Which hardware to buy @Pfstore ?
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hi,
im planning to buy the SG-2220 PFSENSE
SECURITY GATEWAY APPLIANCE which is expected to be release on 31st July.
I wanna do load balancing as i will be using 2 WAN lines .. however the device only has 2 NICs .. can it handle load balancing ?
if not then will the SG 2240 do the job for me ?
thanks -
You can add a VLAN switch in front of one of the NICs and provide each WAN on a separate VLAN that trunks to a single port on the pfSense (SG-2220 or whatever). But that introduces complexity and an extra device to fail in the path to the internet. When you have no internet, it is not so much fun to be trying to decide/debug if you have a VLAN configuration problem somewhere.
I would get an SG-2240 and have direct connections for 2 WAN, 1 LAN and something else in the future (e.g. a guest LAN).
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^ What he said :-)
If you need multiple WANs, then at a minimum the 2440 is best. You could get the 2220 plus a VLAN switch but by then you're nearing the cost of the 2440 anyhow.
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Why not a cheap 1U server and a quad port NIC instead??
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Why not support the project and get good known-working hardware and professional support, rather than piecing something together? :)
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As one with no commercial interest in what hardware you buy, I will put in a plug for the SG-2440. I have a couple of them now. They work and I know they are hardware that will be in the standard test suite for some time to come.
If you are buying a "million" units, or are somewhere where it is not viable to buy from the pfSense store (or whatever other "pfSense store" international sellers come) then sure, evaluate the possible hardware alternatives, ask the pfSense store guys for some sort of bulk rate…
But if the hardware on the pfSense store suits your number of ethernet ports, hardware form factor and performance needs then just buy from the pfSense store and support the project.
If non-hobbyists factor in the cost of the time spent researching hardware alternatives, messing about procuring them from some el-cheapo online site and... then the pfSense store price looks fine.
