Pfsense 2.3.2 WatchGuard Firebox X1250e
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Morning/Afternoon guys.
I'm a little new to PF. I have played with it but never had it into a production environment.
Iv just ordered a WatchGuard with PFsense already installed. Im looking to install squid on it but clearly a 4GB CF guard isnt going to cut it with 50 users. Is it possible to install a hard drive into the system as well as a CF card?
Im wanting to have all Cache/logs from Squid going on the drive and keeping the CF card as the OS/settings.
Thanks in advance
GTX -
It's possible but not advised.
If you're going to install a hard-drive then just do a full install to that and boot from it.
It's possible to install a 2.5" laptop IDE drive (or an IDE SSD if you want) with the correct adapter and caddy. It is possible to install a SATA drive with an adapter, there is a relatively current thread detailing it.
https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=105261.0You should be aware that 2.3.X is the last pfSense branch that will support 32bit though it will be supported for some time after 2.4 is released.
Steve
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Hi Steve,
Thanks for the reply. Just so im understanding you correctly. I can just get a 2.5 IDE drive and put it in without any adapters?
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I have a WatchGuard X750 with onboard CF-card reader. Problem is though, the reader doesn't support UDMA transfers (2 pins are not connected through, thus stuck in PIO-4 mode). My solution was to get an external CF->IDE adapter hooked up which supports UDMA transfers. My god, the loading speed before the upgrade was, put mildly, extremely slow. Just remember to use a newer IDE cable with 80 conductors in between, or you'll face errors.
2.5" IDE drives are very uncommon nowadays, except old used ones, but an IDE->SATA adapter (make sure it supports UDMA) would most likely work. How about a IDE->SD-Card adapter as SD-Cards are a lot cheaper than CF-Cards?
As for the logs, I'm using NFS to mount a private share on my file server. That way, I can keep all my device's logfiles at one place and not require any mechanical disk drive on each and every device. Perhaps I would write a script one day that creates a local ram-drive for the logfiles if the NFS share is unavailable and notify by email… Remote Syslog (RSyslog) could also work, but have not tested it yet.
Good luck!
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Never used your model but I have set up a few PFsense boxes on the Watchguard 530/545's
Always used SSD drives and up the ramp to 8gigs,Never had a customer complain
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@GTX:
I can just get a 2.5 IDE drive and put it in without any adapters?
Sorry for the delay. Most of those boxes come with an IDE connector suitable for connecting a laptop style drive in a caddy. You will need an adapter to connect between the actual 2.5" IDE 44pin connector and the connector on the board.
It's mentioned here: https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/PfSense_on_Watchguard_Firebox#Further_Enhancements_3Here's an example: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/253003464107
As I said before you definitely don't want to spend too much here because the 32bit hardware in that box has limited life at this point.
Thanks,
Steve
