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Great OPNsense/pfSense mini PC with 4 x 2.5gb Intel NICs for just over $200usd on Amazon

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slackjaw99

slackjaw99

Regular Contributor
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B28S16HK/?tag=snbforums-20

Add in 8gb ram (16gb if running an IDS) plus 64gb mSATA for about $30 and you've got a great firewall appliance for half the cost of Firewalla, Netgate, etc. I've seen other brands with the same board, CPU and Intel NICs for $300+. I picked up one of these about a month ago and it rocks.
 
there is HW issue with i225 v1, and you do not know what version you are buying, what you can read official from intel https://cdrdv2.intel.com/v1/dl/getContent/621661

not sure about v2 and new ones and even i226 therefore I did not buy it yet.

Intel cannot solve issue with i225/226 and motherboards for 4years now (it started with Z490 chip generation). Lately Intel told it is close https://www.tomshardware.com/news/i...rnet-issues-but-its-just-a-workaround-for-now
even with this the latest fix I had i225 v3 stop to work, no connection to LAN device, one time and need to disable and enable LAN device to start to work again.
 
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tgl said:
"Fanless" sounds pretty great. Have you noticed any overheating problems?
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Yes. It's definitely one of the negatives for all of those firewall appliance "mini pc's", not just the Vnopn brand. Run an IDS that stresses the CPU, and the box will scald your hand. The heat sinks are inadequate IMO, and excessive heat causes premature aging of the chips and eventual failure. As a rule-of-thumb, after (I don't want to say how many) many years in the tech engineering biz, I always keep any networking gear that runs hot on top of a small fan or air filter.
 
slackjaw99 said:
Yes. It's definitely one of the negatives for all of those firewall appliance "mini pc's", not just the Vnopn brand. Run an IDS that stresses the CPU, and the box will scald your hand. The heat sinks are inadequate IMO, and excessive heat causes premature aging of the chips and eventual failure. As a rule-of-thumb, after (I don't want to say how many) many years in the tech engineering biz, I always keep any networking gear that runs hot on top of a small fan or air filter.
Click to expand...
By the time you add an extra fan you might as well run an old refurbished small Dell with low power draw. An i3 would be a much better chip especially if you want to run IDS.
 
I just installed a 2 port 10 gig card I bought off eBay in my old Dell PC. You can't do that with a mini PC.
 
Deal of the day: TEKXDD Mini PC - 12th Intel N100 (Up to 3.4GHz), 8GB DDR5 + 256GB SSD Mini Computer, Business Mini Desktop PC, 4K UHD, DP/Mini HD/WiFi 6/BT 5.2/ RJ45/WOL/Auto Power On/Senior Grey https://amzn.asia/d/fnMlYY8
any thoughts on this guys.. I wanted to use it as a diy router which I am yet to find out how. but it's a good price for hardware.
also if anyone can suggest me how to best use it as a home made router would be greatly appreciated. thanks
 
harry said:
Deal of the day: TEKXDD Mini PC - 12th Intel N100 (Up to 3.4GHz), 8GB DDR5 + 256GB SSD Mini Computer, Business Mini Desktop PC, 4K UHD, DP/Mini HD/WiFi 6/BT 5.2/ RJ45/WOL/Auto Power On/Senior Grey https://amzn.asia/d/fnMlYY8
any thoughts on this guys.. I wanted to use it as a diy router which I am yet to find out how. but it's a good price for hardware.
also if anyone can suggest me how to best use it as a home made router would be greatly appreciated. thanks
Click to expand...
If you are going to spend all that money I would look for N200 not a N100. I can put together an old refurbished small Dell for less money with a low watt i3 chip which is what I am running now. The i3 is a better single tasker so to me it would better running router software. The N200 shows it stuff when fully multitasking.
 
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coxhaus said:
If you are going to spend all that money I would look for N200 not a N100. I can put together an old refurbished small Dell for less money with a low watt i3 chip which is what I am running now. The i3 is a better single tasker so to me it would better running router software. The N200 shows it stuff when fully multitasking
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anything including n200 will add at least another $100-$150 on top . I just wanted to use it as DIY router. old PCs will draw much power running constantly as a router and it's hard to find one with 2 NICs too in small factors. I wanted avoid using USB NIC adopters or VLAN on managed switch as they can be problematic.
majority of old hardware I came across consumes around 30-40 watts if not more. where as these minis only maxed out around 10 watts. I have tried looking for the one with n200 but they not cheap.
I almost bought old Lenovo ThinkCentre M93P for just $50 before I looked at the one above.
any suggestions as to what is the best Linux system to use with DIY router ? or just sticking to windows will do the job. I am not looking to use it as everyday PC at all. thanks for reply
 
These little Shenzen X86 boxes are all pretty similar - they go by different names, and configurations change over time...

Most of them are fairly capable, but I've always had concerns about how long they will last - and there, they're disposable units - if it fails, throw it away (responsibly as e-waste) and buy another one...
 
harry said:
Linux system to use with DIY router ?
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If you're familiar with a particular strain just use that and configure it as a router by enabling forwarding and locking it down with an ACL set. If you're not then use something like pfsense.

Also, you might want 4 ports as a backup instead of 2 since they might die and then you're dealing with a USB dongle or replacing it.
 
harry said:
anything including n200 will add at least another $100-$150 on top
Click to expand...

N100 vs N200 the difference is 1.0-3.4GHz vs 1.0-3.7GHz, both CPUs are 4C/4T. Performance similar to 10th Gen i3, more than enough for a router.

I have a new HP N100 laptop, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Windows 11. The CPU is 6W, battery life >8h. This is what this CPU is good for - power efficiency.
 
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