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    My Intel Atom System - PfSense 1.2.3 and newer

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    • I
      infinityloop
      last edited by

      For years i have used an old P2-350MHz to run PfSense. But during the last year i had 3 broken HDD's and its powerconsumtion of 74Watt was not very economical either.

      Thats why i decided that i have to build a better system. :D
      Since i've seen quite a few users asking for a PfSense compatible Intel Atom System, i thought that i might share mine.

      At this is it:
      -MoBo: MSI IM-945GSE-A

      • CPU: Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz

      • Chipset: Intel® 945GSE + ICH7M

      • NIC: 2 x Intel® 82574L GbE LAN

      -RAM: Kingston 1GB DDR2 PC2-4200 non-ECC CL4 soDIMM 533MHz NTB
      -HDD:

      • IDE to CF-Card Reader: Delock 91624

      • CF-Card: SanDisk CompactFlash Card Extreme III 4GB - 30MB/Sec Read and Write

      -Case: Compucase 8K01
      -Total Powerconsumption: 16W right now

      Best thing is that PfSense 1.2.3 is working nicely. I did not expect that. Thought i would need to use 2.0 Beta. :)

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      • S
        SecretAsianMan
        last edited by

        That's a nice system.  I would definitely like to see the power consumption and CPU load figures at your normal load.

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        • P
          pmb1010
          last edited by

          q: you mention CF card "read and write'

          So are you running full install or nanobsd(embedded type) install?

          BTW:
          Thanks for posting your stuff.

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          • I
            infinityloop
            last edited by

            @SecretAsianMan:

            I would definitely like to see the power consumption and CPU load figures at your normal load.

            • PPPoE

            • up: 1 MBit

            • down: 8 MBit


            @pmb1010:

            q: you mention CF card "read and write'

            So are you running full install or nanobsd(embedded type) install?

            • downloaded the 1.2.3 Release LiveCD image

            • burned it on a CD

            • started up the system

            • did the basic config (interfaces assignment + LAN IP)

            • and finaly choose "99" install


            @SecretAsianMan:

            Thanks for posting your stuff.

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            • P
              pmb1010
              last edited by

              aren't you worried about the issue of using CF card as read & write, where it "burns itself out" because of limited read/writes they can handle?

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              • M
                mhab12
                last edited by

                The issue of CF wear is not a problem unless logging or packages are enabled/installed.  Even then, with newer CF cards it's not nearly the problem it used to be.  I have seen SLC CF cards popping up on the market recently too…

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                • I
                  infinityloop
                  last edited by

                  @pmb1010:

                  aren't you worried about the issue of using CF card as read & write, where it "burns itself out" because of limited read/writes they can handle?

                  Not yet.
                  It can not be worse than 3 dead HDD's in one year + it's a lot cheaper than a new HDD + uses a lot less power (good for electricity bill).
                  So even if i have to replace it once a year, it will cost me less. :D

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                  • I
                    indesman
                    last edited by

                    I really like your setup and am looking at emulating it for a dual WAN router setup in my home.  Did you choose the CF as a less expensive option to a SSHDD?  Also, how did you install from a CD?  Is there a drive in the case that's not listed in the specs you posted or is it possible to boot from a USB CD drive?

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                    • I
                      infinityloop
                      last edited by

                      @indesman:

                      I really like your setup and am looking at emulating it for a dual WAN router setup in my home.  Did you choose the CF as a less expensive option to a SSHDD?

                      Sort of.
                      A SSD would be overkill.
                      @indesman:

                      Also, how did you install from a CD?  Is there a drive in the case that's not listed in the specs you posted or is it possible to boot from a USB CD drive?

                      I've connected an ordinary 5,25" DVD drive just for installing - i refused to buy a slim DVD drive "just" for a router. :)

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                      • E
                        evildave
                        last edited by

                        @infinityloop:

                        For years i have used an old P2-350MHz to run PfSense. But during the last year i had 3 broken HDD's and its powerconsumtion of 74Watt was not very economical either.

                        Thats why i decided that i have to build a better system. :D
                        Since i've seen quite a few users asking for a PfSense compatible Intel Atom System, i thought that i might share mine.

                        At this is it:
                        -MoBo: MSI IM-945GSE-A

                        • CPU: Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz

                        • Chipset: Intel® 945GSE + ICH7M

                        • NIC: 2 x Intel® 82574L GbE LAN

                        -RAM: Kingston 1GB DDR2 PC2-4200 non-ECC CL4 soDIMM 533MHz NTB
                        -HDD:

                        • IDE to CF-Card Reader: Delock 91624

                        • CF-Card: SanDisk CompactFlash Card Extreme III 4GB - 30MB/Sec Read and Write

                        -Case: Compucase 8K01
                        -Total Powerconsumption: 16W right now

                        Best thing is that PfSense 1.2.3 is working nicely. I did not expect that. Thought i would need to use 2.0 Beta. :)

                        The MSI board is an excellent near-embedded platform.  Its a bit hard to find since its not a consumer board and is sold through their embedded/digital-signage channels though.  Given a bit more budget I'd have used one for my home firewall rather than my USD125 project that currently runs it.

                        I have a hard time believing that power figure though.

                        I'm using a D510 CPU (total cpu+northbridge lower than an N270+945G) totally fanless running off a USB memory attached to a pinheader daughtercard, a 'vge' pci ether and nothing else and drawing over 20W (using a picoPSU DC-DC converter running off of a 12VDC regulated input).

                        (The Intel D510MO, as well as the previous generation Intel mini-itx board the 945CGLF2 makes an excellent pfsense platform btw.  Only downside is a single 're' gigabit, but that is loads better than an 'rl' in my book.)

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                        • I
                          infinityloop
                          last edited by

                          @evildave:

                          Only downside is a single 're' gigabit, but that is loads better than an 'rl' in my book.)

                          Indeed. the MSI IM-945GSE-A was the only mobo i could find where both NICs are Intel and not some realtek junk. :)

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                          • R
                            reitzmichnicht
                            last edited by

                            I'm also running full install on CF Card. It was an old one 512MB and after 5 years it died. I just bought a new one and everything is ok again. This time 4GB so the wear leveling has more space to allocate new blocks.
                            And I also changed /tmp to RAMDisk, that should help a lot.

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