Hi all!
[I originally tried read submit one of these in the kitchen, there was
an apparent transient connection failure of unknown nauture between
passenger and driver. However it come across better this way.]
I decided to try out a thought experiment to see what options are
available and how versatile they are, for running pfsense as a
firewwall+router with four NICs each.
Although I'm virtualizing large parts of my network, pfsense is one
thing that should run in its own box, with minimal fussing. One of my
requirements is that it runs on server-grade hardware. I came up with
two options:
1. ASRock Rack E3C236D2I plus Pentium G4560 (and updated BIOS), 16 GB
DDR4, and storage. The board has two NICs but I can add more using the
PCIe expansion port. Clearly these would have to be added using
low-profile or half-height expansion cards/
2. Supermicro A1SRi-C2758F system (new, or fixed if carrying the AVR54
C2000 B0/C0 stepping bug), 16 GB DDR3, and storage.
Fanless should be feasible, and all I need is a capable, modest system
that can easily be repurposed or resold if need be. Each system should
be able able to run in a mini-ITX box, such as an SFF Akasa. Akasa even
sells passively cooled mini-ITX boxes specificially designed for
Supermicro A1SAi/A1SRi, and I'm pretty sure I can make a fanless mini
ITX case work for the ASRock E3C236D2I+G4560 combo too. The only thing
is that the CPU + heat sink + fan (if present) can fit vertically inside
the case (total height inside the case is 68.5 mm).
Either way, I can upgrade the RAM and have a virtualization server able
to handle light loads. The particular advantages of Item 2. above, and
what personally draws me to it, are that it's more versatile, the CPU is
upgradeable, and it uses DDR4.
Both CPUs have similar PassMark scores, and when the sums are done they
cost about the same as each other. On the other hand, if I'm going to
be using 4+ NICs, then I imagine I'd want at least four cores to avoid
bottlenecks at the NICs. Alternativelu, are threads via hyperthreading
sufficient for this?
What do you think? I'd appreciate any opinions. Thanks!
P.S. Are there known problems posting to the forums at the moment?
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