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    Torn on which direction to go

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
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    • J
      jeremy450
      last edited by

      Hi guys

      i know theres topics about this but honest.
      I'm Torn on which way to go.
      I'm looking at either going a VM or a Hardware
      The hardware version specs are
      intel I3-10100,
      8gb DDR4
      250GB SSD/Vnme
      Gigabyte h410m DS2v
      Dual intel Nic

      VM would run on a old dell t630 with my other vms
      server runs dual E5-2620 v4 and would have a dual intel NIC attached to the PFsense VM

      any opinons?

      regards
      Jeremy

      johnpozJ JKnottJ 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • johnpozJ
        johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @jeremy450
        last edited by

        @jeremy450 I use to run pfsense as VM for many years, and while it has some advantages - playing with whatever the latest beta pfsense being one of them - since its easy to roll back via a snapshot, etc.

        You could play with other router distro's easy by just switching which vm is doing the routing, etc.

        Drawback is performance - when I up'd my internet speed the old hardware I was running as my vm host just couldn't handle my 500 down, etc. Also any time I needed to reboot my VM host whole house lost internet.

        I went hardware, and to be honest I wouldn't go back. I can still run pfsense or other routers as VMs to play with, etc. But now if I need to reboot the VM host, the rest of my network still has internet.

        While pfsense as a vm can be done. There is something to be said for having internet no matter what you do with your VM host. Hardware setup is more straight forward as well, less complicated setup for sure.

        Either way works - its up to your own preferences and needs. Its quite possible performance would be the deciding factor fo you - set it up as VM, can it handle your internet issues without any issues? If not then really the decision is made for you ;)

        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 2.8, 24.11

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        • JKnottJ
          JKnott @jeremy450
          last edited by

          @jeremy450

          I would go with hardware. With a VM, you have more vulnerability. Check my sig for what I use.

          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...

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          • J
            jeremy450
            last edited by

            Thanks for the replies guys

            This honestly has been a hard decision as i like VMs. i converted of my stuff to VM's

            My main concern was if it froze and i wasnt home to reset it. But i think i could setup a watchdog thing in Home Assistant if it cant get a ping reply for 2 or 5mins from the pfsense box to do a powercycle on a switch to reboot the box

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • stephenw10S
              stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
              last edited by

              It shouldn't just freeze. But if that's a real concern for you then setup an HA pair. Or maybe some OOB access to the console.

              Steve

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