Recommandations on hardware for gigabit WAN

Keljian

You do not want an Intel 10gig card as with some of them you need to use Intel transceivers, which can be quite expensive.

Really both Chelsio or Mellanox are well supported by ESXI as they are server/enterprise hardware. Neither brand needs optics keyed to them, they work with any optics.

You can use a passive twinax cable, however they have higher latency and lower length than optical. On the other hand they are cheaper up to 5 meters, and can do up to 10 meters. As you mentioned, if they are right next to each other, then twinax(sfp+) will work for you.

With software raid and 4+ Rotating disks you should be able to push at least 400 megabytes a second if it is tuned correctly.

LeetDonkey

@Keljian:

You do not want an Intel 10gig card as with some of them you need to use Intel transceivers, which can be quite expensive.

Really both Chelsio or Mellanox are well supported by ESXI as they are server/enterprise hardware. Neither brand needs optics keyed to them, they work with any optics.

You can use a passive twinax cable, however they have higher latency and lower length than optical. On the other hand they are cheaper up to 5 meters, and can do up to 10 meters. As you mentioned, if they are right next to each other, then twinax(sfp+) will work for you.

With software raid and 4+ Rotating disks you should be able to push at least 400 megabytes a second if it is tuned correctly.

Thanks for making me understand it, I think I get it now, one of my concerns was the vendor lock, I could see that the Intel one was locked, but if the Chelsio and Mellanox aren't locked it will just make things easier(and cheaper)

I think I'll go with a Mellanox card, both Mellanox and Chelsio seem to be mostly sold in the US, so I have to calculate shipping costs and +25% import costs, it will quickly run up.

Also, I'll go with the fiber modules + cable you linked me to, the fs.com store will ship it very cheap if I'm patient.

FlexRAID is not really RAID, it's a set of disks with an added parity drive, meaning if I move one of the disks(except the parity disk) to another PC, I'll see the contents like any other non-raid disk.

This has some benefits

I can lose 1 disk and rebuild it
If I lose two disks before rebuilding, I'll 'only' lose the contents of the two disks and not the entire set
You can manage singular disks like any other non-raid disk.

The downside is you'll only get the read and write rate of 1 disk, if the contents accessed is on the same disk.
Therefore the previously mentioned mechanical hdd limit

I've been using an adaptec 52445 in the past, but sold it off with my old fileserver(Took up too much room).
Compared to the Adaptec interface Flexraid doesn't seem as polished, but it did the job when I lost a disk.
I am however contemplating either

A) Going back to hardware RAID 6 since now I have room for the controller on a matx platform
or
B) Get some more memory and try out Freenas

Ah well, that was a sidestep into something completely unrelated to pfsense, better get back on track.

Thank you for the feedback, I think I have all of it covered right now, now it's just a matter of ordering the items and assembling them

Keljian

A few last things.

Considering the Mellanox cards are so inexpensive, and you will need to pay for shipping, I suggest you buy one or two more than you need in case you get a dud. This way if one is dead, you don't have to pay shipping twice.

Also, the Connectx-3 is a newer model and is still receiving updates this(or the Chelsio mentioned) would be the preferred card.

Regardless of which Mellanox card you get, it would pay to put it in a Windows box and update the firmware before use.

LeetDonkey

@Keljian:

A few last things.

Considering the Mellanox cards are so inexpensive, and you will need to pay for shipping, I suggest you buy one or two more than you need in case you get a dud. This way if one is dead, you don't have to pay shipping twice.

Also, the Connectx-3 is a newer model and is still receiving updates this(or the Chelsio mentioned) would be the preferred card.

Regardless of which Mellanox card you get, it would pay to put it in a Windows box and update the firmware before use.

I managed to find a new MCX312A-XCBT for 110€ including shipping from Europe, so I decided to go with that.

Still need the rest of the hardware, but your suggestion about the mikrotik switch + 10gbit card seemed like a good idea regardless of what setup I'll end up with.

I'll probably order the tranceivers + cable today as well, and I'll probably order the switch soon, that way I can get to know it using my existing setup before ordering new hardware.

Aluminum

@LeetDonkey:

The box should be able to handle a 1000/1000 internet connection.
The motherboard should be mini-itx size
Also, on the LAN side I have a game server, so stable low latency is vital

I would also like the box to push a decent amount of bandwidth using OpenVPN or something similar, actually the closer to gigabit throughput the better.
I'm not using any of the packages as it is right now, but I would like a large overhead on performance if the need rises in the future.

Going through the forums I've been looking at Supermicro A1SRi-2758F
Will this be good enough for my use? Should I consider anything else? Any recommendations on amount of RAM?

Forget ITX
A barebones midtower is significantly cheaper than customizing an ITX server
E3 Xeons and similar desktop-class cpus are significantly faster than that atom, see #2
OpenVPN is currently implemented in a fashion that you want fast single-threaded performance, more cores mean little, see #3
E3/desktop cores are currently 1-2 generations ahead of E5 cores (IPC ~+5%/generation/avg) and a much much cheaper way to put your single-threaded program in the fastest possible core, see #4

LeetDonkey

@Aluminum:

@LeetDonkey:

The box should be able to handle a 1000/1000 internet connection.
The motherboard should be mini-itx size
Also, on the LAN side I have a game server, so stable low latency is vital

I would also like the box to push a decent amount of bandwidth using OpenVPN or something similar, actually the closer to gigabit throughput the better.
I'm not using any of the packages as it is right now, but I would like a large overhead on performance if the need rises in the future.

Going through the forums I've been looking at Supermicro A1SRi-2758F
Will this be good enough for my use? Should I consider anything else? Any recommendations on amount of RAM?

Forget ITX

A barebones midtower is significantly cheaper than customizing an ITX server

E3 Xeons and similar desktop-class cpus are significantly faster than that atom, see #2

OpenVPN is currently implemented in a fashion that you want fast single-threaded performance, more cores mean little, see #3

E3/desktop cores are currently 1-2 generations ahead of E5 cores (IPC ~+5%/generation/avg) and a much much cheaper way to put your single-threaded program in the fastest possible core, see #4

Already did, I'm going for at least mATX right now, I'm still restricted when it comes to physical size, but mATX gives a much broader selection.
In fact I found an ATX case that was perfect for me, but alas, it's out of production… the Lian Li PC-V650.
Right now I'm considering the PC-V354 as an alternative, but that's only mATX, for almost the same physical size the V-650 would enable me to use a full ATX board.

Indeed it is, it's also easier to customize

3+4+5)
The problem with quad core xeons is that it doesn't put me in a better position than I am now, sure I could virtualize pfSense and my NAS, but the game server would most likely still need to be run serperate, that's why I wanted to go with E5 xeons, to consolidate all systems on to one ESXI host.
The problem being of course - price, even with the ES xeons on ebay the setup would be somewhat costly.
To mitigate this slightly I'm considering an Asrock X99 board, they support xeons + ECC but also support running all cores at full turbo multiplier.
Alot of possibilities, but right now I'm trying to determine what option would suit my usage best.

andrews

Would a Core2Quad with 4GB of RAM running pfSense be able to handle gigabit WAN and LAN speeds?

You can find quad core Dell Optiplex 755's on ebay all day long for $99 - built in Intel gigabit NIC and I put an Intel CT gigabit PCIe card into the graphics slot and it works perfectly. You could even find a dual or quad port Intel NIC for not too much and get more than 1 port out of the PCIe slot - probably from $15 for an older one to $45 for a Chinese i350-T2 to $60 for a Chinese i350-T4 or $200 or so for an official Intel i350 depending on how many ethernet ports you need. Power supply is 235W on an Optiplex 755/760/780.

I have a SFF (small form factor) which only has the graphics PCIe slot and a PCI slot but it might fit your size requirements. It's quiet and can lay flat or on its side. Built in NIC for each model…
755 Intel 82566DM - Gigabit
760 Intel 82567LM - Gigabit
780 Intel 82567LM - Gigabit

Here are the 4 form factors for Dell Optiplex 755
http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/optix/en/opti_755_techspecs.pdf

The USFF is a no go because it has an external brick power supply and does not have a PCIe slot. You probably want SFF (small form factor).

For those that don't mind a little bit of basic modding, you should be able to get an Optiplex 755 and drop an Intel Xeon X3363 in for a bump to 2.83GHz.
eBay X3363 is $30 and search eBay for "lga 771 775 adapter" for a stick on adapter to get the X3363 (quad core) to work in a 755. You just need to update to the latest BIOS first. This should still get the PC in under $100.
Good site for the mod
http://www.delidded.com/lga-771-to-775-adapter/

******** x 2
Super overkill I'm sure but if the AES-NI instruction set in the processor is important for VPN - and I'm not sure if it even matters if your processor is powerful enough (core2quad) you can get a Dell Precision T5500 on ebay with a Xeon 56xx processor (around $150 - $200 shipped with 8GB RAM). Obviously big, heavy and way more of a power hog than an Optiplex 755.

******** x 3
If you get a Core2Duo Optiplex 755, 760 or 780, all 3 form factors look and operate the same. If you want to bump the 760 or 780 to an X3363, the microcode isn't in the BIOS for either of these, so you have to flash the microcoded BIOS first, then do the X3363 upgrade as outlined above.
The Microcode is already in the BIOS for the 755 so no preflashing is necessary.
https://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-OptiPlex-360-380-760-780-960-Xeon-LGA-771-E0-1067A-Microcode

Since this can all be done with these 3 boxes (755, 760 and 780) you should be able to find something affordable on ebay or used/refurbed.

Aluminum

@LeetDonkey:

3+4+5)
The problem with quad core xeons is that it doesn't put me in a better position than I am now, sure I could virtualize pfSense and my NAS, but the game server would most likely still need to be run serperate, that's why I wanted to go with E5 xeons, to consolidate all systems on to one ESXI host.
The problem being of course - price, even with the ES xeons on ebay the setup would be somewhat costly.
To mitigate this slightly I'm considering an Asrock X99 board, they support xeons + ECC but also support running all cores at full turbo multiplier.
Alot of possibilities, but right now I'm trying to determine what option would suit my usage best.

If you really want to go that route, consider that E5 16xx Xeons are often unlocked, and no I do not mean those wacky engineering samples on ebay. Conflicting reports on the cheapest versions, but a 1660v3 is confirmed unlocked if you want to have 8 fast cores and eat ECC cake too. If you don't want to pay the OCD-uber-all-in-one ESXi tax (I definitely see a pattern in the people that post their builds…) but you still want performance its cheaper to just run multiple real servers.

I have a 1680v2 (8 core Ivy for X79/C602) that eats through torture tests at 4.5Ghz, YMMV. Another fun fact: Broadwell (E5 v4) is coming soon to socket 2011v3 and will be a drop-in upgrade after bios update on decent X99/C612 boards.

Aluminum

@andrews:

Would a Core2Quad with 4GB of RAM running pfSense be able to handle gigabit WAN and LAN speeds?

Typical routing and standard firewall duties? Sure.

OpenVPN or similar? Not even close.

LeetDonkey

@andrews:

Would a Core2Quad with 4GB of RAM running pfSense be able to handle gigabit WAN and LAN speeds?

Aluminum pointed it out pretty well, on top of that I'm currently considering putting everything on an ESXI host, so in either case it's not going to be enough.
Also, a Core2Quad is pretty dated, and the idle power consumption is somewhat high compared to later CPUs
As a platform to get to know pfSense on I can see it's attractive if the price is right, but for my use I need a bit more performance.

@Aluminum:

If you really want to go that route, consider that E5 16xx Xeons are often unlocked, and no I do not mean those wacky engineering samples on ebay. Conflicting reports on the cheapest versions, but a 1660v3 is confirmed unlocked if you want to have 8 fast cores and eat ECC cake too. If you don't want to pay the OCD-uber-all-in-one ESXi tax (I definitely see a pattern in the people that post their builds…) but you still want performance its cheaper to just run multiple real servers.

I have a 1680v2 (8 core Ivy for X79/C602) that eats through torture tests at 4.5Ghz, YMMV. Another fun fact: Broadwell (E5 v4) is coming soon to socket 2011v3 and will be a drop-in upgrade after bios update on decent X99/C612 boards.

Well I am also considering putting pfSense and NAS on 1 pc with ESXI and reinstall the gameserver baremetal on my I7-4770.
This would most likely be the chepaest way to go.

if I contend with putting just pfSense and NAS on 1 PC, a quad core xeon should be sufficient.
I could get a LGA2011-3 board with a quadcore xeon(they're not that expensive new or on the second hand market) and if I ever wanted to migrate the gameserver to ESXI I could get a CPU upgrade - perhaps when broadwell-EP cpus are available second hand.
ES xeons are attractive when you look at the price, but if I'm going to use it for NAS there's too many unanswered questions when it comes to ES vs retail.

Keljian

You don't need a quad core Xeon for pfsense and a NAS.

You just don't.

One fast core is enough for pfsense at 1gig. Your nas will most likely only need 1 (especially if you use a raid card) or two.

I am in the habit of giving my VMs 2 vcpus, and for a while there I was running on 2 (hyper threaded) cores with both my software raid nas and pfsense. It didn't miss a beat. The only reason I went to 4 cores is because I do heavy work on a Windows VM on the same box occasionally.

If all you are doing is running a NAS and pfsense, then I would encourage you to consider skylake i3s.

LeetDonkey

@Keljian:

You don't need a quad core Xeon for pfsense and a NAS.

You just don't.

One fast core is enough for pfsense at 1gig. Your nas will most likely only need 1 (especially if you use a raid card) or two.

I am in the habit of giving my VMs 2 vcpus, and for a while there I was running on 2 (hyper threaded) cores with both my software raid nas and pfsense. It didn't miss a beat. The only reason I went to 4 cores is because I do heavy work on a Windows VM on the same box occasionally.

If all you are doing is running a NAS and pfsense, then I would encourage you to consider skylake i3s.

If all it was doing was sharing files that would be correct.
It is however doing a bit more than that at the moment:

Among other things:

Emby media server
SABNzbd
x264 encoding(I would love a Xeon behemoth for this)

Also, if I go the freenas way xeon + ecc seem to be the recommended setup.

I could also go with the original plan of a dedicated pfsense box and leave my NAS and gameserver alone, but I still think it makes good sense to consider combining at least pfsense and my current NAS setup

NAS might be a wrong term as NAS is only part of the role it fulfills, but I think that Synology, Freenas and others has blurred the lines between a 'generic' multipurpose server and a dedicated NAS.

If I insist on Xeon + ECC this is the cheapest way to get ECC support and quad cores on LGA1151 & LGA2011-3

MSI C236M WORKSTATION - 167€
Xeon E3-1220V5 - 218€

Total 385€

Asrock X99m Killer - 179€
Xeon E5-1620V3 1 - 311€

Total 490€

if I could live with a slower CPU:
Xeon E5-2603V3 - 245€ (Performance would be similar to my current NAS in multithreaded applications like x264)

Total - 424€

So, getting the cheapest ECC enabled motherboard + the slowest CPUs for each platform the difference is 39€ (Of course the skylake platform will be the fastest at this lineup)
Getting CPUs of almost similar performance, the difference is 105€

So the real question is: Would I want to upgrade to a faster CPU with more cores in the future or not?

No - LGA1151

Yes - Another question rises - Would I want to upgrade the CPU on my existing platform or build a completely new platform?

Upgrade CPU - LGA2011-3
New platform - LGA1151 seems like the cheapest/most performing option then.

Either of the mentioned options would require me to run the game server on a serparate pc, the LGA2011 platform would enable me to move it to ESXI with a CPU upgrade.

Anyways, alot to consider

Keljian

I have been doing a lot of transcoding lately and have been using mediacoder with the nvidia (nvenc) encoder for h265. The speeds are incredible and much faster than you could achieve on a CPU (450-515fps, only limited by decode speed). The quality is very good.

The cheapest card with this ASIC is the gtx960, which you could pass through to a VM…..

LeetDonkey

@Keljian:

I have been doing a lot of transcoding lately and have been using mediacoder with the nvidia (nvenc) encoder for h265. The speeds are incredible and much faster than you could achieve on a CPU (450-515fps, only limited by decode speed). The quality is very good.

The cheapest card with this ASIC is the gtx960, which you could pass through to a VM…..

That's actually pretty sweet, last time i checked NVENC or CUDA encoding there was a significant quality difference between that and CPU encoding, it seems that they've narrowed the gap.
I have a GTX 970 in my own pc, at the speed it can encode I don't really need to have the NAS do it.
Skylake with igpu should even support it via quicksync
There are still some limitations(8 bit vs 10 bit) but I can live with that.

Keljian

Well the 970 is very very fast and will use less power encoding too..:)