Rack Mount pfSense Router Build
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I think this will meet most of your requirements except that it might be a little higher than your price range and would be barebones vs. built completely from scratch:
https://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1u/5018/SYS-5018D-FN8T.cfm
I have been using this system for almost two years now on a symmetric gigabit fiber connection and could not be happier. It's a very capable and flexible little box that has no trouble maxing out a gigabit connection even with IDS enabled. There are other Supermicro 1U systems as well (some a bit more powerful, some a bit less) that you can check out as comparisons.
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To get the best OpenVPN throughput you should look for a CPU with the highest single-thread performance.
Steve
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@tman222 That does look like a great box, but it is a bit over what I'd like to spend.
Does anybody else have any recommendations? I'd really like to start ordering some parts soon, so I can begin building. I was hoping to get it up and running before Christmas, but also don't want to just rush anything.
Thank you for time!
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I know this topic is a bit old, however I still have not made a decision on what I want to do. I've managed to continue to fund this upgrade and am hovering around $1000 to do the upgrade. The question now becomes, do I want to spend this much on a firewall that will still do what I need for it to do what I want for the next 5-7 years, or should I spend less money as it may be overkill?
Please reference my initial post in this thread on my specific requirements. After looking around, I am very highly considering just purchasing the official Netgate appliance the (XG-7100-1U). It looks like it would fit most of the criteria I want, and also provide future-proofing, so I wouldn't need to upgrade again for quite awhile.
I am looking for some feedback on this, and what others think about this decision. Should I just bite the bullet, or should I continue to look around and just build my own appliance. I just don't want to have to worry about any build upgrades with things not being compatible. It doesn't look like I would really need to buy anything else, or even upgrade outside of the standard supplied components that is included.
Any help or feedback would be appreciated.
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Hi @Commander -
Here are a few more suggestions to help you with your decision. I think it is possible to build a quite a speedy system for around $500 - $700 that will pass gigabit and also meet the majority of your other requirements:
Case:
https://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-Chassis-Rackmount-Computer-RSV-2600/dp/B00EW0K8LU/CPU:
https://www.amazon.com/Intel-8th-Core-i3-8100-Processor/dp/B0759FTRZL/
OR
https://www.amazon.com/Intel-i5-8400-Desktop-Processor-Cores/dp/B0759FGJ3Q/RAM:
https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-2400MHz-PC4-19200-Memory/dp/B00S51XM5Q/
OR
https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-2666MHz-memory-Systems-21300/dp/B0123ZB70Q/Motherboard:
https://www.amazon.com/Prime-B360M-C-CSM-LGA1151-Motherboard/dp/B07CH5VKDJ/NIC:
https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Ethernet-Adapter-I340-T4-packaging/dp/B003A7LKOU/Obviously still need to add a hard drive and PSU, but with the i3 CPU this comes out to just over $400, and gives you 5x Intel network interfaces and a pretty highly clocked multi-core CPU.
Hope this helps.
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Thank you so much for your recommendations @tman222, they are very much appreciated!
I have been debating between the XG-7100-1U, and the Supermicro SuperServer 5018D-FN8T Xeon Rackmount version. Both are about the same price, right around $1000. After careful consideration I have come to the conclusion that I'm going to just bite the bullet and go with the 5018D-FN8T. I'll be throwing in 8GB ECC memory and a 256GB M.2 Solid state drive. This seems to fit all of my needs, will allow me to max out my Gig connection, and the main reason is that if I decide against pfSense at any point in the future, I can use this hardware towards something else.
I will be placing my order in the next day or two, and finally transition my current config over to it. I wanted to thank everybody for their advise and feedback, it was very much appreciated. I'm hoping I won't run into any issues with the hardware, and that it will future-proof me for the next 5-7 years. If anybody has any thoughts, opinions or suggestions, they are always more then welcome.
Again, I appreciate the communities feedback, thank you!
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Hi @Commander - I think you'll be quite happy with your choice. I have been running pfSense on this exact system for about two years now without any major issues -- this little box offers great performance. Let me know if you have any further questions regarding configuration or performance tweaking once you have got things setup. Hope this helps.
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Hi @tman222 , I am planning to get a pair of SuperServer 5018D-FN8T to replace my 8860-HA cluster, an recommendation what type of 8GB ECC and 256GB M.2 is recommended?
Memory
The motherboard seems to be tested with 2400MHz Registered ECC, or should I get 2166Mhz ECC?
Any difference between registered ECC vs ECC memory ?
https://www.amazon.com/Micron-PC4-19200-DDR4-2400MHz-Registered-MTA9ASF1G72PZ-2G3B1/dp/B01FROGWN2/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=MTA9ASF1G72PZ-2G3B1&qid=1556167127&s=gateway&sr=8-1Which M.2 would you recommend:
NVMe (higher power usage)
https://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-256GB-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B074BJ7FC4
or
SATA (lower power usage)
https://www.amazon.com/Micron-Internal-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B01K1JP842 -
Hi @john9323 -
Here is a link to the memory kit I used when I put together my system a couple years ago (I think bought it directly from Crucial at the time):
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1121865-REG/crucial_ct2k8g4rfd8213_16gb_ddr4_sdram_memory.html
Unless you are planning on using a large amount of memory in the systems (> 64GB) you wouldn't necessarily have to use to registered memory. However, I would recommend using ECC.
Regarding storage, I'm actually using a regular Samsung SATA III in my box since at the time M.2 drives weren't fully supported yet by pfSense yet. That being said, I recently put together another pfSense box where I used this line of Samsung OEM M.2 drives (price was pretty good too):
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Samsung+Polaris+M.2
This box hasn't been in production all that long yet, but so far everything is working great and no issues with storage.
Hope this helps.
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Thank you @tman222
