Purpose of SSD - do I need more space?
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Hi, I'm looking to purchase a SG-4860. I don't know if there is any value to having a 128GB SSD instead of the standard memory card.
The device is to be used for our medium sized office firewall/vpn. Around 150 devices internal.
I may want to eventually use some traffic/source database to filter malware.
I will certainly want to log traffic for purposes of understanding usage trends so I can decide on sensible bandwidth shaping policies.
I do not need to keep logs long term for audit/policing purposes.So I'm asking if there will ever be a need for such storage? I haven't used pfSense in about 6 years so am not familiar with the disk usage needs for common features.
thanks, Jon
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If you google EMMC:
Not all solid-state storage is as fast as an SSD. “eMMC” is the kind of flash storage you'll find in cheap tablets and laptops. It's slower and cheaper than a traditional SSD you'd find in more expensive computers. eMMC storage has a lot in common with SD cards.
So, for me, I'd always go with SSD on board that is reliable if you ever need to do alot of reads/writes.
Example would be running a cache/proxy like squid (which I don't do anymore myself)
Otherwise, no - I doubt it will make much difference except perhaps maybe a slightly noticeable difference in initial boot time.
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For firewall and VPN usage only the eMMC storage will be sufficient enough for sure.
But if you are planning to install Snort or Squid on top you are better with a mSATA or SSD that
is delivering enough space and are more made for many write cycles.Example would be running a cache/proxy like squid (which I don't do anymore myself)
What is the real point for this? I mean why you are not using squid anymore?
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I installed squid when I had less bandwidth available in a couple of places on the theory it would help speed things along abit.
I did notice that linux updates were quite zippy after that on a house full of computers but it really wasn't a huge difference for me.
Made even less difference for me when I had 10x more bandwidth available.
Now, if I had limited bandwidth and huge office full of many many computers, even 5% or 10% cache hit would make a big difference.
But, thats not me so I don't use it anymore. So, for me, I don't really need the 64GB SSD I have installed but its working well.
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The technology of eMMC evolves, they are not fast comparing with traditional SSD but recent generation proves a great performance increase.
For example I just got those Windows 10 tablets with 64GB eMMC, they are able to show me ~100MB/s transfer rate, which I think very good for a firewall.If you google EMMC:
Not all solid-state storage is as fast as an SSD. “eMMC” is the kind of flash storage you'll find in cheap tablets and laptops. It's slower and cheaper than a traditional SSD you'd find in more expensive computers. eMMC storage has a lot in common with SD cards.
So, for me, I'd always go with SSD on board that is reliable if you ever need to do alot of reads/writes.
Example would be running a cache/proxy like squid (which I don't do anymore myself)
Otherwise, no - I doubt it will make much difference except perhaps maybe a slightly noticeable difference in initial boot time.
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64-128GB SSD is enough for you.
I suggest you to install squid as well, 150 devices accessing internet would be beneficial from squid proxy in general, especially when you only have slow ADSL connection. I did it once 8+ years ago, only 2M+5M ADSL and my pfSense with squid was serving 150-200 users without any issue, not to mention that I was still using spinning HDD as cache drive at that moment.Hi, I'm looking to purchase a SG-4860. I don't know if there is any value to having a 128GB SSD instead of the standard memory card.
The device is to be used for our medium sized office firewall/vpn. Around 150 devices internal.
I may want to eventually use some traffic/source database to filter malware.
I will certainly want to log traffic for purposes of understanding usage trends so I can decide on sensible bandwidth shaping policies.
I do not need to keep logs long term for audit/policing purposes.So I'm asking if there will ever be a need for such storage? I haven't used pfSense in about 6 years so am not familiar with the disk usage needs for common features.
thanks, Jon