 was my preferred option.
But I can't find it for a good price OS or locally yet, if anyone else can, can you please advise?
Else, maybe you can see some good deals for one of the other models listed above!?!N.B.
I have to double-check this, but I'm pretty sure our Internet connection (Cable) won't be faster than 105MBPS any time soon.Thank-you.
*dedicated FW/Router/DNS/Proxy/Filter/QoS/VPN etc + pfSense (may put pfSense on top of a hypervisor YTBFD) -
I hand built this system if your interested. Runs like a champ, never had any issues and don't come anywhere close to working it hard on our home network (250/10). I run Snort, Squid/Squid Block, Squid Antivirus as well.
Supermicro 2758 motherboard
https://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Atom/X10/A1SRi-2758F.cfmSupermicro 505 1U chasis
https://www.supermicro.com/products/chassis/1u/505/sc505-203.cfmKingston 8gb DDR3 ram (x2)
Samsung 850 EVO 12gb SSD
Evercool fans x2
Supermicro 2.5in HDD bracket
