Intel Mini-ITX Atom 8-core Hardware Build Recipe Available Here

athurdent

pfSense is optimized to route traffic I think. If you measure throughput WAN <-> LAN you should get close to Gigabit Speed. At least that's what I got when I put a HTTP Server on the WAN side and downloaded some big files to LAN. You can even have Snort active on WAN while doing that, IIRC.

I started a iperf server on the router and a client on the FreeBSD server. Unfortunately, i could only get 560Mbps.

I would more try out a test likes, from an iPerf client to an iPerf Server through the pfSense box to see what is
shown then. Perhaps from 192.xxx to 172.xxx that would show up more the routing capabilities on the LAN
side as I see it right.

Any idea why i am getting poor speeds. Do i need to enable anything else to get better speed (like powerD, jumbo frames)?

Not really , but please read the lines above about a testing procedure, it is not really important what program
you will use likes iPerf or NetIO but this both would be on the other hand the two programs with all other are
able to reproduce the test and so things can be compared against each other or made results can be confirmed
by other what is perhaps also nice for someone who was doing a test.

The other thing is, if you install pfSense (fresh and full install) and configuring only the WAN & LAN part
it might be really and only showing up the performance of the board & NICs & pfSense it self, but with installed
packets, other activated services and other running features this might be then not really the performance of
the board and pfSense only. Others may thinking different about that, but I see it more in that direction.

trumee

I combined this with this to replace the molex-sata connector.

Sir Loin

@trumee:

I combined this with this to replace the molex-sata connector.

Thanks trumee. That is a good idea. Use this if you only have one storage device.

trumee

Is it possible to mount a fan directly on the cpu? These guys have done not this. However there is no details of the fan they used.

jahonix

@trumee:

… mount a fan directly on the cpu?...

Nah, you will want a heatsink mounted onto the CPU and have air flow through it. Otherwise you won't get sufficient heat off the die.
You could use a heat-pipe to transport the heat elsewhere but you still have to get rid of it.

trumee

@jahonix:

@trumee:

… mount a fan directly on the cpu?...

Nah, you will want a heatsink mounted onto the CPU and have air flow through it. Otherwise you won't get sufficient heat off the die.
You could use a heat-pipe to transport the heat elsewhere but you still have to get rid of it.

Oops!, i want to mean the heat sink and not the CPU :)

There are no holes on the heatsink so i need a fan which simply hugs the heatsink.

jahonix

You screw the fan directly into the heatsink's "fingers". Something else is pure luxury.

Sir Loin

Mounting the fan directly on the heat sink is not going to make it much better. If you mount the fan on the case's mounting bracket, it is close enough to get good air flow. I have 3 fans, one on the front and two on the top. Make sure the top ones draw air into the case and the front one pulls air out of the case. Mine has been running cool for almost a year now.

Is it possible to mount a fan directly on the cpu? These guys have done not this. However there is no details of the fan they used.

Get greater fans for the case, likes in 80 mm or 120 mm size, this will be running on lower fan speed
and will be more effective as a fan directly on the CPU heatsink.

hammerman

were there any bios tweaks done?

p.s. great thread by the way!

Is it possible to mount a fan directly on the cpu? These guys have done not this.

It could be that this is a earlier model and so it was fan mounted or they where using a picture
from the Avoton C2x50 series. Who knows it?

dreamslacker

@trumee:

Is it possible to mount a fan directly on the cpu? These guys have done not this. However there is no details of the fan they used.

They are reviewing the Avoton based A1SAi-2750F - that board comes with a heatsink and fan combo.

The Rangeley based A1SRi-2758F comes with a taller heatsink without a fan.

This is my A1SRi-2758f as installed by the Supermicro distributor in the CSE-504-203B chassis - it didn't come with any fans:

Iceman24

@trumee:

Just want to point out that the SATA 15 pin female to LP4 connector is injection molded one and is a disaster waiting to happen. Its a bad choice and we need another recommendation.

I found this one. Seems perfect.. Except for that it is 18 inches long, which is quite long for boxes the size of the M350. I'm actually inquiring about a custom, 6 inch length now.

http://www.moddiy.com/products/4%252dPin-Molex-Female-to-15%252dPin-SATA-Female-Cable-%2845cm%29.html

Sir Loin

Thanks Iceman. Let us know what you find out.

trumee

@dreamslacker:

This is my A1SRi-2758f as installed by the Supermicro distributor in the CSE-504-203B chassis - it didn't come with any fans:

Shouldnt the riser card be supported with a bracket?

Also the power supply is positioned better than the following:

dreamslacker

The bracket wasn't required for me so I didn't order it - they are separate part numbers. NICs aren't that heavy after all.

In the SC505 you listed, the bracket doubles up as an air guide because of the orientation of the fans.

Iceman24

@Iceman24:

@trumee:

Just want to point out that the SATA 15 pin female to LP4 connector is injection molded one and is a disaster waiting to happen. Its a bad choice and we need another recommendation.

I found this one. Seems perfect.. Except for that it is 18 inches long, which is quite long for boxes the size of the M350. I'm actually inquiring about a custom, 6 inch length now.

http://www.moddiy.com/products/4%252dPin-Molex-Female-to-15%252dPin-SATA-Female-Cable-%2845cm%29.html

They will make the cable any custom length that you want. 6 inches, as an example, wouldn't make it cost any more than $5. Still the same price. You just have to add note to order when you place it that you want it however many inches, instead of 18. The shipping to USA was $10 though, so it doesn't become a rather expensive cable, but at least it's a quality cable that is made custom to order.

Iceman24

@Sir:

For shorter SATA cables, I found two that work.
6-inch: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009GUKTQK
4-inch: http://www.amazon.com/Pack-Double-Locking-SATA-III-Cables/dp/B00KRSM3JG/ (this is a 5-pack)

I would rather have the 4-inch one, but I only needed one, so I got the 6-inch cable instead. Beats having a 10-inch, 12-inch, or 18-inch SATA cable in the case blocking air flow.

The absolute shortest SATA cable I can find is this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Power-SATA-Data-Cable-for-XBOX-One-Disk-Drive-DG-6M1S-/221778473401

It works if you connect to port 5 or 6, but not port 0.

What length of SATA is needed to reach Port 0 from the placement of the drive that you have in your pics? I'm wanting to get enough, but not much slack.

pamelabrya.nt4.5.4

I am not fan of that core