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    PFsense mini computer and battery/powerbank questions.

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    • johnpozJ
      johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
      last edited by johnpoz

      He is not going to run that software on pfsense ;) He could run it on some netgate hardware sure..

      edit: Moving this to General... This has zero to do with pfsense hardware.

      What I would do to figure out your powerbank needs is actuall measure the power the device uses - get yourself a little killawatt meter.. Great little device to have in your toolbelt - like 20$.. Run the device for a few days under different load conditions and then see how much power it used..

      Then do some math for what kind of ups you would need to keep it running for X hours..

      An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
      If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
      Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
      SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

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      • jahonixJ
        jahonix
        last edited by

        the *ify.com software runs on "a PC [aka Windows] or MAC, iOS and Android".
        I wouldn't run that on netgate hardware but would do so with the main router/firewall.

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        • johnpozJ
          johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @logart
          last edited by

          @logart said in PFsense mini computer and battery/powerbank questions.:

          combines and merge multiple ISP connections and also provides VPN

          You do understand that anything running pfsense can do this right.. Pfsense can load share across multiple isp connections, and provides vpn server, etc. etc..

          An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
          If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
          Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
          SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

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          • L
            logart @jahonix
            last edited by logart

            @jahonix

            Let me explain myself better. I don't need lots of ethernet ports. I just need to find the lowest power consumption as possible device that can run windows enterprise to run these two softwares. I need either 2 ethernet ports and wifi or 3 ethernet ports. And a battery in case of power outrage.

            I posted this here because i thought you guy might know. the PFsense mini computers that are sold in amazon looks good for what i want. I just need a battery backup for the computer itself that would allow me to keep powering the device for at least two hours. The device has to be on 24/7.

            I need 1 ethernet port to distribute it to a switcher to all my routers in my home.

            GrimsonG 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • GrimsonG
              Grimson Banned @logart
              last edited by

              @logart said in PFsense mini computer and battery/powerbank questions.:

              the PFsense mini computers that are sold in amazon looks good for what i want.

              Those have nothing to do with pfSense, they are cheap (in every way) hardware where the seller misuses the pfSense brand to up his sales. You will not find much love/support for them here.

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              • johnpozJ
                johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                last edited by johnpoz

                You can run windows on a PI, the new PI 4's have little power use, and just use a switch to create more interfaces to connect to your box.. cheap vlan switch (40ish) Pi 4 kit say 100ish... Your looking like 150$ gets you a pc to run your windows on.. And 8 ports to work with..

                You could run a switch and a pi for day prob on the cheapest of ups I would bet ;)

                An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

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                • L
                  logart @Grimson
                  last edited by

                  @Grimson said in PFsense mini computer and battery/powerbank questions.:

                  @logart said in PFsense mini computer and battery/powerbank questions.:

                  the PFsense mini computers that are sold in amazon looks good for what i want.

                  Those have nothing to do with pfSense, they are cheap (in every way) hardware where the seller misuses the pfSense brand to up his sales. You will not find much love/support for them here.

                  I didn't even know... i just need to figure out which kind of hardware i need? I was hoping if i could get some technical wisdom or guidance.

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                  • johnpozJ
                    johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                    last edited by johnpoz

                    Why are you stuck on this software -- again pfsense can use multiple ISPs for its wan, and share load across them for your clients behind..

                    Something like a sg1100 for $149 would most likely work, and then vlan capable switch and you would be cooking with gas ;) Very little power use..

                    An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                    If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                    Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                    SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

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                      logart @johnpoz
                      last edited by

                      @johnpoz said in PFsense mini computer and battery/powerbank questions.:

                      You can run windows on a PI, the new PI 4's have little power use, and just use a switch to create more interfaces to connect to your box.. cheap vlan switch (40ish) Pi 4 kit say 100ish... Your looking like 150$ gets you a pc to run your windows on.. And 8 ports to work with..

                      You could run a switch and a pi for day prob on the cheapest of ups I would bet ;)

                      And what kind of battery should i buy for the pi?

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                      • L
                        logart @johnpoz
                        last edited by

                        @johnpoz said in PFsense mini computer and battery/powerbank questions.:

                        sg1100

                        It has to be the software i have :( I'm in love with it and I'm paying 50$ a year for it.

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                        • johnpozJ
                          johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                          last edited by

                          You would buy a ups... Do a google for how much pi4 draws.. Sure there is plenty of info about it.. if not now real soon.. Since they just hit the streets and people posting all kinds of info for them..

                          Something like a 1350 ups with 50w would give you a run time of over 2 hours for sure... Pi and switch not going to draw half of that... A sg1100 shows it draws 3.48W (Idle), lets say 5 for your switch puts you less than 10w so a 1350 UPS would give you easy hours and hours and hours over your 2 hour requirement.. Look for a ups runtime calc - apc has one, cyberpower has one and wills how you graph at estimated runtime for specific load.

                          An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                          If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                          Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                          SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

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                          • johnpozJ
                            johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                            last edited by

                            @logart said in PFsense mini computer and battery/powerbank questions.:

                            I'm paying 50$ a year for it.

                            Pfsense is FREE.. So in 3 years you would pay for the sg1100 ;)

                            An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                            If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                            Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                            SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

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                            • L
                              logart @johnpoz
                              last edited by

                              @johnpoz said in PFsense mini computer and battery/powerbank questions.:

                              @logart said in PFsense mini computer and battery/powerbank questions.:

                              I'm paying 50$ a year for it.

                              Pfsense is FREE.. So in 3 years you would pay for the sg1100 ;)

                              But my software is giving me a VPN for that price a year. PFsense VPN is free?

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                                logart @johnpoz
                                last edited by logart

                                @johnpoz said in PFsense mini computer and battery/powerbank questions.:

                                You would buy a ups... Do a google for how much pi4 draws.. Sure there is plenty of info about it.. if not now real soon.. Since they just hit the streets and people posting all kinds of info for them..

                                Something like a 1350 ups with 50w would give you a run time of over 2 hours for sure... Pi and switch not going to draw half of that... A sg1100 shows it draws 3.48W (Idle), lets say 5 for your switch puts you less than 10w so a 1350 UPS would give you easy hours and hours and hours over your 2 hour requirement.. Look for a ups runtime calc - apc has one, cyberpower has one and wills how you graph at estimated runtime for specific load.

                                Funny thing is that i already have a cyberpower 1500VA, i have my 2 ISP modems connected to it. How much do you think it will last with two modems, and the raspbery PI 4 and a switch?

                                Edit: Also the pi can run windows enterprise or just windows IoT?

                                jahonixJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • stephenw10S
                                  stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                  last edited by

                                  pfSense can't actually combine connections at that level it can only load balance between them which is not the same thing.
                                  To do that you need something at both ends to split and combine the connections at a packet level. Like MLVPN:
                                  https://mlvpn.readthedocs.io/en/latest/what_is_mlvpn.html

                                  If you are really concerned with power usage then you should be looking at some thing that can run at low voltage directly. Converting the battery voltage to high voltage AC only to then convert it back down to 12V or 5V to power some small computer is very inefficient.

                                  Steve

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                                  • L
                                    logart @stephenw10
                                    last edited by logart

                                    @stephenw10 said in PFsense mini computer and battery/powerbank questions.:

                                    pfSense can't actually combine connections at that level it can only load balance between them which is not the same thing.
                                    To do that you need something at both ends to split and combine the connections at a packet level. Like MLVPN:
                                    https://mlvpn.readthedocs.io/en/latest/what_is_mlvpn.html

                                    If you are really concerned with power usage then you should be looking at some thing that can run at low voltage directly. Converting the battery voltage to high voltage AC only to then convert it back down to 12V or 5V to power some small computer is very inefficient.

                                    Steve

                                    Speedify does that, it's highly redundant.

                                    "In Redundant Mode, Speedify sends all of your data over every one of your Internet connections at the same time. Whichever packet gets through first, is the one to be delivered. The end result is consistent and reliable Internet access when that’s all you really need."

                                    https://speedify.com/blog/internet-reliability/user-spotlight-redundant-mode/

                                    I love speedify because of that. I won't change softwares

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                                    • stephenw10S
                                      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                      last edited by

                                      Then you're stuck running Windows with all the security implications that carries it seems. 😉

                                      Or OSX I guess.

                                      What throughput do you actually need?

                                      Steve

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                                      • jahonixJ
                                        jahonix @logart
                                        last edited by

                                        @logart said in PFsense mini computer and battery/powerbank questions.:

                                        Edit: Also the pi can run windows enterprise or just windows IoT?

                                        https://www.neowin.net/news/windows-10-enterprise-will-finally-support-arm-with-the-snapdragon-8cx/
                                        Said to be "slow as hell" but could use only one CPU core (on RPi 3).

                                        I'd get fired if I ran my main routers/firewalls on Windows OS.

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                                          logart @jahonix
                                          last edited by

                                          @jahonix Yep, but how i can run apple OS? I have no choice.

                                          jahonixJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • jahonixJ
                                            jahonix @logart
                                            last edited by

                                            @logart said in PFsense mini computer and battery/powerbank questions.:

                                            @jahonix Yep, but how i can run apple OS? I have no choice.

                                            Buy a Mac?
                                            There's always a choice.

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