2.1 32bit vs 64bit
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I am building a new SSD 2.1 system. I will be running a limited rule set for snort, openvpn, pfblocker, and that's about it. I have a atom 1.8ghz proc with 4gb of ram. Any reason why I shouldn't install the 64 bit version? Are some packages buggy on 64 bit? Is pfsense multithreaded, meaning can it use all of the dual core 1.8 proc? Or would one 3ghz proc be faster? Thanks.
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There is little reason to use i386 these days over amd64. The only amd64-specific bug that is open that I know of is https://redmine.pfsense.org/issues/1107 and that's irrelevant to most people.
If you use i386 you probably will not be able to access all 4GB of your RAM, so that's another bit in favor of amd64 as well.
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Thanks Jim! Am I correct in assuming you guys have had good luck so far with running the full install and packages like snort on Intel SSDs?
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If it's an Intel 320 or S3500 series then yes.
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I think it's an intel 520 or 530 with a 5 year warranty. 120gb was $120. Do you recommend HDD instead of this model?
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It depends on the stability of your power. The 320 and S3500 series have a capacitor to protect data in case of sudden power loss. Otherwise there is a risk of data loss or corruption if power is lost.
While the 520 and friends may be fine and live a long time, they (and the majority of other drives) don't hold up well if they lose power often.
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It depends on the stability of your power. The 320 and S3500 series have a capacitor to protect data in case of sudden power loss. Otherwise there is a risk of data loss or corruption if power is lost.
While the 520 and friends may be fine and live a long time, they (and the majority of other drives) don't hold up well if they lose power often.
The same can be said for any spinning drive as well though.
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The problem is much more apparent in SSDs, though, from everything we've heard from customers and read.
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thank you
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Does anyone know if pfsense can use multiple cores ?
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It can. At present the central pf process is limited to a single thread though. Other processes will make use of further cores to a point.
Steve
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I run 64-bit pfSense 2.1 on an Atom (D2550). I'm pretty sure it has an SSD, don't remember. It's just a home router though, so I don't care if it dies (and I occasionally back up the config so I can reinstall if necessary). If I was building new now I might choose different components but performance is fine and power consumption should be low.
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It can. At present the central pf process is limited to a single thread though. Other processes will make use of further cores to a point.
Steve
Well, almost :)
Pfsense is driven by PHP, which works on single core and if you have configuration big enough expect waiting periods of ~3-4minutes to load the Dashboard…
