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

Sir Loin

I installed pfSense directly onto the SSD, not as a VM.

For fans, if you installed the fans as is, they are very loud as they spin at full speed. I didn't look in the BIOS to see if fan speed could be controlled. I added a couple Low-Noise-Adapter (L.N.A) from my other Noctua NF-F12 fans and now they run very quiet. There are only 2 fan headers on the motherboard. To install 3 fans, you'd need a Y-cable to connect 2 fans to one of the headers.

mifronte

@Sir:

…
To install 3 fans, you'd need a Y-cable to connect 2 fans to one of the headers.

According to the specs there should be 3 fan headers.

On another note:

Do you have IPMI configured with a static or dhcp address? I was wonder how that would work if I ran dhcp and local dns on the same instance as pfsense. If the machine is powered down, then dhcp would be down too and how would IPMI get its ip address?

Sir Loin

you are right, there are 3 fan headers. I can now see them on my own pictures :-)

I tested IPMI with DHCP. Ironically, I found the IP inside pfSense's DHCP status page. You can configure it to use static IP in the BIOS. In a production data center with a lot of servers running IPMI, IPMI connectiona would run off of another network and you would not use the same server as the DHCP server giving an IP address to its own IPMI port.

mifronte

@Sir:

you are right, there are 3 fan headers. I can now see them on my own pictures :-)

I tested IPMI with DHCP. Ironically, I found the IP inside pfSense's DHCP status page. You can configure it to use static IP in the BIOS. In a production data center with a lot of servers running IPMI, IPMI connectiona would run off of another network and you would not use the same server as the DHCP server giving an IP address to its own IPMI port.

I am trying to figure out how this would work in my home network where the pfSense server is also my DHCP and local DNS. If the server was off and I wanted to turn it on using IPMI, I guess the IPMI interface would hold onto the last DHCP leased address and I can access it that way? Oh well, thanks a lot for putting the build of material together. I will order the parts and build my first pfSense server.

If the machine is powered down, then dhcp would be down too and how would IPMI get its ip address?

It should be a static IP address, that must be entered in the BIOS.

It will be shame to have unused CPU on bare metal.

Why it should be a shame?
It will be easier to find something such as a packet that would be fast installed and use the
entire CPU power and also cores, as you might get underpowered and the CPU is to lame!
And with the PowerD options you will be able to save power on top!

athurdent

Don't know if this has been posted yet, but there is a real nice Supermicro App that even lets you use you the KVM console:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/supermicro-ipmiview/id952163566
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smc.smcipmitool

athurdent

@mifronte:

@robi - Is your Speedtest signature reflect the performance of the Supermicro A1SRi-2758f motherboard on a Gigabit broadband?

For those with tree fans installed, just how loud is the unit?

For normal desktop installation in a typical home environment, is one fan sufficient if standard firewall functions?

The M350 was either too loud (even slightly modded it to fit in a 100mm Scythe fan) or would get too hot for my taste (using L.N.A. adapters).
Also using the 4 PIN DC input made the board produce a high pitched sound.
I could not find any 40mm or 100mm PWM fans, so I took a different approach.

Buy a little fridge and a cute PS:
http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=333
http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=458

Change the build in fan to a PWM model:
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=82&lng=en&set=2

And tell the BIOS not to panic when the fan spins under 500 RPM:
http://wl.rekursion.ch/pwm-fan-spin-up-on-supermicro-board.html

The CPU is at about 50°C in my approx. 25-27°C "server room" under the roof of an old house and the system is really silent.

@arthurdent

(even slightly modded it to fit in a 100mm Scythe fan)

Do you know this one! Nothing must be drilled or cut! Enermax U.R.VEGAS

athurdent

I used this one: http://www.scytheus.com/products_categories/100mm-fans/
Don't think one can mount a 120x25 fan into the M350 next to the SSD, but I might be wrong there. 120mm would not fit and 25mm neither I guess…

Edit: ah, forget it, you don't put it in the case at all ;) But it does not seem to have PWM?

robi

@mifronte:

@robi - Is your Speedtest signature reflect the performance of the Supermicro A1SRi-2758f motherboard on a Gigabit broadband?

For those with tree fans installed, just how loud is the unit?

For normal desktop installation in a typical home environment, is one fan sufficient if standard firewall functions?

I've got 1G/200M paid for (~22 USD a month including landline phone and 120 digital TV channels), but I've never seen it really go above 700/200 even using the ISP's own CPE unit directly. So this is definitely not a limitation of A1SRi-2758f.

This unit at home is installed in an EPC2 mini-ITX case, and I've installed an 8cm fan inside of it just above the CPU with two cable ties to the holes of the case. Zero noise. It locates about 3-4mm right above the CPU heatsink, and the temperature is about 33-35degrees. The unit is located close to the ceiling in a poorly ventilated closet.
The rackmounted device is in a server room, a bit noisier but that's not an issue there.

robi

@trumee:

@robi @Sir Loin, Are you guys running pfsense on a VM or bare metal? It will be shame to have unused CPU on bare metal.

Bare metal, and NanoBSD due to security reasons. I've got virtualization on a dedicated separate server with Xeon CPU, 32GB of RAM and lots of storage.

trumee

The fans listed on the minibox website are 3 pin molex/non-pwm only. Are there any PWM fans available which would fit on the hdd brackets?

Sir Loin

@trumee:

The fans listed on the minibox website are 3 pin molex/non-pwm only. Are there any PWM fans available which would fit on the hdd brackets?

A quick Bing search found something like this: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/17651/fan-1145/Evercool_40mm_x_15mm_High_Speed_PWM_Fan_EC4015SH12BP.html?tl=g36c365s1814

messerchmidt

i would have added more ram. probably 16gb

the cpu temperature seems right. they run hot

Jailer

@Sir:

@trumee:

The fans listed on the minibox website are 3 pin molex/non-pwm only. Are there any PWM fans available which would fit on the hdd brackets?

A quick Bing search found something like this: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/17651/fan-1145/Evercool_40mm_x_15mm_High_Speed_PWM_Fan_EC4015SH12BP.html?tl=g36c365s1814

Are they still processing orders? Last I heard they were closing up shop.

Sir Loin

Well, try some other shops that carry similar fans :-)

R3Z3N

@mifronte:

IPMI concerns...

I have yet to try WOL when the IPMI is not on a separate network, however I did use IPMI to configure/install the BIOS and pfSense with Supermicro's IPMI java software, quite nice IMO! I have no VGA or console cables

As far as my build, I copied the OP setup except I used the 4 core Rangeley board. I would go with a smaller power brick though or instead use a pico-psu. I was ordering out of fun to learn networking and building, and didn't pay attention to the huge size.

Now if only Squid2 or 3 would stop randomly shutting me out of external access, as I want to push the 4 core to see what it can do. I plan on OpenVPN with PIA, Squid, HVAP, Dansguarding or the newer which is not yet packaged yet, and Snort. Think big, start small, first on with figuring out a basic home NAT and firewall setup, then on with the packages.

athurdent

@Justin0:

Now if only Squid2 or 3 would stop randomly shutting me out of external access, as I want to push the 4 core to see what it can do.

So, do I get you right, Squid crashes? Can you find anything in the System Log regarding those crashes?

antillie

I am not sure why the OP is recomending people spend over $50 on a power supply and associated attachments. This and this will do the job for about $35, no additonal attachments needed.

The rest of the parts are identical to what I listed here. I have been very happy with my little eight core monster. Its totally silent and fast as hell.

jasonlitka

@antillie:

I am not sure why the OP is recomending people spend over $50 on a power supply and associated attachments. This and this will do the job for about $35, no additonal attachments needed.

The rest of the parts are identical to what I listed here. I have been very happy with my little eight core monster. Its totally silent and fast as hell.

The poor reviews are reason enough to not order that AC-DC brick. I genuinely don't understand why people will pay top-dollar for some components and then cheap-out on something that has the potential to fry everything else.

The power-related parts in the original post mimic the ones I used in my M350 build. The brick was chosen because it's a high-quality unit, doesn't experience voltage sags or spikes under load changes, and comes with a Mini-DIN connector which is less likely to just fall out than a standard barrel. It's an oversized unit but is cheaper than buying a slightly smaller brick + PicoPSU and it also eliminates the redundant circuitry from the case (the board already has a DC-DC PSU built-in).