First time pfsense build
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Hey there, so I've finally grown tired of how bad my router performs and the lack of features and then was told to check out pfsense and I am currently setting up a build and I would like some input on this:
I will be using my old gaming PC for now and these are the parts that I will be using:
Motherboard: ASUS P6TSE
CPU: Intel i7 920 @ 2.6 ghz 1366 socket (ECC not supported sadly)
RAM: x3 2 gig corsair sticks
Case: Fractal Design R5, (I would like to find a much smaller case but due to the ATX size of the motherboarrd I am guessing this might be difficult.
OS drive: WD Velociraptor 120 gigsWhat I am not sure of is what NIC's I need and what kind of WIFI AP that would work good with this.
I will be connecting a modem which also makes me quite uncertain how to deal with thsi, i suppose I can just brdige the modem and then use the pfsense box?I am on 100/100 mgbit cable connection.
The features that interest me most in pfsense after just overlooking it is, Squidguard for content filtering (Maybe we can control what the kids can see on the net yes?), SNORT and the firewall seems pretty badass.
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That's a lot of hardware to throw at a pfsense build for home :D. But, it will work just fine.
To answer your specific questions:
What kind of NICs: A lot of people will tell you to go buy a server class dual Intel NIC. That's certainly an option, and it's what I use, but your onboard NIC will work just fine and you can just add another NIC to get the count up to two.
As for a wireless AP, that's your choice. I use a TP-LINK TL-WA801ND and find it great but it's 2.4GHz only.
Matt
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Yeah I just bought 2 of http://www.ebay.com/itm/X7280A-2-SUN-DUAL-PORT-GIGABIT-PCI-e-Server-Adapter-371-0905-04-D28207-006-/252209431410?hash=item3ab8da8372:g:GzoAAOxymnFSC5qAthese:
Thing is, that I don't really anything older laying around collecting dust, I'd eventually want to downsize the case and use a much smaller on and also allot smaller PSU since what I will be using from the start is not really needed.
I will also have a couple of servers on the network which I am not sure how to handidly setup DDNS/dynamic dns, but all in all pfsense seems to really be an interesting alternative.