Hardware questions
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Hello all. Currently I am looking to replace my Netgear WNDR-3700 w/DD-WRT router with a pf Sense box for adding functionality and performance. I would like to use openVPN and be able to saturate my 100/35Mbps connection. Below is what I am currently look at using for my hardware. I am trying to keep the power usage as low as possible, without going down to the performance level of an Atom. Power costs are high where I live. Case size is also factor, I would like to keep the size as close to a router as possible.
The only thing I am concerned with is using the Realtek NIC's in this motherboard. The main concern is compatibility with pf Sense. Now I know I can switch to a different motherboard with PCIE and get a half-height Intel dual-NIC, but this would increase the size of the case and also there would be far less options with mini-ITX cases. (That are not expensive)
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129185
Mobo/CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128679
Memory: 2-4GB (I have this already)
Storage: Either small 20-40GB SSD or USB flash (Recommendations)I am also considering using Untangled with pf Sense, basically just for the spam/virus filtering. (This would be with ESXi)
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Pretty sure those NICs are just fine in Pfsense2.1 RT8111E right? I was looking at this board as well. If you want more power there are some AIMB boards on ebay now that are cheap and have dual intel nics. If your looking to route everything through OpenVPN I am not sure if the performance is quite there or not.
Try AIMB-270, AIMB-272 or AIMB-280 on ebay.
For example This would eat that celeron 1037U alive depending on what processor you put in and you can always upgrade down the road to a more expensive i7. Pick up a used CPU on ebay to go with it might end up a bit more expensive. Or this seems like a pretty good deal as well. With the right processor some of these boards will do VT-D if you need passthrough and your running esxi.
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Pretty sure those NICs are just fine in Pfsense2.1 RT8111E right? I was looking at this board as well. If you want more power there are some AIMB boards on ebay now that are cheap and have dual intel nics. If your looking to route everything through OpenVPN I am not sure if the performance is quite there or not.
Try AIMB-270, AIMB-272 or AIMB-280 on ebay.
For example This would eat that celeron 1037U alive depending on what processor you put in and you can always upgrade down the road to a more expensive i7. Pick up a used CPU on ebay to go with it might end up a bit more expensive. Or this seems like a pretty good deal as well. With the right processor some of these boards will do VT-D if you need passthrough and your running esxi.
Would the power usage be close to that of the Celeron 1037u?
Edit: I am also curious if anyone else here has experience with the 1037u and openVPN performance.
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I'll be firing up my 1037u box tonight and will report my OpenVPN performance after I have it up and tested. I have this board btw:
http://www.amazon.com/ECS-Elitegroup-NM70-I-Processor-Motherboard/dp/B00G237CMI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390925694&sr=8-1&keywords=ecs+1037u
I decided on this one instead of the Gigabyte because I got it for under $60 and didn't plan on using the onboard NIC(s). The Gigabyte has a PCI slot whereas the ECS has a PCI-e slot for my Intel dual gigabit card. -
I'll be firing up my 1037u box tonight and will report my OpenVPN performance after I have it up and tested. I have this board btw:
http://www.amazon.com/ECS-Elitegroup-NM70-I-Processor-Motherboard/dp/B00G237CMI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390925694&sr=8-1&keywords=ecs+1037u
I decided on this one instead of the Gigabyte because I got it for under $60 and didn't plan on using the onboard NIC(s). The Gigabyte has a PCI slot whereas the ECS has a PCI-e slot for my Intel dual gigabit card.Great, looking forward to your feed back. Really the only thing holding me from going to the Intel dual NIC is case selection. I am still looking though, I have found some smaller cases with expansion, but they tend to be HTPC cases and more expensive. Also I find that they are not meant to stand vertical, which in my case would be a better option.
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I'll be firing up my 1037u box tonight and will report my OpenVPN performance after I have it up and tested. I have this board btw:
http://www.amazon.com/ECS-Elitegroup-NM70-I-Processor-Motherboard/dp/B00G237CMI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390925694&sr=8-1&keywords=ecs+1037u
I decided on this one instead of the Gigabyte because I got it for under $60 and didn't plan on using the onboard NIC(s). The Gigabyte has a PCI slot whereas the ECS has a PCI-e slot for my Intel dual gigabit card.Great, looking forward to your feed back. Really the only thing holding me from going to the Intel dual NIC is case selection. I am still looking though, I have found some smaller cases with expansion, but they tend to be HTPC cases and more expensive. Also I find that they are not meant to stand vertical, which in my case would be a better option.
How small of a case are you looking for? I'm using this one that supports low profile cards:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FIQBNW/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 -
I'll be firing up my 1037u box tonight and will report my OpenVPN performance after I have it up and tested. I have this board btw:
http://www.amazon.com/ECS-Elitegroup-NM70-I-Processor-Motherboard/dp/B00G237CMI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390925694&sr=8-1&keywords=ecs+1037u
I decided on this one instead of the Gigabyte because I got it for under $60 and didn't plan on using the onboard NIC(s). The Gigabyte has a PCI slot whereas the ECS has a PCI-e slot for my Intel dual gigabit card.Great, looking forward to your feed back. Really the only thing holding me from going to the Intel dual NIC is case selection. I am still looking though, I have found some smaller cases with expansion, but they tend to be HTPC cases and more expensive. Also I find that they are not meant to stand vertical, which in my case would be a better option.
How small of a case are you looking for? I'm using this one that supports low profile cards:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FIQBNW/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1That one isn't too big, but still a good size larger then the Antec. My main concern though with the case that you linked is the PSU, 220W is way overkill for the components I would be using. Because of that I question the efficiency of the PSU at such a low power draw. Usually PSU's have a sweet spot around 30-50% of their max load for the best efficiency. Also the DVD-ROM is not need.
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That one isn't too big, but still a good size larger then the Antec. My main concern though with the case that you linked is the PSU, 220W is way overkill for the components I would be using. Because of that I question the efficiency of the PSU at such a low power draw. Usually PSU's have a sweet spot around 30-50% of their max load for the best efficiency. Also the DVD-ROM is not need.
Agreed. I'm not using most of the space either. No DVD, no FDD. In addition to having room for expansion cards (4 of them) I like that it can accommodate a 3.5" HDD+2.5" HDD+4x2.5" HDD (with 5.25" to 4x2.5" adapter). Might multipurpose my firewall as a NAS at a later point so space for additional drives was a consideration. If I don't add drives, I'll probably disconnect the included PSU and move to a PicoPSU. And, the price was right.
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That one isn't too big, but still a good size larger then the Antec. My main concern though with the case that you linked is the PSU, 220W is way overkill for the components I would be using. Because of that I question the efficiency of the PSU at such a low power draw. Usually PSU's have a sweet spot around 30-50% of their max load for the best efficiency. Also the DVD-ROM is not need.
Agreed. I'm not using most of the space either. No DVD, no FDD. In addition to having room for expansion cards (4 of them) I like that it can accommodate a 3.5" HDD+2.5" HDD+4x2.5" HDD (with 5.25" to 4x2.5" adapter). Might multipurpose my firewall as a NAS at a later point so space for additional drives was a consideration. If I don't add drives, I'll probably disconnect the included PSU and move to a PicoPSU. And, the price was right.
Yeah, I would only be using my pf sense box as a firewall. I have a Freenas server for everything else.
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I did find this case which is a good size, but the PSU is still overkill.
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Here's another one I considered for straight up firewall use. It would be perfect with one drive and no add-on cards.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/M350-Mini-ITX-Fanless-Case-PicoPSU-150-XT-w-102W-AC-/400102207415?pt=US_Computer_Cases&hash=item5d27f32fb7 -
Here's another one I considered for straight up firewall use. It would be perfect with one drive and no add-on cards.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/M350-Mini-ITX-Fanless-Case-PicoPSU-150-XT-w-102W-AC-/400102207415?pt=US_Computer_Cases&hash=item5d27f32fb7The M350 is a nice, simple case. I use one at home. With the right (Thin ITX) board you can fit an expansion card in there. I'm running an Intel DN2800MT + Quad-Port Intel i350.
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Here's another one I considered for straight up firewall use. It would be perfect with one drive and no add-on cards.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/M350-Mini-ITX-Fanless-Case-PicoPSU-150-XT-w-102W-AC-/400102207415?pt=US_Computer_Cases&hash=item5d27f32fb7The M350 is a nice, simple case. I use one at home. With the right (Thin ITX) board you can fit an expansion card in there. I'm running an Intel DN2800MT + Quad-Port Intel i350.
I am curious on how you fit an expansion card in that case? I did not think it was possible.
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Here's another one I considered for straight up firewall use. It would be perfect with one drive and no add-on cards.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/M350-Mini-ITX-Fanless-Case-PicoPSU-150-XT-w-102W-AC-/400102207415?pt=US_Computer_Cases&hash=item5d27f32fb7The M350 is a nice, simple case. I use one at home. With the right (Thin ITX) board you can fit an expansion card in there. I'm running an Intel DN2800MT + Quad-Port Intel i350.
I am curious on how you fit an expansion card in that case? I did not think it was possible.
Thin-ITX boards are pretty thin. With an angled PCI-E riser you can get a card in there. There's actually a lot of room to spare.
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Here's another one I considered for straight up firewall use. It would be perfect with one drive and no add-on cards.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/M350-Mini-ITX-Fanless-Case-PicoPSU-150-XT-w-102W-AC-/400102207415?pt=US_Computer_Cases&hash=item5d27f32fb7The M350 is a nice, simple case. I use one at home. With the right (Thin ITX) board you can fit an expansion card in there. I'm running an Intel DN2800MT + Quad-Port Intel i350.
I am curious on how you fit an expansion card in that case? I did not think it was possible.
Thin-ITX boards are pretty thin. With an angled PCI-E riser you can get a card in there. There's actually a lot of room to spare.
Ah I see the card is setup horizontal, did not know that those angled PCIE adapters existed.
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Do you know what the clearance between the NIC and the motherboard is?
Edit: I found this board, but I suspect that the NIC may end up over the fan. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135368
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Do you know what the clearance between the NIC and the motherboard is?
Edit: I found this board, but I suspect that the NIC may end up over the fan. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135368
Not much.
That board doesn't have a PCI-E slot so you wouldn't be able to use it like I did anyway.
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I am really considering this motherboard, despite the cost. It will just be easier to choose a case this way because everything is integrated. Does any one here have any experience with this particular brand or even with pfsense and this board?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813176015
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I am really considering this motherboard, despite the cost. It will just be easier to choose a case this way because everything is integrated. Does any one here have any experience with this particular brand or even with pfsense and this board?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813176015
I've heard great things about Giada boards for network appliance purposes. I almost bought that one but opted to go with the ECS board and grab a dual port intel nic from fleabay because of the lower total cost. If keeping the physical size of the build had been my primary concern, I absolutely would have bought the Giada instead.
