Low power consumption to high power
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in terms of hardware, what is the least power hungry setup that can run pfsense rising to the highest power.
i would assume that it would start at the bottom with an alix?
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My net5501-80 uses 7W with a 2GB CF and no PCI card. Given that the Alixes all have less RAM, fewer NICs, and in some cases slower CPUs, I expect they would consume even less power. I don't know of an x86 platform that would use less.
By contrast, my Supermicro X7SPA-H with 4GB of RAM and 240GB Vertex 2 SSD hovers around 19-22W.
I have an HP t5710 thin client with an Infineon 1.2GHz CPU and 512/512 flash/RAM. I haven't installed pfsense to it, but I think others on the forum have. It uses 8.5-13.2W running LTSP.
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If you are prepared to pay (and I imagine it's big bucks!) then some single board computers are very low power.
This board from Advantech, for instance, uses only 4W MAX at 1GHz. Typical consumption: less than 2W! :oMy Watchguard Firebox, with an underclocked, undervolted P4-M runs around 37W.
Steve
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I don't know how accurate these numbers are, but here are some pfSense approved appliances that rank (speed) above an ALIX and their power consumption figures.
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I have an HP t5710 thin client with an Infineon 1.2GHz CPU and 512/512 flash/RAM. I haven't installed pfsense to it, but I think others on the forum have. It uses 8.5-13.2W running LTSP.
I'm running on a T5720 with 1GHz, 2G/1G, and no problems. I haven't checked the power consumption though.
Cheers.
