I have been running pfSense off of CDROM with config on USB Flash Drive for at least two years now without a hiccup. I previously ran Monowall on HDD, that failed (the drive), then moved to CF, that failed... They all stayed up for a year or two... but eventually hardware died. So I've been pretty happy with the CDROM based solution. Easy to upgrade as well.
I would very much like to run this on HDD again, so that I have access to the extra modules maybe some IDS of some sort. This is a firewall for my equipment at a datacenter so all I get are constant attempts of intrusion and it would be nice to adapt/avoid. To be honest, I hate the idea of having to use a terminal to set it up, not because I can't, just because I'd have to teach the other admins how to do it in case of an emergency. It also probably means I'd have to get a second one setup for failover. Not a big deal, but it's out of the "comfort zone". I'm glad you mentioned your Asterisk implementation, since I posted almost the exact same question on the Toronto Asterisk Users Group (TAUG) list with some interesting responses so far. I'm in a similar situation with it as well... I have a couple of Asterisk boxes (running Trixbox, again due to the other admins). Are you using this in production or at home? I'm interested to find out how many transcoded calls it can handle, call recording, etc... Which Kit/MB did you end up using? Regards, Chuck -----Original Message----- From: Larry Sampas [mailto:la...@larrysampas.com] Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 9:18 PM To: support@pfsense.com Subject: Re: [pfSense Support] Intel Atom Motherboards or Similar Systems I'm running pfSense on an Alix 2d3. The install was pretty flawless. No wireless, but I did get the Soekris VPN 1411 miniPCI card for encryption acceleration. It was auto-recognized. On the other hand, my Asterisk box (pbxinaflash/freepbx) is an Intel Atom CPU/Board bundle. I needed to install a temporary extra NIC to download drivers for the Realtek onboard NIC, which was pain because freepbx's bundled OS, CentOS, gave it the wrong drivers. Kernel panic on install, then disable the on-board NIC via BIOS, then install extra NIC, then install correct Realtek drivers, and re-enable the on-board NIC, remove the extra NIC from the single PCI slot, and install my Digium Analog card. It has run flawlessly since. (Also replaced my Vonage & Comcast lines with a generic SIP trunk for about 1/20th my old monthly bills.) I have no idea if the newer Atom board's onboard NIC will get recognized correctly in FreeBSD. The Atom Board has plenty of CPU power, more than the Alix board and can take more RAM, a hard disk, CDROM, etc. with the right case. It depends on what you're going to run -- embedded or with room for add-ons. They're both great. On Tue, Jan 13, 2009 at 7:26 PM, David Rees <dree...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Tue, Jan 13, 2009 at 3:44 PM, Chuck Mariotti <cmario...@xunity.com> wrote: >> I have been looking at Atom based systems for a while. I keep drooling over >> these cheapo, compact, low power units. >> >> I'd really like to replace my 1Ghz, 1GB, 1U machine running pfSense with >> one. Are these things supported in pfSense? >> >> Is anyone using them or can recommend a board or specific system? >> >> I just need dual network/LAN. >> >> I have been looking at Jetway and Intel boards. >> >> Any suggested configs (and accessories, riser cards, CF, etc...) or >> alternatives would be appreciated. > > Here ya go: > > http://www.netgate.com/product_info.php?cPath=60_84&products_id=671 > > Alix 6B2 Kit. 2 10/100 NICs, 500MHz Geode processor, 256MB RAM, 512MB > flash, $180. > > All you need to run pfSense. And only draws about 5w from the wall. > > Only drawback is that you have to pull the flash card when you want to > upgrade an embedded system - for my production systems I keep an extra > flash card around (less than $20) flash that and load it with a config > backup so that downtime is minimal when upgrading. Basically as long > as it takes for you to pull the thing apart and swap out a flash card. > If the case had an opening for the flash card it'd be even faster > (have been tempted to dremel out an opening to make flash card > swapouts and upgrades extremely quick). > > They also make the Alix boards with 3 NICs and you can also load them > up with a miniPCI wireless card, too if you want that. > > -Dave > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: support-unsubscr...@pfsense.com > For additional commands, e-mail: support-h...@pfsense.com > > Commercial support available - https://portal.pfsense.org > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: support-unsubscr...@pfsense.com For additional commands, e-mail: support-h...@pfsense.com Commercial support available - https://portal.pfsense.org --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: support-unsubscr...@pfsense.com For additional commands, e-mail: support-h...@pfsense.com Commercial support available - https://portal.pfsense.org
