Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search
    • Register
    • Login

    Next step up from an ALIX board? Want to run non-embedded pfSense.

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Hardware
    11 Posts 8 Posters 5.0k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • valnarV
      valnar
      last edited by

      I am running an ALIX board right now with the latest pfSense 1.21 and everything is chugging along fine.  I get pfSense envy though when I read about the packages available on the full version.

      What is the next step up in hardware that will let me install the full version of pfSense with a little bit more horsepower to cover some extra packages?  My needs are limited as this is for home use.

      The only major constraint is I want it to be as low powered as possible.  I'm not expecting it as low as my ALIX board, but I don't want a full blown PC if possible.

      Recommendations?  Would one of the new Intel Atom boards work?

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

        Don't ALIX boards offer an optional harddisk drive instead of a CF card?
        That would enable packages and a full version. I doubt you actually need more horsepower for this in a regular home use.

        An option might be a Fujitsu-Siemens Futro S220 or S300.
        Those are ThinClients with low power consumption (something like 25 Watts or so) and an optional PATA port (and an additional CF slot).
        Search on your prefered auction site…

        The Atom boards seem to be really problematic in setup.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • dotdashD
          dotdash
          last edited by

          You might want to look at the Net5501 with a 2.5" HDD kit. http://www.soekris.com/net5501.htm
          Some of the ALIX boards have an IDE header, but there is no place to put a drive in the standard cases.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • GruensFroeschliG
            GruensFroeschli
            last edited by

            Or you could buy a microdrive (harddisk in CF format)
            But if you go this way search the forum first.
            There are a few threads which drives work and which dont.

            We do what we must, because we can.

            Asking questions the smart way: http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • D
              drees
              last edited by

              I thought there was a way to do a full-install on a flash disk, no?  After all, it will appear just like a microdrive.

              Then just keep a spare flash disk around in case it starts going bad, but in practice, I don't think anyone has had any fail with the limited amount of writing pfSense does.

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

                @drees:

                I thought there was a way to do a full-install on a flash disk, no?  After all, it will appear just like a microdrive.

                Yes, there is an option but it's not supported (AKA you're on your own doing so)
                The wear out of CF cards might get pretty high - depending on the packages one wants to install. For example I wounldn't want to run squid off a CF card.

                Sorry, there was a typo in my first post:
                @jahonix:

                An option might be a Fujitsu-Siemens Futro S200 …

                Here's an auction with pictures of an open case. Looks promising…
                http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310112282461

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • valnarV
                  valnar
                  last edited by

                  Is there a solid state "CF" card available anywhere?  It's not like it needs to be bigger than 4-8GB anyway.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • S
                    shokunin
                    last edited by

                    There are industrial CF cards, I know sandisk sells them.  Ritek and supposed the newer Lexar and Sandisk Extreme IV's are SLC based flash.  None report or give wear statistics but Ritek markets their flash as SLC based.  Note, these cards can cost as much as hard drives so they are not exactly cheap.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • C
                      cmb
                      last edited by

                      New CF cards are fine to run full installs on. In fact several of us developers have been doing this for years on older cards and none of us have killed a card yet. With wear leveling amongst other factors, I'm not convinced this should be a concern.

                      You probably wouldn't want to run Squid off of one, but they're fine for running a normal full install on, with most packages.

                      microdrives are another option, though significantly less reliable than running full installs on CF cards in my experience.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • Z
                        ZPrime
                        last edited by

                        So, what are the magic tricks to run "full" on embedded hardware like soekris?  It doesn't have video or keyboard, so how do you get serial console working?  I've often considered switching to full, either from CF or a laptop drive, but not sure how to make it happen.

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • C
                          cmb
                          last edited by

                          No different from a full install, just select embedded kernel.

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • First post
                            Last post
                          Copyright 2025 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate). All rights reserved.