New Home Construction Network Advice

[sfx2000]

Now that price is much better. I was choking looking at the price of the pfsense 4860. I guess you pay for convenience. You also pay for small form factor. If you have room consider a small server that cost less than the Netgate even.
ThinkServer TS140

Update: I forgot, you would need to order at least one NIC card and maybe a quad card, so no it would not be less than the Netgate listed above, but still a good value.

Factoring in the second NIC (or quad port) and the energy costs... which can add up as the box is up 24/7...

 

[sfx2000]

And if one really wanted to go off the range - 2014 MacMini with Server.app and an extra thunderbolt GigE adapter is an option that is under $600USD...

 

[BeachBum]

Hmmm, been poking around the pfSense board. For around the same cost or less I could build my own based on a SuperMicro A1SRi-2758F. AES-Ni & Intel QuickAssist.

 

[sfx2000]

True - and if you get the ports you need - all the better... IIRC, the Netgate box offers the same features... and it's built and integrated already from a HW perspective...

 

[Cloud200]

More than enough for most home/small business needs - it's also sold as the Netgate RCC-VE 2440 appliance.. the only difference between the Netgate and the pfSense is that the pfSense box is pre-flashed and you get tech support for the software...

The 2440 is 1.7 ghz, 2 cores, 4GB RAM
The 4860 is 2.4 ghz. 4 cores, 8GB RAM

 

[BeachBum]

My desire to tinker got the best of me. I went with the SuperMicro A1SRi-2758F

 

[abailey]

My desire to tinker got the best of me. I went with the SuperMicro A1SRi-2758F

Cool, what case did you get for it?

 

[BeachBum]

Cool, what case did you get for it?

I got the Mini-Box M350. Seems to be a popular case for this board.

 

[oletuv]

My desire to tinker got the best of me. I went with the SuperMicro A1SRi-2758F

Excellent choice. This SuperMicro board has the same Intel Atom C2758 processor as the high-end SG-8860 sold by the pfSense Store.

 

[sfx2000]

The 2440 is 1.7 ghz, 2 cores, 4GB RAM
The 4860 is 2.4 ghz. 4 cores, 8GB RAM

Yep, both are pretty good, and just saw a report over on ServeTheHome.com on a 6 month review of the device..

http://www.servethehome.com/pfsense-sg-4860-6-month-review-great-firewall-router-combo/

Can't really go wrong with either model - obviously there is a bit of a learning curve with pfSense compared to consumer routers, but nothing excessive...