APU1C / APU1D Add-ons
-
Does anyone have experience with add-on cards running in the APU1C/APU1D? We are thinking of removing the SD card and adding a mSATA SSD or perhaps keeping the SD Card and using the mSATA SSD for logs. The ADATA Premier Pro SP310 is a 64GB SSD for $35 which seems like more than enough but would the constant logging kill it? Could we keep both the SD and the SSD and keep the SD for boot and the SSD for logs?
Also, is there any way to add wireless to these devices via the mPCIe? Any cards that would work? I'll be updating to the 2.2.4 latest build.
Thanks for any input!
-
Does anyone have experience with add-on cards running in the APU1C/APU1D?
There are three miniPCIe slots internally and on is connected to the SIM slot and can also only
be used by a modem! The other is connected to the SATA port and should be used only for mSATA
drives and the third miniPCIe slot can be used to insert a WiFi (WLAN) card because it is connected
to the USB port.We are thinking of removing the SD card and adding a mSATA SSD or perhaps keeping the SD Card and using the mSATA SSD for logs.
Both can be done by yours, but I really would to consider to insert a mSATA and do a full and fresh pfSense
installation. And then controlling the TRIM Support or enabling TRIM support if not automatically done during
the installation.The ADATA Premier Pro SP310 is a 64GB SSD for $35 which seems like more than enough but would the constant logging kill it?
Or you will also be able to insert a normal HDD if you want but then you need a different case
to do so, here is one solution that would be ideal. Alix APU caseCould we keep both the SD and the SSD and keep the SD for boot and the SSD for logs?
For sure this would be good if you are only need something as a Squid cache, but only for logging
you could also try out a RaspBerry PI2 as a logfile server.Also, is there any way to add wireless to these devices via the mPCIe? Any cards that would work?
Compex WLE200NX would go, but trust me please it is better to insert no WiFi card(s) in you pfSense
box, it would be better to buy a cheap WLAN AP and you will be much happier then with the internal WiFi
cards. Some WLAN Router from Buffalo, ASUS, Netgear or TP-Link comes shipped with OpenWRT or DD-WRT
and brings much more options, features and functions that makes you setting up the AP in any kind of direction
and most kinds of usage! They are often to get for $30 - $100 and mould be really better then an internal card!I'll be updating to the 2.2.4 latest build.
Thanks for any input!
-
Thanks BlueKobold! Running full filtering with Snort and Clam-AV we are pushing 320Mbps with this box on PfSense 2.2.4. Very happy with it indeed!
The idea behind the dual SD/SSD is to have an SD that rarely, if ever, gets written to it so that the system's life could be extended. The SSD would be to hold the logfiles and DB files. If it ever failed the unit would still run just fine until the SSD was replaced. Stepping up to a larger SSD isn't an issue as it would certainly extend its life but I'm not sure if it's overkill. I would think that the logfiles wouldn't be that much, though. Right now /var is only 2.9G and it has lightsquid files going back to last October.
We aren't very happy with the reporting in lightsquid, especially compared to the big guys like Sophos. You mention using a RaspBerry PI2 as a logfile server. What did you have in mind? What package would you suggest it run?
We go back and forth on the wifi card. It's not a necessity, but if there was an 802.11n class card that worked for us it might be nice to have in there to remove the access point we have now.
I appreciate the feedback. Any other ideas?