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    Cheap hardware for homelab

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    • ?
      Guest
      last edited by

      I'm looking for some cheap hardware to use as a router/gateway as I'm setting up my homelab in order to experiment more on networking.

      If it should be running pfSense, then I would tend to go with;

      • APU2C4 bundle (case, board and PSU)
      • mSATA
        – 16 GB (firewall only)
        -- 32 GB (installing more packets and logging)
        -- 64 GB (more packets, logging and squid caching)
        -- 120 GB (more users, more traffic and squid caching storage)
      • Compex WLE200NX or UBNT SR71-E
        WiFi cards if only if really needed but htis two ones are working very well!

      Budget: 200-300€ max (and IMO it's too much, it's a router geez)

      You are comparing a small plastic router against a x86 software firewall based on FreeBSD and this is not
      a small Linux kernel like other are using it is also not ASIC/FPGA based and pushed! So the real work must
      be done alone by the CPU or SoC.

      It'll be used as a router/firewall/gateway/NAT and it should be able to handle up to 50MB/s downlink. VPN at a decent speed is optional but very welcome.

      APU2C4 will do that with ease.

      It should obviously have at least 2 NIC (and a built-in switch is an awesome bonus)

      APU2C4 are coming with three NICs or LAN ports and could be pimped up to 4 or 5 LAN Ports.

      I've looked at the official pfsense hardware but the only one within my budget (SG-1000) seems like a bit underpowered with a 600 MHz CPU.

      SG-3100 device for ~$350 from netgate, it will be also nice running and is powerfully enough
      for ~95 MBit/s OpenVPN and ~300 MBit/s IPSec VPN performance.

      Got any recommendations based on these specs?  I'm just starting out and not sure where to look.

      pfSense SG-3100
      PC Engines APU2C4
      Qotom-Q355G4 Intel Core i5-5250U Processor 4 LAN Ports

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      • ?
        Guest
        last edited by

        As stated above, the best choices for your setup are:

        pfSense SG-3100
        PC Engines APU2C4
        Qotom-Q355G4 Intel Core i5-5250U Processor 4 LAN Ports

        I'd start out with the APU since it's slightly more powerful than the SG-3100, but if you don't need more power, the SG is the way to go. The Qotom is a lot better (faster, more NICs) but will cost more depending on where you are.

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        • N
          newabc
          last edited by

          Qotom also has celeron model q310g4 or i3 model q330g4
          https://www.aliexpress.com/item/QOTOM-310G4-3215U-Barebone-mini-pc-Dual-core-4-nics-Mini-pc-Ubuntu-Industrial-desktop-Computer/32769767156.html

          It seems similar manufacturers are Qotom or MiniSys, other brands all are from these two brands' OEM/ODM.

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          • M
            Mats
            last edited by

            If you want to do it cheap, get refurbished stuff.
            A PC with a cpu that supports aes-ni (requirement for pfsense 2.5). 50-100€
            An extra nic or two (preferbly intel). about 10-15€ each.

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            • H
              HaOsLsE
              last edited by

              @Mats:

              If you want to do it cheap, get refurbished stuff.
              A PC with a cpu that supports aes-ni (requirement for pfsense 2.5). 50-100€
              An extra nic or two (preferbly intel). about 10-15€ each.

              I HIGHLY Suggest "Preferably Intel".  I have used realtek and tplink with no real issues in the past (only had 150mb ISP then)….that is why I'm actually here today.  I haven't really had time to come check up on the boards lately.  I just came to catch up and saw this post.  I have used refurbs like many here do.  I have been stuck on my core 2 duo for years now...and it STILL runs fine.  I have had no issues.  However, I just bought another home recently...before moving in I got AT&T gigapower...and I didn't have enough spare Intel NICs so..my 3rd NIC was realtek....it would only do 500-600mb+...I was like wtf? I was thinking I couldn't use a core 2 duo anymore...so ....I had a spare core i7 just layin around....same issue and found out it was the NIC.  The 2nd NIC (Intel) worked fine....so...fast forward to today...I was like...hmmm...my old/original FW...is now at my new house...fully configured still...plugged it in...and I had my full speeds up/down on both LAN Nics....constantly ~950mb+.  On a dual intel NIC that I have had for years.  I only have 2GB ram.  I don't run much anymore...just a couple game servers on 2nd NIC, 1st NIC is my home network with a few pcs/laptops/phones/smart devices (nest/google,tivo/vonage/home security/etc) and I use Open VPN to get back home without any issues...unless the remote place I am at has crappy service lol.

              Here is some of my info on my old box that I just plugged back in and using again:

              BIOS Vendor: Dell Inc.
              Version: A05
              Release Date: 08/17/2009
              Version 2.3.4-RELEASE-p1 (i386)
              built on Fri Jul 14 14:53:03 CDT 2017
              FreeBSD 10.3-RELEASE-p19

              CPU Type Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E7500 @ 2.93GHz
              2 CPUs: 1 package(s) x 2 core(s)

              Disk usage ( / )
              2% of 140GiB - ufs
              Memory usage
              7% of 1947 MiB

              I am Hole.

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              • ?
                Guest
                last edited by

                Yeah, a good NIC vs. bad NIC an make a world of difference. Regarding that E7500, it has no AES-NI, so pfSense won't support it anymore when 2.5 comes out. It's mostly because of the AES acceleration, but also a point at which Intel makes chips with at least some features that are also included in chips that have AES-NI. They could probably state that you need a CPU with at least:

                SSE4
                64-bit
                2 threads at the same time
                DMI or better
                1Ghz or better

                but if they say: get one with AES-NI all those other things are included already.

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                • S
                  solirios
                  last edited by

                  Thanks for all the help. From what I've seen I'll probably end up with an APU2C4 + a managed switch since it's probably cheaper than the other systems suggested.

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                  • ?
                    Guest
                    last edited by

                    @solirios:

                    Thanks for all the help. From what I've seen I'll probably end up with an APU2C4 + a managed switch since it's probably cheaper than the other systems suggested.

                    A managed switch is probably a good thing to have anyway. It makes organising your network a whole lot easier!

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                    • H
                      HaOsLsE
                      last edited by

                      @johnkeates:

                      @solirios:

                      Thanks for all the help. From what I've seen I'll probably end up with an APU2C4 + a managed switch since it's probably cheaper than the other systems suggested.

                      A managed switch is probably a good thing to have anyway. It makes organising your network a whole lot easier!

                      Agree with John…a managed switch actually gave me a work around in my new house today since I dont have cabling ran everywhere "Yet".  I had to basically trunk some vlans to utilize 1 cable I do have in place from one end of the house to the other for now...it's a long story...but my main managed switch now is just a cheap HP ProCurve 1810G 24 port...i bought it for around 150-200 I think a few years back...and I don't recall it ever locking up.  I just moved and noticed the uptime was over 2 years.  I have APC UPS's everywhere...and hardly had power issues in my old home.

                      The HP ProCurve 1810G was a replacement to corporate level switches that I had previously (nortel/cisco) but i got tired of the power consumption/noise/heat.  This HP has most of the features, uses less power, a million times quieter because of ZERO fans.  It's a little learning curve if you're used to the CLI of most other corporate switches...but it does everything I need.  You should check it out for your home lab.  It's managed, passive cooling, quiet, stable, and even has fiber connections if you need/want (only 2)

                      I am Hole.

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                      • R
                        renegade
                        last edited by

                        i have a qotom J1900 with 4 intel nics and 4gb ram for sale. i moved to a rackmount system.
                        PM me if interested. I am from germany.

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