Well, I may now go back and revisit the whole USB-nic approach. In the past, the general consensus on the pfSense forums was that while they might work, don’t be surprised if you end up having problems. But, like Linux, FreeBSD has continued to improve and evolve too, so maybe this is a moot point nowadays. Sounds like a good proof-of-concept trial is on the horizon for me! :) Certainly 275 days is proof-positive for the stability factor too. I think I’ll just go ahead and order me up one.
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Curt Lundgren Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2015 10:42 AM To: NLUG Subject: Re: RE: [nlug] I never saw this form of Windows 10 coming! Depending on the Internet connection speed, what about using a USB to Ethernet adapter as your second NIC? I believe people are using them with the Pi for firewall applications. I *think* the Ethernet port on the Pi has a USB internal interface - at least it connects to the same chip the USB ports connect to. I have a Raspberry Pi at home and another at work. I just checked, they've both been up 275 days, so reliability is certainly not an issue. On Tue, Feb 3, 2015 at 10:26 AM, Mark J. Bailey <[email protected]> wrote: Mike, My interest was the possibility that the Pi 2 might be good/stable/capable enough to serve as an embedded device for pfSense (free FreeBSD-based firewall akin to Tomato or DD-WRT). I had not looked up through yesterday, but in digging on it more, it only has the 1 NIC, which makes it not as useful for this for me. I see how Curt is using another compact style, single NIC ATOM-based unit for this very same thing, but being a single NIC, either the LAN packets or the WAN packets have to be trunked with a VLAN using a physical smartswitch that supports VLANs (most of the times, kinda pricey, and overkill, for most small offices – at least ~$100+ just for an entry-level 8-port unit and rarely available off-the-shelf in retail outlets). I suppose one could use a USB-based NIC to add a second one. The need here is minimally a NIC for LAN and a NIC for WAN/Internet (like you see on consumer-grade Netgear and Linksys Internet routers in the office supply stores or a Best Buy). The plus for pfSense is that a) it’s FREE, and b) it brings with it enterprise-grade networking functions. I know I can always turn to a multi-NIC version of an ATOM-based unit similar to what Curt’s using, but was hoping the dirt cheap and ultra-compact RasPi2 might be suitable for this. While pfSense may be overkill for most small offices, everywhere I’ve ever deployed it became AND remained a much less problematic client’s site! :) Obviously, the notion is mostly a novelty one for me at this point, as for a business critical item such as an Internet router, most, if not all businesses would just pay whatever for whatever gets the job done. But, typically, short of having to special order compact ATOM-based units like the one Curt’s using, pfSense would be setup with consumer-grade PC hardware (and older hardware at that), or virtualized, but neither of these approaches is conducive to a small office with a tiny, wall-mounted “IT area” on the side-wall of the closet back by the back door or in the kitchen. So, something like a RasPi2 would be well suited for limited space scenarios. Mark From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Michael L Sent: Monday, February 02, 2015 6:21 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: RE: [nlug] I never saw this form of Windows 10 coming! Mark J. Bailey, about the FreeBSD NIC setup. Guess I don't yet know how to participate in the discussion. -M T-mobile. America's First Nationwide 4G Network Curt Lundgren <[email protected]> wrote: Michael L - who is the question directed to? On Mon, Feb 2, 2015 at 2:14 PM, Michael L <[email protected]> wrote: might I learn more about your interesting possibility? Mike T-mobile. America's First Nationwide 4G Network -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NLUG" group. 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