Minis forum MS-A2
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Hello everyone,
I'm considering using the Minisforum MS-A2 for a home lab setup, primarily to run pfSense or OPNsense. However, I'm relatively new to this and would appreciate some guidance.
The MS-A2 comes equipped with two 2.5GbE LAN ports, one of which utilizes a Realtek chipset. I've heard that Realtek NICs can sometimes present challenges with BSD-based systems like pfSense and OPNsense.
Could anyone share their experiences or insights on whether these LAN interfaces, especially the Realtek one, work reliably with pfSense or OPNsense? Are there any known issues or necessary workarounds?
I'm considering using the Minisforum MS-A2 for a home lab setup, primarily to run pfSense or OPNsense. However, I'm relatively new to this and would appreciate some guidance.
The MS-A2 comes equipped with two 2.5GbE LAN ports, one of which utilizes a Realtek chipset. I've heard that Realtek NICs can sometimes present challenges with BSD-based systems like pfSense and OPNsense.
Could anyone share their experiences or insights on whether these LAN interfaces, especially the Realtek one, work reliably with pfSense or OPNsense? Are there any known issues or necessary workarounds?
So... if you're looking at this high-end of a box, presumably you're primarily looking at the 10 gigabit ports? And those are Intel...
If you are looking to do firewall between two RJ45 <2.5 gigabit interfaces, this box is wildly overkill, you can find plenty of boxes with 2-4 Intel 2.5 gigabit copper interfaces. And boxes with passive cooling too which never hurts.
(My general view, basically - who cares if the Realtek interface is more temperamental, you've got three Intel NICs and any workload that requires this hefty of a box will be primarily using the 10G ports)
Also, one other thing - the first shipments of the MS-A2 probably reached the first end users on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week. (Mine was delayed a day and arrived Wednesday) Unlikely to have detailed reports of compatibility just yet, especially for things other than Proxmox (I am guessing that the #1 reason for buying this thing is Proxmox... and actually, may I suggest running your OPNsense or pfsense inside Proxmox given how overkill this box otherwise is?).
Yes, absolutely – I'm planning to use Proxmox as the main hypervisor with multiple VMs and containers.
My idea is to run the firewall (pfSense or OPNsense) in a dedicated VM, and also host other services in separate VMs and LXC containers – things like Home Assistant, game servers, and some Docker workloads.
That’s why I’m evaluating the NICs carefully – especially in terms of passthrough support and compatibility with BSD-based systems for the firewall VM.
Thanks again for the feedback!
My idea is to run the firewall (pfSense or OPNsense) in a dedicated VM, and also host other services in separate VMs and LXC containers – things like Home Assistant, game servers, and some Docker workloads.
That’s why I’m evaluating the NICs carefully – especially in terms of passthrough support and compatibility with BSD-based systems for the firewall VM.
Thanks again for the feedback!
Maybe they were 10 y.o. ago, not anymore.
You can always virtualize it as bridge, you won't loose a single bit of performance at 2.5Gbe in Opnsense
I'm running a bridged ConnectX-4 Lx in Proxmox as WAN interface in Opnsense and I do get 25gbpe internet speed as if it was passed thru
Don't overthink
Got a chance to install the memory in mine. 128GB and came up just fine. Glad I skipped the ECC.
Running FreeBSD 14.2, I needed to install the realtek-re-kmod package to recognize the RTL8125. Not sure how that works with pfSense/OPNsense.
For anyone who has an MS-A2, can you see if the motherboard has any kind of ATX power connectors/headers? I am trying to think of some kind of remote management system given it doesn't have anything built in. I was thinking about using the PiKVM ATX Power board, which allows for issuing power on changes and such over the KVM.
Does the bios the option to automatically turn on when power is attached? If so, this along with the an IP KVM could probably be good enough for remote management (maybe with a well placed relay or something to be able to switch power remotely).
Does the bios the option to automatically turn on when power is attached? If so, this along with the an IP KVM could probably be good enough for remote management (maybe with a well placed relay or something to be able to switch power remotely).
How long does it take to detect 128GB RAM? My MS-A2 has been cranking away for over 2 hours. Running hot. HDMI monitor never exits power save mode.
It felt like less than two minutes, but I wasn't paying close attention because I was messing with JetKVM stuff at the time.
I reseated the SODIMMs, removed the SSD and SFP+ module just because, and it started up quickly. BIOS shows 128GB DDR5-5600.
I noticed that the BIOS limits the second and third M.2 slots to Gen3 speeds by default and advises against allowing Gen4. Good thing I only have 1 drive.
Edit: I installed Proxmox 8.4 but haven't had time to do anything with it. I'm a little concerned about fan noise. I have a ridiculously high hearing range, as in I could hear a muted CRT TV when those were still a thing. The pitch of these fans may be a problem for me.
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If it is anything like the MS-01 then the default settings will be quiet. And if not, you can tweak the fan curve.
I don't see any ATX power connector on the board
I have seen a kind of "power on AC" option in the bios.
How to get cooler temperture when LOW LOAD
The problem is AMD's desktop cores have very high turbo frequency. With high single core frequency cause hot when low load.
This way sacrificing single-core performance get better low load tempurture
- Advanced->AMD Overclocking-> Accept->Precision Boost Overdrive
- CPU Boost Clock Override: Enabled(Negative)
- Max CPU Boost Clock Override(-): 500 (If not enough you can setting to 1000)
Which setting in the BIOS are you using? I set mine to quiet and it's been, well, quiet since... the default was a bit too much on the loud side for me.
I also received mine last week (the 9955HX variant) and so far (compared to the MS-01) theres two things that are really bothering me.
1. Cant get idle power down below 30W. This is with turbo-boost disabled, disabled X710 and Realtek NIC and WiFi card in BIOS and all the powersave settings within proxmox. Thats 10W more at idle than the MS-01 with a similar config replicated on the MS-A2. (as much as that is possible)
No Idea how they tested with 18W idle on kernel 6.11, my device is nowhere near those numbers on 6.11 or 6.14.
2. Both fans are noticeably louder than those on the MS-01. My MS-01 is practically inaudible for me when it's sitting in its (well ventilated) drawer. On the MS-A2 both fans are very much audible even when closing said drawer completely and the bottom NVMe/X710 fan has a very annoying high pitched sound that is even present on lower RPM.
Also cant just unplug the bottom fan, because then it's just cooking my NVMes.
Not happy with my purchase so far and really contemplating to send it back. Its a beast, dont get me wrong, but there have been choices made (like switching the fans for ones that have a really bothering sound profile) that make this device not being able to be used in a noise sensitive environment.
1. Cant get idle power down below 30W. This is with turbo-boost disabled, disabled X710 and Realtek NIC and WiFi card in BIOS and all the powersave settings within proxmox. Thats 10W more at idle than the MS-01 with a similar config replicated on the MS-A2. (as much as that is possible)
No Idea how they tested with 18W idle on kernel 6.11, my device is nowhere near those numbers on 6.11 or 6.14.
2. Both fans are noticeably louder than those on the MS-01. My MS-01 is practically inaudible for me when it's sitting in its (well ventilated) drawer. On the MS-A2 both fans are very much audible even when closing said drawer completely and the bottom NVMe/X710 fan has a very annoying high pitched sound that is even present on lower RPM.
Also cant just unplug the bottom fan, because then it's just cooking my NVMes.
Not happy with my purchase so far and really contemplating to send it back. Its a beast, dont get me wrong, but there have been choices made (like switching the fans for ones that have a really bothering sound profile) that make this device not being able to be used in a noise sensitive environment.