<![CDATA[Hardware options to run pfSense]]>All,

I am planning on turning my current router (Netgear R9000 X10) into an AP and installing a dedicated PFSense firewall.

I have the following hardware available to run the PFSense installation:

Dell R210ii with 8Gb RAM and a pair of SSDs

Supermicro A1Sai-2750F with upto 16Gb RAM and a pair of SSDs.

I also run an ESXi server so could put this into service as a VM but am a bit sceptical in case of problems with the host...

I plan to install PFBlockerNG/Suricata on PFSense. (and maybe a few other services/addons I like the look of)

I also have a dedicated VM for my OpenVPN server which I intend to remove and make use of the OpenVPN service on PFSense.

Broadband connection is 80Mb download 20Mb upload into a BT OpenReach modem (white box) which then goes into the Netgear X10.

Both servers above pull about 25w with PFSense installed (with a 10Gb card installed but I plan on removing that as not really needed at the moment).

Any recommendations?

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/topic/155088/hardware-options-to-run-pfsenseRSS for NodeThu, 16 Apr 2026 13:45:06 GMTTue, 07 Jul 2020 08:16:22 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Hardware options to run pfSense on Thu, 09 Jul 2020 12:06:12 GMT]]>Ha nice. 👍

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/923424https://forum.netgate.com/post/923424Thu, 09 Jul 2020 12:06:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hardware options to run pfSense on Thu, 09 Jul 2020 11:52:55 GMT]]>@stephenw10
HA you say! :) I think it was $15,000 our price ($17,000 MSRP). Probably the most expensive home installed pfSense box ever!
And they just gave it to me... :)

Memories...

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/923421https://forum.netgate.com/post/923421Thu, 09 Jul 2020 11:52:55 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hardware options to run pfSense on Thu, 09 Jul 2020 08:12:18 GMT]]>It's not new, a few years old but I am willing to use it. I actually have two of them so can have a cold spare ready to go.

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/923378https://forum.netgate.com/post/923378Thu, 09 Jul 2020 08:12:18 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hardware options to run pfSense on Wed, 08 Jul 2020 23:58:20 GMT]]>It does depend on the age of that board though.

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/923336https://forum.netgate.com/post/923336Wed, 08 Jul 2020 23:58:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hardware options to run pfSense on Wed, 08 Jul 2020 15:35:10 GMT]]>@cphillips

Just for the sake of completeness...
It's a matter of taste, the Atom series

https://www.servethehome.com/intel-atom-c2000-series-bug-quiet/
https://www.servethehome.com/intel-atom-c2000-avr54-bug-strikes-sth/

and etc.

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/923210https://forum.netgate.com/post/923210Wed, 08 Jul 2020 15:35:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hardware options to run pfSense on Wed, 08 Jul 2020 15:07:31 GMT]]>C2K CPUs are a SoC with 4x igb NICs built in. You should be fine there.

Steve

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/923202https://forum.netgate.com/post/923202Wed, 08 Jul 2020 15:07:31 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hardware options to run pfSense on Wed, 08 Jul 2020 14:50:15 GMT]]>Thanks all, I am going to run the C2750 and see how that goes.

This is the board I have - https://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/atom/x10/a1sai-2750f.cfm

Do we know if the onboard NIC's are ok to run pfSense or should I be looking at installing an Intel card?

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/923196https://forum.netgate.com/post/923196Wed, 08 Jul 2020 14:50:15 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hardware options to run pfSense on Tue, 07 Jul 2020 17:33:29 GMT]]>@provels said in Hardware options to run pfSense:

I still have my Nokia ip530 on 1.2.3 on a gmirror raid...

Ha. 😁

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/923022https://forum.netgate.com/post/923022Tue, 07 Jul 2020 17:33:29 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hardware options to run pfSense on Tue, 07 Jul 2020 15:36:45 GMT]]>@stephenw10
Not to worry, as it's a cold backup. If you want to compile 2.4.5_p1 on x86 for me, I'll happily upgrade. And if that blows, I still have my Nokia ip530 on 1.2.3 on a gmirror raid... In any case it would only need to be online long enough to DL an ISO if needed.

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/922998https://forum.netgate.com/post/922998Tue, 07 Jul 2020 15:36:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hardware options to run pfSense on Tue, 07 Jul 2020 15:34:46 GMT]]>@stephenw10 said in Hardware options to run pfSense:

I would have had the Dell down as consuming significantly more than the Atom based Supermicro.

A C2750 will be more than sufficient there. You won't need 16GB of RAM in it. You could probably do all of that with 2GB, 4GB to be safe.

Steve

Agree with this. The supermiro sounds like the least power hungry out of all options. I would go with that. All of them will be more than enough for all the requirements mentioned. To give you an idea, I'm running pfblockerNG, suricata, OpenVPN, and a few other packages on an overkill 8th gen i3, 8GB of ram and a single 120GB SSD. The CPU is always sitting close to 1-2% and ram is only ~40%. All of this is overkill for the small office even during heavy VPN use.

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/922996https://forum.netgate.com/post/922996Tue, 07 Jul 2020 15:34:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hardware options to run pfSense on Tue, 07 Jul 2020 14:50:55 GMT]]>@provels said in Hardware options to run pfSense:

32-bit pfSense 2.3.5

😱

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/922985https://forum.netgate.com/post/922985Tue, 07 Jul 2020 14:50:55 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hardware options to run pfSense on Tue, 07 Jul 2020 13:28:05 GMT]]>@cphillips said in Hardware options to run pfSense:

@provels
Thanks for your comments. It's not that I have no confidence in my ESXi host, I do. It has great uptime. I think I'd just rather run a hardware device as if there is a problem with the ESXi host then this would prevent the internet from being offline..

Just a thought, but you could duplicate your ESXi VM config on a throwaway PC for backup. My hardware backup is a 32-bit pfSense 2.3.5 recycled VPN appliance from my old job. Not current version, but would get me online in a pinch.

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/922964https://forum.netgate.com/post/922964Tue, 07 Jul 2020 13:28:05 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hardware options to run pfSense on Tue, 07 Jul 2020 13:00:03 GMT]]>With a BT OpenReach modem on an 80/20 connection I have been using an SG-4860 for several years now with zero complaints in performance (Can easily max out the available bandwidth with single digit CPU percentage usage).
It runs on a C2588 @2.4Ghz with 8GB ram and ~20Gb EMMC storage. 8 configured network interfaces (several VLANs) and quite a stack of rules added over the years.

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/922955https://forum.netgate.com/post/922955Tue, 07 Jul 2020 13:00:03 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hardware options to run pfSense on Tue, 07 Jul 2020 11:19:27 GMT]]>I would have had the Dell down as consuming significantly more than the Atom based Supermicro.

A C2750 will be more than sufficient there. You won't need 16GB of RAM in it. You could probably do all of that with 2GB, 4GB to be safe.

Steve

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/922921https://forum.netgate.com/post/922921Tue, 07 Jul 2020 11:19:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hardware options to run pfSense on Tue, 07 Jul 2020 11:09:44 GMT]]>@provels
Thanks for your comments. It's not that I have no confidence in my ESXi host, I do. It has great uptime. I think I'd just rather run a hardware device as if there is a problem with the ESXi host then this would prevent the internet from being offline..

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/922919https://forum.netgate.com/post/922919Tue, 07 Jul 2020 11:09:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Hardware options to run pfSense on Tue, 07 Jul 2020 13:24:36 GMT]]>@cphillips
The machine in my sig runs virtual on Hyper-V and handles my 300/20 connection fine. That said, I'd use the lowest power consuming box you have if your not confident of the ESXI host. It doesn't take a lot of hardware.

PS - The Hyper-V host is a 12 year old Intel Q6600.

]]>https://forum.netgate.com/post/922895https://forum.netgate.com/post/922895Tue, 07 Jul 2020 13:24:36 GMT