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    What are people using as there pfsense firewall/router?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Firewalling
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    • JKnottJ
      JKnott @A Former User
      last edited by

      @jwj said in What are people using as there pfsense firewall/router?:

      Yes! The idea of enterprise level equipment in a home environment can be intoxicating. That is until you realize just how noisy and power hungry that stuff can be. That xeon based firewall plus a 48 port PoE switch can easily add $15+ to your monthly power bill.

      Well, I have a Cisco switch and Ubiquiti AP and both are quiet. The switch uses a wall wart for power, so it can't be drawing that much. On the other hand the Ubiquiti PoE injector has a very heavy duty power cord, but again I doubt it draws that much.

      On the other hand, I used to have an IBM Netfinity server and that was noisy and power hungry!

      PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
      i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
      UniFi AC-Lite access point

      I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • M
        mcury
        last edited by

        SG-3100 - low power usage
        Synology NAS DS218+ with 2 hard drives for plex server, ds-video and storage - low power usage
        nanohd - low power usage
        2 tp-link switches - 9VDC/0.6A each
        1 - Raspberry pi 3 model B running samba, apache and unifi controller
        1 - Raspberry pi 4 model B as a desktop replacement

        1 - Desktop PC with a 430W power supply that I turn on once a week to play something..

        dead on arrival, nowhere to be found.

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        • johnpozJ
          johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
          last edited by johnpoz

          The max draw on your uap-ac-lite is listed at 6.5W @JKnott... I have not thrown a kill-a-watt on mine. But even if they drew 12W.. your only talking about $1 a month at 12 cents per kwh.. So your prob half of that.. Not sure what elec cost by you..

          The pro I have is listed at 9W.. I would assume these draws are max, so with clients and using max transmit power, which none of my AP are set for, 2.4 is low and 5 is medium.. So have to assume something less than what their max draw is listed as..

          I would guess, all 3 of my AP together prob cost me $1 a month or something to run.

          An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
          If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
          Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
          SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

          M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • Raffi_R
            Raffi_
            last edited by

            At home apu2e4.

            At work an ancient PC which got upgraded components to support the future AES-NI requirement. If I could do it all over again, I would have gone with a Netgate appliance at work. Not because I've had any issues with the PC, but the Netgate just makes more sense especially for the workplace.

            Come to think about it, I love my APU, but I probably should have done a Netgate at home too. doh!

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            • Raffi_R
              Raffi_
              last edited by

              Any recommendations on a small UPS for a tiny pfSense box?

              M JKnottJ 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • M
                mcury @Raffi_
                last edited by

                @Raffi_ I'm using Eaton UPS, it's compatible with NUT

                dead on arrival, nowhere to be found.

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                • chpalmerC
                  chpalmer @hintslara82
                  last edited by

                  @hintslara82 said in What are people using as there pfsense firewall/router?:

                  What are people using these days are the watchguard red boxes still any good.

                  If you do a Watchguard- stay away from anything older than the XTM5 series.. I do have an XCS which was an email filter box (only 3 interfaces) that I use for testing..

                  But something like a newer M400 would be a better choice if you go the red box way.

                  Triggering snowflakes one by one..
                  Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4590T CPU @ 2.00GHz on an M400 WG box.

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                  • H
                    hintslara82 Banned @hintslara82
                    last edited by

                    This post is deleted!
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                    • johnpozJ
                      johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                      last edited by johnpoz

                      Yeah spammer.. Sorry folk - this guy turned out to just be another spammer..

                      An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                      If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                      Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                      SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

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                      • JKnottJ
                        JKnott @Raffi_
                        last edited by

                        @Raffi_

                        Some APC models do not work with pfsense.

                        PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
                        i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
                        UniFi AC-Lite access point

                        I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • K
                          Kartoff
                          last edited by

                          I am using Cisco UCS C210 M2 with 2x x5650 CPUs and 24 GB RAM... In there are also 2x Broadcom 57810 dual port 10G adapters, with every port on different VLAN, no LAGG, Tagging etc... All VLAN stuff is dedicated to Cisco Nexus 6000 :)

                          bingo600B johnpozJ 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • bingo600B
                            bingo600 @Kartoff
                            last edited by

                            @kartoff said in What are people using as there pfsense firewall/router?:

                            I am using Cisco UCS C210 M2 with 2x x5650 CPUs and 24 GB RAM... In there are also 2x Broadcom 57810 dual port 10G adapters, with every port on different VLAN, no LAGG, Tagging etc... All VLAN stuff is dedicated to Cisco Nexus 6000 :)

                            Outchh ...
                            Do you have free electricity ?

                            /Bingo

                            If you find my answer useful - Please give the post a šŸ‘ - "thumbs up"

                            pfSense+ 23.05.1 (ZFS)

                            QOTOM-Q355G4 Quad Lan.
                            CPUĀ  : Core i5 5250U, Ram : 8GB Kingston DDR3LV 1600
                            LANĀ  : 4 x Intel 211, DiskĀ  : 240G SAMSUNG MZ7L3240HCHQ SSD

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                            • johnpozJ
                              johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @Kartoff
                              last edited by johnpoz

                              Your running pfsense on one of these?

                              2579280.jpg

                              That is nuts! ;)

                              How much power does that thing use??

                              Are you running pfsense as VM on that beast.. I couldn't see using that as a firewall/router.. Its a beast.. Old sure - but those things are beasts!!

                              Thing must use like 150W idle..

                              An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                              If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                              Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                              SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

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                              • K
                                Kartoff
                                last edited by Kartoff

                                I used to have free electricity before, but now I don't :( Maybe because of that I still have no habit to pay attention to consumption...
                                As @johnpoz suggested UCS consumption is about 150w-200w according to CIMC where I can't login now because it require flash which is deprecated now...
                                But consumption of UCS is less than half of what Nexus switch consume :

                                N6K-C6001-64P# sh env pow in

                                Power Supply Input:

                                PS Voltage Current Power Status
                                (Volt) (Amp) (Watt)

                                1 224.50 1.04 233.27 ok
                                2 224.00 1.16 259.00 ok

                                               Total: 492.27
                                

                                N6K-C6001-64P#

                                As you see switch consume 500w of power 😊

                                Depends of point of view UCS C210 is a beast, but also not :) For now it do the trick, but I already considering buying something with LGA2011 and PCI-E Gen3 😵
                                pfSense run on bare metal, no VM...
                                I want to try TNSR because it can handle much more traffic and that's why I may need new hardware according to requirements...
                                BTW I will be happy if pfSense start using VPP DPDK etc... in the future because this will enhance performance of existing hardware significantly :)

                                :Edit:
                                I manage to get in CIMC :
                                UCSC210M2PC.PNG

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                                • johnpozJ
                                  johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @Kartoff
                                  last edited by

                                  Haha - I am good ;) hehehe

                                  good.png

                                  Talk about calling it pretty damn close..

                                  I am all for enterprise gear.. In the enterprise where cost of electric is a very minor concern.. The only concern we ever had with power was that we had enough.. And if we didn't we put in more..

                                  Thing prob sounds like small plane taxi on the runway with the fans in that thing alone..

                                  An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                                  If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                                  Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                                  SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

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                                  • bingo600B
                                    bingo600
                                    last edited by bingo600

                                    @work
                                    I'll "inherit" 4 x Cisco 9300 in Q1 2021

                                    And I just inherited a "free" HP-DLP360 G9
                                    Now if i can convince the Boss to get 2 x 10G cards .....

                                    10G would be a nice upgrade in the TestLab.

                                    Any suggestion for 10G cards for the HP ??

                                    I'm not experienced w. Enterprise servers (ILO etc)

                                    /Bingo

                                    If you find my answer useful - Please give the post a šŸ‘ - "thumbs up"

                                    pfSense+ 23.05.1 (ZFS)

                                    QOTOM-Q355G4 Quad Lan.
                                    CPUĀ  : Core i5 5250U, Ram : 8GB Kingston DDR3LV 1600
                                    LANĀ  : 4 x Intel 211, DiskĀ  : 240G SAMSUNG MZ7L3240HCHQ SSD

                                    NogBadTheBadN 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • 1
                                      1OF1000Quadrillion
                                      last edited by

                                      I have a completely overpowered Alienware R4 desktop I am using for pfsense now, my old HP died a couple weeks ago-blown motherboard. The Alienware has a 4790 CPU and 16 GB of ram.
                                      I have never seen the CPU go over 6% and never seen the RAM usage over 20%.

                                      When this PC running pfsense dies I fully intend on getting the SG3100 or equivalent at minimum from negate. I may even go for something a bit beefier if I upgrade to GB internet by then - I prefer overpowered to "just what's needed" or (gasp) under-powered.

                                      If you run old PC hardware and "free" PFSense I encourage you to pay for a snort subscription at minimum to support Netgate's efforts.

                                      johnpozJ Raffi_R 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • johnpozJ
                                        johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @1OF1000Quadrillion
                                        last edited by

                                        @1of1000quadrillion said in What are people using as there pfsense firewall/router?:

                                        pay for a snort subscription at minimum to support Netgate's efforts.

                                        Huh?? You mean a support subscription from netgate? The $30/year rule subscription doesn't support netgate or pfsense that I am aware of..

                                        Where did you see that the rule subscription supports netgate?

                                        An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                                        If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                                        Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                                        SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

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                                        • 1
                                          1OF1000Quadrillion @johnpoz
                                          last edited by

                                          @johnpoz

                                          Srry man, I didn't..I just assumed that since snort was added on to pfsense that the subscription fee or a portion of it went to netgate...is this not true?

                                          johnpozJ bmeeksB 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • johnpozJ
                                            johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @1OF1000Quadrillion
                                            last edited by

                                            No I don't see how it could.. If it did I would think they would announce that somewhere.

                                            The best way to support netgate is either buy an appliance, or get a support contract.. Or both ;) But the tac support is a $400 a year.. So it not something your typical home user would get.

                                            Kind of shame they got rid of the 100$ a year gold - which was a way to support..

                                            An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                                            If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                                            Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                                            SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

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