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

[harry]

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.

the reason I was planning to install Linux is to have more of a light weight OS since it's gonna run 24/7 . as sfx2000 mentioned above these little systems are yet to be proven as reliable. I have no experience with Linux or any other system. but the thing is. I am not really gonna use OS everyday. it's just gonna be basically set and forget. so I want something with minimum resources consumption to have longer life out this little Box.
so I am leaning towards Linux and pfsense.
but I am all ears to consider other options too.
so basically I am gonna back it up as soon as I received it to revert back to default factory in case I need to.
than clean install some light weight OS and use it as router using pfsense or other options.

 

[Tech9]

than clean install some light weight OS and use it as router using pfsense

You don't need to install OS if you need pfSense. Just install pfSense on a clean hardware.

 

[coxhaus]

I don't like slow clocks on my routers. I would rather have high clock rates and less cores for routers.
And I would never use a laptop with a low-end CPU.

 

[Tech9]

No one is asking you to like or use anything.

 

[Tech Junky]

pfsense

It is Linux just trimmed down.

I use Ubuntu because it's well rounded and not so picky about HW. Once you have things working you can strip it down to a headless group of packages by removing the desktop set of apps and installing the server version. If you're good with CLI commands which is helpful in either instance so you don't have to hook up a monitor then you can use a terminal from your PC you do use daily. There are some apps you can add like Webmin to manage it through a browser and has a terminal option built in for making changes but also GUI options to do just about anything with a few clicks. If you want to monitor resources in real time add Glances and enable the browser option in it. If you want x/y/z there's a package to add most likely.

With all of the functions I have running on a full setup it typically only uses ~3GB of RAM and CPU sits most of the time at under 1%. Power draw is negligible until it's processing video files or DL's w/ VPN. The VPN spawns more instances as more BW is being used but, otherwise it's relative cheap even with a 12700K CPU. Most of the PC power draw is going to be from a GPU / gaming but, since it's not used for that it doesn't hit those limits unless I'm stress testing things or working on it to make bigger changes. It runs cool under load with an air cooler and I have the option to swap out the NIC for whatever speed I want to be able to do. Right now it's 4x5GE and I don't need more ports since everything is wireless except for 2 devices (AP/OTA tuner). Since I use it for other than router duties it makes things easy to manage putting those functions on that box directly as it also works as a NAS / HTPC / etc. Direct DL's to the drives means no bottlenecks / BW issues. Having the higher speed NIC allows the AP full use of it's 2.5GE port and able to push 1.7gbps over wifi to the box for data.

But, if all you want is a router / AP setup looking beyond whatever is cheapest is advised. You end up paying for it now or later either way and if it's later then you have to recoup $ from the failure to plan accordingly. To setup linux as a router w/ any PC just google "homebrew linux router" and you'll get the info you need., Most use Ubuntu but if you run into wanting use another variant you can find a guide on how to setup things as the commands vary a little bit but not much. Once you have everything working make an image of it for safe keeping to revert to if you end up killing it with a bad command later on.

 

[L&LD]

It's Linux's turn.

https://arstechnica.com/security/2023/09/password-stealing-linux-malware-served-for-3-years-and-no-one-noticed/

www.snbforums.com

 

[Tech Junky]

It's Linux's turn.

https://arstechnica.com/security/2023/09/password-stealing-linux-malware-served-for-3-years-and-no-one-noticed/

www.snbforums.com

And that's one specific app. It's also not something by default.

 

[L&LD]

One app, three years. Still a huge security hole in Linux, no matter what the justifications are.

If it is online, nothing is safe. Rinse, repeat.

 

[sfx2000]

It is Linux just trimmed down

It's actually FreeBSD that is the core of pfSense (and OpnSense)...

 

[harry]

hi guys. everything worked great apart from this issue.
when ever I try to stress pfsense eg: running speedtest and bufferbloat test at the same time everything just disconnects. after restarting the box everything comes back to normal.
setup is.. pfsense box with two 1g Realtek NICs, TP-Link TL-SG108PE switch connected form pfsense box to PC and to GT-AX6000 as AP for wireless devices.
CPU usage never exceeded over 30% and ram about 30% during test.
I just can't figure out what am I doing wrong. it only happens when stressing the connection otherwise everything work great.
many thanks in advance.
(Pic of router is just for reference. this box is less than half a size of GT-Ax6000)

 

[Tech9]

pfsense box with two 1g Realtek NICs

If Realtek NICs were listed in description I would recommend looking for something else.

 

[harry]

If Realtek NICs were listed in description I would recommend looking for something else

unfortunately that wasn't the case. I am well within time frame to return it. but the thing is no one have reported any issues with drivers on latest pfsense version . so it's hard to rule that out. I have updated drivers using cli too and honestly I do have a feeling it could be Realtek driver, but I wanted to try what I can to rule it out so people reading are aware too.

 

[coxhaus]

If you use a real PC you can change NICs.

 

[harry]

If you use a real PC you can change NICs.

ok

 

[sfx2000]

If Realtek NICs were listed in description I would recommend looking for something else.

IIRC - there are sysctl options in the WebUI that can be disabled - most of them are around offloads...

It's been a while since I've looked at pfSense, but there, they've been more focused on intel NIC's

 

[Tech9]

Yes - "hardware checksum offload" in Networking. I remember this with Realtek NICs.

 

[harry]

I did came across that option on Reddit and tried it but it didn't work for me. I will give it couple of more days and if it doesn't work... I am just thinking to return and get something with intel nics

 

[harry]

I did came across that topic on Reddit and tried it but it didn't work for me. I will give it couple of more days and if it doesn't work... I am just thinking to return and get something with intel nics

just followed instructions Here and did what was advised and checked that driver is loaded. will see how it goes

 

[harry]

I did came across that topic on Reddit and tried it but it didn't work for me. I will give it couple of more days and if it doesn't work... I am just thinking to return and get something with intel nics

i tried stressing the connection. so far no disconnection but got this error log

Spoiler: Log

Crash report begins. Anonymous machine information:

amd64
14.0-CURRENT
FreeBSD 14.0-CURRENT #1 RELENG_2_7_0-n255866-686c8d3c1f0: Wed Jun 28 04:21:19 UTC 2023 root@freebsd:/var/jenkins/workspace/pfSense-CE-snapshots-2_7_0-main/obj/amd64/LwYAddCr/var/jenkins/workspace/pfSense-CE-snapshots-2_7_0-main/sources/FreeBSD-src-REL

Crash report details:

PHP Errors:
[18-Sep-2023 12:43:09 Australia/Melbourne] PHP Fatal error: Uncaught TypeError: Unsupported operand types: string / int in /etc/inc/util.inc:2409
Stack trace:
#0 /etc/inc/pfsense-utils.inc(1902): get_memory()
#1 /usr/local/www/includes/functions.inc.php(104): pfsense_default_state_size()
#2 /usr/local/www/includes/functions.inc.php(46): get_pfstate(true)
#3 /usr/local/www/getstats.php(40): get_stats(Array)
#4 {main}
thrown in /etc/inc/util.inc on line 2409

and this just now while running bufferbloat on two diffrent devices

Spoiler: Log Now

Notices​

PHP errors​

• PHP ERROR: Type: 1, File: /etc/inc/util.inc, Line: 2409, Message: Uncaught TypeError: Unsupported operand types: string / int in /etc/inc/util.inc:2409
  Stack trace:
  #0 /etc/inc/pfsense-utils.inc(1902): get_memory()
  #1 /usr/local/www/includes/functions.inc.php(104): pfsense_default_state_size()
  #2 /usr/local/www/includes/functions.inc.php(35): get_pfstate()
  #3 /usr/local/www/getstats.php(40): get_stats(Array)
  #4 {main}
  thrown @ 2023-09-18 13:12:21

to be honest i just started learning this and i have no idea what this is

 

[Tech9]

I see this error reported here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/PFSENSE/comments/14mdp9c

and here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/PFSENSE/comments/14mdp9c

I haven't seen it on my Netgate 5100 and Netgate 6100 appliances though. Try 2.6.0 perhaps?