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    MicroClient

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    • P Offline
      ptaylor
      last edited by

      Does anyone have any experience with the Microclient JrDX hardware (http://www.norhtec.com/products/mcjrdx/index.html)?  It looks like it might be a good low power platform to run pfSense on (if you get the 2nd NIC option), and pretty cheap, but with a decent speed processor.

      Here's the stats from their website:

      1Ghz x86 CPU
      256 or 512 MB RAM
      Support for 2nd NIC
      Integrated Full Clock FPU
      Bootable SD and CF slots
      3 x USB 2.0 (2 in front)
      1 x Keyboard and mouse port

      Not sure about this though:
      Ethernet Integrated r6040 10/100 Mbps LAN with built-in PXE boot

      I thought "r6040" may have been a Realtek, but in searching the net, I see "RDC" as the company, so I'm not sure how well that works with pfSense.

      It's only $200 with 512 MB of ram and the 2nd NIC option.

      If the NICs work well, this could be a very nice little firewall.  It supports wireless too with a $40 add-on…

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      • W Offline
        wallabybob
        last edited by

        See http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/svn-src-head/2010-December/023644.html Apparently the r6040 driver was submitted to FreeBSD 31-Dec-2010 and is in the FreeBSD 8.2 sources.

        http://sourceforge.net/apps/phpbb/freenas/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9198 suggests the driver can be backported and built on FreeBSD 8.1 so the kernel module for the driver can probably be used by pfSense 2.0 (based on FreeBSD 8.1)

        The man page at http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=vte&apropos=0&sektion=0&manpath=FreeBSD+9-current&format=html suggests it is not a high performing NIC but if the whole system is reliable it could be a very capable firewall platform.

        Rather than pay for the second NIC I would be inclined to use multiple VLANs and a VLAN capable switch with it.

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        • P Offline
          ptaylor
          last edited by

          Thanks for the info, but I found an issue…

          If you go to the trouble of trying to order one, it shows a shipping fee of over $60... to a US address???

          At over $250, there are probably other solutions that are more proven than to try this one out...

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          • W Offline
            wallabybob
            last edited by

            @ptaylor:

            If you go to the trouble of trying to order one, it shows a shipping fee of over $60… to a US address???

            Norhtec are based in Thailand.

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