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    2.1 32bit vs 64bit

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Problems Installing or Upgrading pfSense Software
    13 Posts 6 Posters 3.7k Views
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    • N
      newbieuser1234
      last edited by

      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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      • jimpJ
        jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
        last edited by

        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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        • N
          newbieuser1234
          last edited by

          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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          • jimpJ
            jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
            last edited by

            If it's an Intel 320 or S3500 series then yes.

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            • N
              newbieuser1234
              last edited by

              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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              • jimpJ
                jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
                last edited by

                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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                • J
                  jasonlitka
                  last edited by

                  @jimp:

                  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.

                  I can break anything.

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                  • jimpJ
                    jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
                    last edited by

                    The problem is much more apparent in SSDs, though, from everything we've heard from customers and read.

                    Fun read: http://lkcl.net/reports/ssd_analysis.html

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                    • N
                      newbieuser1234
                      last edited by

                      thank you

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                      • N
                        newbieuser1234
                        last edited by

                        Does anyone know if pfsense can use multiple cores ?

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                        • stephenw10S
                          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                          last edited by

                          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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                          • L
                            Legion
                            last edited by

                            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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                            • N
                              nothing
                              last edited by

                              @stephenw10:

                              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…

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