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    Pfsense hardware to support 50 users?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Hardware
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    • T
      TomT
      last edited by

      Hope you don't mind me asking..

      How does the APU2C4 compare to the Qotom J1900 ?

      Thanks

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      • M
        msvuze
        last edited by

        Ohh wow I want to know too, that looks good too and its not much more $$
        Thanks for the question TonT

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        • DerelictD
          Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
          last edited by

          @msvuze:

          Excellent! :)

          I will do the same, what SSD did you buy do you remember ?
          I found this one: https://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Notebooks-Ultrabooks-SMS200S3-30G/dp/B00COFMPAM?th=1
          but is it over-kill ?

          That kingston part should be fine. I am partial to the intel 525 but they are considerably more expensive.

          also, how do you install pfsense onto it ?
          Do you download it to a usb stick and then SSH into the system and then do the install like that ?
          Do I need to have a usb to serial ? or anything else I should know what I should buy ?

          You write the memstick-serial image to a USB thumb drive and boot from that.

          The console is serial. You need a serial port, a null modem cable, and serial console software. Putty on the PC and screen on the Mac will suffice to get installed. After installation you can enable and use ssh to get at the console and use the web gui.

          For 9-pin like on the ALIX/APU/APU2 I like getting one of these:

          http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4B02574500&cm_re=null_modem_adapter--0SV-0004-000V2--Product

          Unscrew/discard those lock nuts and use it between your USB serial adapter dongle port and the APU. Depending on the situation I would just leave it in the unit.

          Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
          A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
          DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
          Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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          • S
            Stugots
            last edited by

            @msvuze:

            Excellent! :)

            I will do the same, what SSD did you buy do you remember ?
            I found this one: https://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Notebooks-Ultrabooks-SMS200S3-30G/dp/B00COFMPAM?th=1
            but is it over-kill ?

            also, how do you install pfsense onto it ?
            Do you download it to a usb stick and then SSH into the system and then do the install like that ?
            Do I need to have a usb to serial ? or anything else I should know what I should buy ?

            Thank for all the help.

            I have the same one, just in 60gb.  60gb is overkill, but the difference in price at the time between the 30gb and 60gb was so small that I figured I'd go with the larger one.

            One thing that I should mention is that TRIM support is not enabled by default, and I haven't gotten around to booting mine off a USB drive and enabling TRIM support.

            PC Engines APU2C4

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • M
              msvuze
              last edited by

              The price is not that much diff.

              What should I get, the APU2C4 or the Qotom J1900 ?

              Thanks again for all the  help.

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              • S
                Stugots
                last edited by

                Saving $70 and getting almost 4x more storage buying it directly through PCEngines and not that eBay auction.

                I don't know too much about Qotom J1900.  The CPU looks to be about 20% faster, and has a higher frequency; but consumes more power, and has less cores.  Having more NIC ports would be nice, but the Qotom only has i211 vs the APU2's i210.  Overall it looks like the Qotom is a more complete 'PC' whereas the APU2 is more a purpose built appliance.

                I'd prefer the APU2 simply for the additional support by pfSense.  I'm sure pfSense would run fine on the Qotom, but there is a big following of APU2 users that run pfSense already.

                https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp%5B%5D=2723&cmp%5B%5D=2473

                PC Engines APU2C4

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                • T
                  TomT
                  last edited by

                  I think that comparison is wrong.
                  This is the j1900

                  http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp%5B%5D=2473&cmp%5B%5D=2131

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                  • W
                    W4RH34D
                    last edited by

                    That seems like a killer setup - only I need 4 ports…  Otherwise that looks perfect.

                    Are you using IPSEC or OpenVPN.  AFAIK open vpn has yet to use AES-NI.

                    Did you really check your cables?

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                    • S
                      Stugots
                      last edited by

                      I run ipsec on mine.

                      PC Engines APU2C4

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                      • V
                        VAMike
                        last edited by

                        @W4RH34D:

                        That seems like a killer setup - only I need 4 ports…  Otherwise that looks perfect.

                        Are you using IPSEC or OpenVPN.  AFAIK open vpn has yet to use AES-NI.

                        openvpn uses aes-ni

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                        • ?
                          Guest
                          last edited by

                          It might be sounding something strange or rude, but it is also even a think what this
                          amount of users are doing! We use a APU2C4 for 70 users mailing and surfing together
                          with Squid & SquidGuard, Snort, pfBlockerNG and tinyDNS. This device is able to handle
                          ~500 MBit/s at the WAN port.

                          If there will be ~60 VPN users I would more council to set up a  VPN server in the DMZ
                          that would be better to handle that amount of users, suing services and throughput we don´t know.

                          How does the APU2C4 compare to the Qotom J1900 ?

                          The Qotom J1900 is a little bit stronger in some disciplines, but worth spending money for, only in
                          my eyes and based on my mind. Better to go with a Jetway NF9HG-2930 and 8 GB of RAM and a small
                          mSATA. It is something around ~350 € but really capable to deliver 1 GBit/s at the WAN interface and
                          it comes with better routing power for VLANs too.

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