pfSense build

Software & Operating Systems BSD
1

Hey guys. Im a little overwhelmed with what is available to build an affordable but future proof pfsense server.

I would like it in a 1u chasis and I would like it to be quiet. Is that possible? Any suggestions on builds, cpus, hdd, memory, mobos etc.

Im not sure if this is the right forum but there is a lot of different options and I figured I would tget the best response out of this one since people here have knowledge with pfsense.

Thanks

2

not really going to find anything that affordable with those requirements. 1u = you pretty much need high speed flans.

Whats your use case / expected load on the device? Why 1 u?

3

Well I would like it as compact as possible but I want to rack mount it. Quiet is more important than the 1u.

I will be using Pfsense in my house for all of my devices.

4

If you want quiet I really recommend 3/4u as you can run 120mm fans in that size and those will save you a ton of decibels.

So just routeing / firewall? Sub 100 Users? Whats your ISP speed do you plan to have any 10gb?

5

2 to 4 users, mainly 2. Probably no more than 5 devices: Apple TV, mobile devices, a couple PCs. Not very robust. I use ATT Uverse with the 1000 plan so I get up to 1,000Mbps outside of my network.

I do plan on implementing 10Gb internet internally in the future but not outside my network. Im sure thats obvious.

6

My pfSence box runs on a Dell R210II with a Intel 4 port nic, boot is the only time it ramps up the fans. its way overkill of a system but it was cheap and not too power hunger. the R210 is louder so get a R210II or newer.

This is a good option
https://www.pcengines.ch/

but in the end if you don’t get a system super cheap or you need a lot of compute for some reason just get a netgate device there cheap enough, quite, low power and helps support pfsence.

7

Is power expensive in your area? US market? Whats your budget?

8

Im in the US. I guess I want the cheapest as possible but I want it rack mountable. I did find a R230 for $150. But thats without an ssd. I was thinking about getting a TCSUNBOW MSATA Mini PCIe 60GB 64GB SSD Solid State Drive https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077YWJVXB/ref=nav_timeline_asin?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

But im not sure if its compatible.

9

I would wager no