HP NC510F support ??

stephenw10

I would look for Intel ix cards if you can. There quite a few OEM parts out there that can be had relatively cheaply. I have an HP 560SFP+ for example.

Check: https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/list-of-nics-and-their-equivalent-oem-parts.20974/

Steve

_Adrian_

@stephenw10
Here's the scenario:

I have an older HP Z200 SFF pc im turning into the new pfSense box...

Current Config :
Intel Core Processor i3-540 3.06 GHz, 4MB cache, 1333 MHz memory, Dual-Core, HT
4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 ECC Unbuffered RAM

Upgrades :
Intel Xeon X3480 3.06GHz / 3.73 GHz, 8MB cache, 1333 MHz memory, Quad-Core, HT
16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 ECC Unbuffered RAM

On-Board LAN Controller : Integrated Gbit LAN MAC by Intel PHY Hanksville 82578DM ( ??? )

We have Gigabit internet service to the house and would like to have a decent firewall that can process at symmetric speed.
Internal LAN is comprised of a single backbone switch ( Mikrotik CRS309 ) and 3 edge switches ( Mikrotik CSS610 )

Both my kids and I game on a regular basis, we also have a NAS box running unRaid ( NextCloud / OMBI / Plex / LAN Cache / a few Game server as well )... The NAS will be on dual 10GBe, my main workstation will be a single 10GBe, the 3 edge switches will at 10GBe and pfSense LAN will be at 10GBe as well. So most of the ports on the Backbone switch ( 6 of 8 ports )

Kids Bedrooms share a single edge switch and have room to grow, Master Bedroom already has a most of the ports used up ( TV, PS4Pro, WiiU, BluRay Player and wifi-ap#1 ) and the Living Room switch ( 3D printer (OctoPrint), Laser Printer, TV, wifi-ap#2 )

Trying to funnel all the internet traffic with as little loss of speed / bandwidth as possible through the pfsense box...
All that while keep it reliable and not sounding like a jet engine on take off.

stephenw10

I've never tried the T540 but I'd expect it to work fine. The T520 certainly works well.

https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=cxgbe#HARDWARE

Steve

_Adrian_

@stephenw10 sorry.. was editing post as i realized that card wont work due to SFF / Low Profile card constraint

stephenw10

You have each of those switches on separate subnets? VLANs in pfSense it's routing between?

If not then pfSense can only ever pass 1G so the 10G NICs will gain you nothing. Except a bunch of extra heat in a SFF case....

Steve

_Adrian_

@stephenw10 all those switches are on the same network and same subnet no vlans and yes pfSense will be the router / dns server

ISP ( 1GBe ) -> pfSense -> Backbone switch ( 10GBe )

or at least that's the idea behind it..

_Adrian_

This is the plan so far :
Network Map.jpg image url)

Kids Computer may be upgraded in the future to 10GBe

stephenw10

Right, so if pfSense is not routing traffic between separate internal subnets it can only even pass traffic to/from the WAN which is limited to 1G. Putting a 10G NIC in there for LAN will do nothing for you.

Steve

_Adrian_

@stephenw10 With the NAS being a plex and file server on the network its best to keep things the simple way.

What I am after is to keep the highest speed/bandwidth and latency as low as possible internally ( LAN ) and the pfSense box will act as a firewall/dns server and a media converter ( 1GBe Copper to 10GBe Fiber ).

I need to upgrade my internal network anyway and with owning the 309, adding 3x 610s at $100 a pop isn't bad at all for what she switch is in the end.

stephenw10

Yes it could absolutely help between other devices in the network it just won't do anything in pfSense as traffic there is limited by the WAN speed.

Steve