Cheap hardware for homelab
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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 -
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 PortsI'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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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.htmlIt seems similar manufacturers are Qotom or MiniSys, other brands all are from these two brands' OEM/ODM.
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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. -
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-p19CPU 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 -
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 betterbut if they say: get one with AES-NI all those other things are included already.
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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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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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@johnkeates:
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)
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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.