10Gbe SFP+ PCIe Card Recommendation

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lilkeeney

New Member
Jul 22, 2012
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I am in analysis paralysis.

I am looking to add a 10Gbe card to my PFSense build. I would like two SPF+ ports. I would like it to be plug and play with PFSense and not have to worry about drivers.

I read this post about recommended cards for PFSense. Does this still apply?

I also read this about the energy savings of the Intel Fortville (x710 vs x520 series).

I would prefer to get a card with lower power consumption. This post has some great options and discussions.

This is also a great post with the OEM models for different cards.

It all of this still current? With current eBay prices right now it looks like saving a few watts will cost almost $100. Other than that is there much difference between the x710 and x520?
 
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whiskytangofoxconn

Member
Aug 17, 2021
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@lilkeeney, I don't know about power. I just built new hardware out of a Lenovo M720q Tiny and used a Supermicro AOC-STGN-i2S Rev 2.00 dual SFP+ card. All I've done is a base install to make sure the card/NICs showed up. (all went well) Hardest thing about that build was the Lenovo M720q (3d printed pcie bracket and pcie extender), the NIC was fine.

The card # I mentioned uses the intel 82599ES controller (https://www.supermicro.com/wdl/Netw...Add-on_NIC_Cards/MANUALS/AOC-STGN-i1S-i2S.pdf). The data sheet says it uses 11.2 Watts. According to the ark.intel site, that intel controller is the same as in the x520 cards. Are you looking for rj45 or sfp+?

zer0sum said:
Btw, you should switch to OPNsense...it's way better :p
Click to expand...
How is switching? I've thought about it but I have so much experience with what I'm using that I don't want to cause myself a headache. I just built new 10G/SFP+ hardware so I could try it now but going 10g plus thinking about ipv6 and switching over seems like a disaster waiting to happen.
 
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Spearfoot

Spearfoot

Active Member
Apr 22, 2015
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lilkeeney said:
I am in analysis paralysis.

I am looking to add a 10Gbe card to my PFSense build. I would like two SPF+ ports. I would like it to be plug and play with PFSense and not have to worry about drivers.

I read this post about recommended cards for PFSense. Does this still apply?

I also read this about the energy savings of the Intel Fortville (x710 vs x520 series).

I would prefer to get a card with lower power consumption. This post has some great options and discussions.

This is also a great post with the OEM models for different cards.

It all of this still current? With current eBay prices right now it looks like saving a few watts will cost almost $100. Other than that is there much difference between the x710 and x520?
Click to expand...
I've had good luck with the SolarFlare SFN6122F 10G NICs, dual port, PCIe v2.0, use about 6W of power, and deliver line rate speeds. Can be had on eBay for $35-40, so pretty cheap.

They're supported by FreeBSD, so they work with FreeNAS/TrueNAS. You have to load a vib for ESXi 6.7, but that's no big deal. Probably not supported by ESXi 7.

Firmware available here:

VMware drivers here:
 
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