Navigation

    Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Register
    • Login
    • Search
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search

    HP Microserver N36L as pfSense server

    Hardware
    5
    5
    2853
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • D
      digis last edited by

      Hello

      I've been offered a HP Microserver N36L for a good price, and I was thinking of using it as a pfSense server.

      However, I'm wondering if it's fast enough.

      Specs:
      CPU: AMD Athlon II Neo N36L / 1.3 GHz
      HDD: 200GB WD Black
      RAM: 4GB DDR3 ECC
      NIC: HP NC107i 1GbE
      More info can be found here: http://microserver.wikidot.com/wiki:n36l-specifications

      It will be used as router+firewall+VPN server in a home network with a maximum of 8 users simoutanesly on. I want to mount 2 extra GbE NIC's so I can do loadbalancing and failover between my primary 60mbit cable and my backup 10mbit ADSL2+ lines.

      Could I be running into performance and/or compatibility troubles with this setup?

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

        70Mbps throughput, no problem. You may struggle to saturate that with vpn traffic though.
        Are you planning to run snort or squid?

        Steve

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • S
          sebjavierw last edited by

          I am also curious about doing a pfSense build with my N40L.
          Could you let me know if it is successful or not and what network cards you used?
          Thanks

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • B
            biggsy last edited by

            N36|40|54L are good machines for pfSense - or even low demand ESXi, given enough memory  ;)  Low power and practically noiseless.

            I would recommend that you try to find a used HP NC360T dual gigabit card.  Depending where you are they can be quite inexpensive.  Just be sure you get one with a low-profile bracket!

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • johnpoz
              johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator last edited by

              I run my pfsense on N40L, I have added a dual nic and single nic so I have 4.  I have 8GB of memory in mine - thinking of moving to 16.

              Pfsense runs great on it as a vm under esxi - I would never go back to running my router directly on hardware.. With a vm, I can take as snapshot before I do anything with it and then can always roll back..  This is great when running development code, ie before 2.1 was released, etc..

              Here are the cards I used

              http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106036

              dual
              http://www.amazon.com/HP-412648-B21-PCI-Express-GigaBit-Adapter/dp/B000J3OPOU

              Sold by amtech - I contacted them with my order number and they made sure I got the low profile bracket, etc.  Great service from them.

              So I run my NAS with 3 disks and my linux play vm and other vm on and off and have no problems with performance.. But there are always at min 3 vms on, etc.  Thing rocks!!

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • First post
                Last post

              Products

              • Platform Overview
              • TNSR
              • pfSense
              • Appliances

              Services

              • Training
              • Professional Services

              Support

              • Subscription Plans
              • Contact Support
              • Product Lifecycle
              • Documentation

              News

              • Media Coverage
              • Press
              • Events

              Resources

              • Blog
              • FAQ
              • Find a Partner
              • Resource Library
              • Security Information

              Company

              • About Us
              • Careers
              • Partners
              • Contact Us
              • Legal
              Our Mission

              We provide leading-edge network security at a fair price - regardless of organizational size or network sophistication. We believe that an open-source security model offers disruptive pricing along with the agility required to quickly address emerging threats.

              Subscribe to our Newsletter

              Product information, software announcements, and special offers. See our newsletter archive to sign up for future newsletters and to read past announcements.

              © 2021 Rubicon Communications, LLC | Privacy Policy