Choosing hardware based on throughput performance

[dopey]

Just to pipe in, I am quite happy with my A1SRi-2758F.

With a few packages running, routing performance is still more than capable of hitting gigabit throughput.

The biggest problem is the PPPoE issue.  For me, this is a residential connection - but I work from home and use alot of bandwidth, 700-750mbit/s is plenty.  So I'm pretty happy with it.

But if you absolutely need the gig throughput and use PPPoE there are other choices that wlil probably work better, and even crazier, use less power.  Some of the low power i3/i5 CPUs are pretty capable, and may use more power at peak, but for the load that routing presents to them, they end up actually coming in at or lower than the rangeley.

[nikkon]

Mobo is on the way…will be here in 2 weeks.
In the mean time i found a gbit ethernet adaptor:
DELL 0X3959 2 x 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI-E 4X REF
Or
Intel D33745-B PRO-1000 Single Port Gigabit Ethernet PCI-E U3867
What do you think ? Will handle gigabit pppoe?

[zax123]

Thanks for chiming in @dopey,

I'm pretty convinced that I'll go with a Dell T20 or a Lenovo TS140 E3 server.  I have lots of room in my "server room" and I really don't want to worry about getting something with not enough power.  And I find the Supermicro to just be too expensive.

I'm hoping I'll get a T20 or TS140 with no HDD and I'll put a small (64gig or so) SSD on it.  I'm trying to never buy an HDD again. :)

Thanks all!

[awebster]

@zax123
Beware the Lenovo TS140…its a great box, but you'll be pretty unhappy if you try to put an aftermarket SSD in it.
It uses custom brackets and power cables, which you only get in the box if you buy a Lenovo branded drive.

[zax123]

@awebster:

@zax123
Beware the Lenovo TS140…its a great box, but you'll be pretty unhappy if you try to put an aftermarket SSD in it.
It uses custom brackets and power cables, which you only get in the box if you buy a Lenovo branded drive.

Oh wow, thanks for letting me know.

That means I'm back to looking only for a good deal on the T20.

Much appreciated!

[dopey]

@awebster:

@zax123
Beware the Lenovo TS140…its a great box, but you'll be pretty unhappy if you try to put an aftermarket SSD in it.
It uses custom brackets and power cables, which you only get in the box if you buy a Lenovo branded drive.

I have a ts140 and i had no problems installing a regular sata ssd and hdd in it.
the power connectors were not custom.  yes, the brackets were weird, but i didn't have any problems gettng things to fit.

for SSDs, keep in mind, yo're not dealing with moving parts.  Zip ties are your friend.

[awebster]

I stand corrected, the server in question is the RS140 which has strange power connectors & brackets.

[nikkon]

need advice:
Intel Ethernet Server Adapter I210-T1

or

Intel Gigabit CT 82574L

which one is more reliable and fast

[Guest]

The i210-T1 is a Server grade NIC and could be a really cool LAN Port to speed up things there. ~45 € here
And the Intel Gigabit CT adapter will be a really cool WAN port as I see it right. ~25 € here

[Harvy66]

@BlueKobold:

The i210-T1 is a Server grade NIC and could be a really cool LAN Port to speed up things there. ~45 € here
And the Intel Gigabit CT adapter will be a really cool WAN port as I see it right. ~25 € here

The i210-T1 also makes for a nice desktop NIC  8)  Integrated Realtek… Not in my home. Disabled in bios, discrete NIC.

[nikkon]

i210-T1 ordered :)

[zax123]

Hi guys,

Would this server:

http://slickdeals.net/f/8205601-dell-poweredge-t110-ii-core-i3-2120-tower-server-w-1yr-prosupport-229-free-shipping?src=rcm_category

Be powerful enough to do 1gigabit WAN reliably with a few VPNs, etc?

Please let me know, it's really not expensive.

Thanks!

Robert

[zax123]

Actually, this looks like a good deal, especially with 10% off first order:

https://www.blinq.com/detail/electronics/printers-networking-office/networking-routers/lenovo-thinkserver-ts140-5u-tower-server-xeon-3-2ghz-4gb-ram-70a4001lux/156830?condition=brand-new

Should I go for it?

[Guest]

@zax123

pfSense box 1
pfSense box 2

Both will do what you want and need, for ~$299 or ~$310 it will be perhaps in the same price range
as you search but much better then the bigger once compared to the power consumption!

• 8 GB RAM
• mSATA

Will be rocking for a long time together with pfSense for sure.

• Snort
• SARG
• ClamAV
• pfBlocker-ng
• Squid & SquidGuard

You will be able to built a real UTM device with this.

[zax123]

@BlueKobold,

Thank you for this recommendation.  You mention + 8GB of memory, so pfSense would need 8GB of memory on these Celeron boxes, and I will get an mSATA or SATA SSD.  I assume 128GB is big enough.

I am going to wait till Black Friday to see if either of these go on special and grab one the cheapest possible.

Thanks again for the info!

[zax123]

Oh by the way, my 1gigabit WAN comes in via PPPoE.  Are both of these Jetway boxes capable of handling that along with everything else?

Thanks!

[Guest]

You mention + 8GB of memory, so pfSense would need 8GB of memory on these Celeron boxes

You might be also lucky with 2 GB or 4 GB of RAM, pending on the installed packets and running services.

and I will get an mSATA or SATA SSD.  I assume 128GB is big enough.

For sure it will be really a big one for that.

[nikkon]

Not sure you can process 1gb via PPPoE because issue #4821 is still not solved.

[Guest]

Not sure you can process 1gb via PPPoE because issue #4821 is still not solved.

This is quite right, but on the other side you don´t be able to compare each CPU against another
CPU core because this CPUs are not identically for sure.

[nikkon]

True!