PfSense with Gigabyte GA-J1900N-D3V
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I have been using the GA-J1900N-D3V with pfSense for about a month. This is my first router build and I did not have any problems other than a memory stick which was not compatible and caused the system to fail to boot. (I ended up using a memory stick out of a laptop; the new memory stick worked fine in the laptop.) I am using an Intel Dual NIC since I had read a lot of problems with Realtek NICs. I purchased the Intel PWLA8492MT PRO/1000 MT PCI/PCI-X Dual Port Server Adapter:
http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00006HX1V
I am getting 150Mbps down and 12Mbps up and my CPU utilization goes to about 30%. The rest of the time CPU utilization sits between 0% and 3%.
This is a home router, so I am not running any VPNs. I have Snort installed, but I am still trying to figure it out.
I can't speak for enterprise use, but as a home router, this thing is awesome.
For WiFi I installed an Ubiquiti Networks UAP-AC-LR-US 802.11ac Long Range Access Point. I mounted it on the ceiling in the center of our 2200 sq ft single story house and get awesome wireless coverage throughout.
I have to qualify what I previously wrote about the Gigabyte GA-J1900N-D3V. I just upgraded to Cox Gigablast and my little pfSense router was just not up to the task. Using the dual Intel NIC in the PCI slot the fastest I could get was about 350Mbps down and up. When I moved my WAN to one of the onboard Realtek ports, I got about 500Mbps down and 700Mbps up; this was the fastest configuration. Unfortunately, the Netflix R6300v2 Cox gave me can manage over 900Mbps down and up. I think the PCI bus on the GA-J1900N-D3V is too limited for a gigabit connection. If you are planning on upgrading to a gigabit connection the GA-J1900N-D3V just won't cut it.
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I think the PCI bus on the GA-J1900N-D3V is too limited for a gigabit connection.
No surprise that PCI doesn't have the bandwidth for gigabit, never mind dual gigabit on the same bus! But you still have that mini-PCIe socket which could prove useful using something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-PCI-E-to-PCI-E-Express-1X-USB-Riser-Card-with-FFC-Cable-Up-to-2-5Gpbs-/262289991565
Combined with a cheap server-class dual Intel NIC which seem to be quite cheap on eBay these days, I'd bet your throughput would be significantly improved.