Pfsense Build Advice?
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Hello Everyone,
I have been reading about pfsense and interested in building my own.
I currently own a vigor 2930 but only has a WAN throughput of 70mbs, I have been upgraded to Virgin Media's 120mb service so need to replace with something with better throughput and pfsense seams like a good choice.
I have an acer revo atom machine that I leave running all day that runs sickbeard an other applications, my plan was to replace this machine and my router with one box.
The plan is to build a mini-itx VM machine that either runs server 2008 with hyper v or Windows 7 with VMWare, then to have the two virtual machines running, one for pfsense and the other to run my download applications etc.
I have come up with a rough hardware list:-
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/thermaltake-element-q-black-mini-itx-htpc-case-with-220w-sfx-psu
I will also look to get a 4 port Intel PCI-E Nic of ebay
I would like some help from people who have ran Pfsense before and have some experience as this is my first build.
Does my plan sound OK and will it be capable of having a WAN throughput of 120mbs and upwards?
Thank you in advance for any advice
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Three things:
This board is popular since it has dual on board NICs and DC power in so it uses less power for an always on machine.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel-boxdq77kb-intel-q77-s-1155-ddr3-so-dimm-sata-iii-6gb-s-sata-raid-displayport-hdmi-mini-itx.Don't run Windows as a VM host it will introduce a huge overhead. Use ESXi or similar.
An i5 bare metal is capable of well over 1Gbps throughput (maybe >2Gbps on that chip) so no problems with 120Mbps WAN.
Steve
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Wonder why they have different colors (black & red) for the dual NICs
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I would recommend not going with the Thermaltake Element Q enclosure. I am using it for sometime and trust me it gets hot as there are no exhaust fans except a fan in the PSU which is barely doing its job of cooling the PSU.
For multiple VMs I would recommend you go for a well aerated enclosure. System config is fine but hot air and no proper ventilation will kill it earlier than you expect.
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Wonder why they have different colors (black & red) for the dual NICs
Intel AMT works with the red one.
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I have two boxes that use the same Intel Motherboard. One is a dedicated pfSense box and the other is my ESXi box. This is that motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121623
There is a problem with ESXi and one of the LAN chipsets. ESXi won't recognize it, so I had to add Intel PCIe cards, which wasn't too much of a problem. pfSense natively recognized the LAN chipset. I think it's the Intel 82579LM chipset that ESXi does not recognize. I installed v5.1.
I went with this CPU for virtualization. You really need to go to Intel's site and research two things: The chipset that the motherboard uses and the CPU specs. Specifically, look for what virtualization technologies are supported. The Q77 chipset is ideal for virtualization but look closely at the CPU specs to make sure all of the virtualization technologies you are interested in are supported. Matching the Q77 chipset with an Ivy Bridge CPU is strongly recommended.
I threw a bunch of these LAN cards into the boxes:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106033
Pretty standard LAN card, widely supported chipset. Works well in both ESXi and pfSense.
RAM is cheap, get a lot or at least get the largest chips you can afford. I maxed out my ESXi box at 32GB. I think it cost me less than US$200.
I love these cases:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108106
Good power, just enough space to work in, solid, and they come with all the screws. No frills black box. Stock Intel CPU fan fits in it nicely. I had to add a small 80mm fan to ensure heat got out of the box quickly, I think I spent $3 on the fan. Snaps into place in the case. The case only supports one fan, but it has reasonable airflow.
Hard drives and DVD drives are cheap, throw in as many as you need.
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Thank you for the tips,
I am going to look at other motherboards over the weekend, ideally I wanted a mini-itx to keep it nice and small but may stretch to a MATX if this appears to be more practical.
I have also decided to go the VMware ESXI router, I take it that this is what I need:-
http://www.vmware.com/products/vsphere-hypervisor/overview.html
AM I correct in thinking the Intel DQ77kb only supports processors with a power draw of up to 65w:-
http://ark.intel.com/products/59046/Intel-Desktop-Board-DQ77KB
Thanks again :)
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ESXi Hypervisor is correct. It's free for a single CPU, single-node installation. The build I listed above runs with an i7 and hosts 6-7 virtual servers quite well. They're not getting hammered, so utilization is low. If all you're running is pfSense, an i5 is more than enough. You could probably fire up 2-3 additional low-useage servers on that box too.
And, yes, on the power. The smaller boards use less power and as such use lower-powered chips. It's in line with their design. The Ivy Bridge processors give you a good bang for your buck without consuming a lot of power.
This is the CPU I used in my ESXi box:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116503
65w and it has every virtualization technology I was looking for in a chip. This pairs up nicely with the Q77 chipset to give you a really solid experience. ESXi will also throttle the CPU down when it doesn't need the CPU cycles, so the overall system become slightly more power efficient.
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Hello All,
Thanks again for the advice, I have almost decided on the following:-
HP Intel NC364T Quad NIC
I just need to decide on a PSU, what would be the minimum powered PSU you would get for this system, 300w or would I get away with 200W?
I will be getting 2 SATA hard drives, one dedicated to PFsense and the other to run a couple of other VMS
Thanks again :)
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I use a 300w PSU. As you add "parts" the power draw will go up.
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Hmm, I'm quite surprised by that. I would have assumed a 200W PSU would be fine.
Also I'm surprised you can get 25A through a barrel connector without it melting! :)Steve
