Need pfSense Low Power Build Advice

[T_Minus]

Wow...I started reconsidering the SuperMicro A1SRI-2558F because out of all of this, that seemed to be the one system that was flawless for pfSense, but now I'm reading about a C2000 bug. This is just crazy.

Buy one after Jan. 2017 and you're good from what it sounded like.

 

[Fodmidoid]

An APU1 gets 40 or 50Mbps without AES-NI. The APU2 is faster (something like 80 or 90Mbps? I don't remember); if it was running at 50 it's probably because someone turned on that stupid "use hardware crypto" checkbox in pfsense. OpenVPN always pegs one core while the others sit idle, that's normal on any hardware. But yeah, if you want 150Mbps VPN on an APU2 you'd need to either use something other than OpenVPN or run multiple instances of OpenVPN.

So, I haven't used OpenVPN yet, but my intention is to log into the network remotely through a vpn, and then connect to servers on my environment via RDP, vSphere, etc. I'm wondering if this little APU2 would work well for my needs. So, it will handle my 150/150 Mbps connection all day long, and then if I'm using OpenVPN, It will decrease speeds to around 80-90 Mbps? Do I have that right? And if I'm planning on using OpenVPN whenever I feel like it, that would mean that it would be running all the time so my connection would always be less?

Could I optionally run OpenVPN s a VM on my separate ESXI server?

 

[Fodmidoid]

Buy one after Jan. 2017 and you're good from what it sounded like.

Oh okay. So I would just have to make sure it was released after that date, I guess.

 

[Geran]

You should check out this one: Supermicro SYS-5018A-MLTN4 Embedded Processor

Add memory (x2) and you're all set

 

[mstone]

So, I haven't used OpenVPN yet, but my intention is to log into the network remotely through a vpn, and then connect to servers on my environment via RDP, vSphere, etc. I'm wondering if this little APU2 would work well for my needs. So, it will handle my 150/150 Mbps connection all day long, and then if I'm using OpenVPN, It will decrease speeds to around 80-90 Mbps? Do I have that right? And if I'm planning on using OpenVPN whenever I feel like it, that would mean that it would be running all the time so my connection would always be less?

Could I optionally run OpenVPN s a VM on my separate ESXI server?

It's a four core system; the vpn will max out at 80 or whatever one core can handle, but non-vpn traffic will run at full speed on the remaining cores. If the vpn isn't active it won't have any performance impact.

You can run OpenVPN on a separate vm, as well.

 

[Geran]

Here is another good option for you: New 1U Firewall PFsense Server Router 8x 1GBE Ports i350-T4 Xeon 3.1Ghz QC 128GB | eBay

It includes everything you need for $242 shipped anywhere

 

[Fodmidoid]

Here is another good option for you: New 1U Firewall PFsense Server Router 8x 1GBE Ports i350-T4 Xeon 3.1Ghz QC 128GB | eBay

It includes everything you need for $242 shipped anywhere

This is very intriguing! I just sent a message to the seller, asking them how quiet it is.

I was getting ready to purchase a Apu2c4. I assume this would be better? I did notice that the TDP for this processor is 80w, though.

Thanks very much.

 

[Geran]

The Apu2c4 is decent. I was just giving you options

Here is a good real world test of the Apu2c4 btw: My PC Engines **apu2c4** Experience • /r/PFSENSE

 

[Fodmidoid]

The Apu2c4 is decent. I was just giving you options

Here is a good real world test of the Apu2c4 btw: My PC Engines **apu2c4** Experience • /r/PFSENSE

Awesome. Thanks again.

 

[ullbeking]

The advantage of a pico psu is that it takes up less space, so you can use it in a tiny case. Since you're getting a big case, that's not a factor. It can also be more efficient at really low power, but you're looking at the larger pico psu so that's not much of a factor. I'd just get something like

SeaSonic SSR-360GP 360W ATX12V v2.31 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Active PFC Power Supply-Newegg.com

and probably save some money. (The Seasonic is one that I've used before and been happy with, but the general idea is to just get something that's power efficient, relatively low wattage, and with a variable speed fan; at low utilization it's pretty much silent.)

You know power supplies like that aren't really that efficient unless you get them in their sweet spot on the power curve which his system wouldn't be anywhere close to.

@Geran and others, I hope you don't mind me reopening an old thread, but there is a lot of common interest between a couple of my current projects and the discussion here.

Can you please elaborate on your statement about the efficiency of larger PSUs such as the one @mstone suggested? Is there a link to some explanation about the efficiency of PSUs and how they work? I'd like to know where I can find information so that future decisions regarding PSUs are well informed.

Also @Fodmidoid, here is a good build for under $350 and everything is included:

Case/PSU: M350 Enclosure with PicoPSU-80 and 60W adapter KIT
CPU/Motherboard: SuperMicro MBD-X11SBA-LN4F-O
RAM: Kingston Technology Corp. KVR16LS11/4

I'm currently building a couple of small, quiet, mini PCs, to be installed in passively cooled M350 cases.

One of the PCs I'm getting specs for is almost exactly your suggestion here, based on the X11SBA-LN4F. However, I was planning on using the picoPSU-90 with an 80W adapter, and I might install an M2 SSD or 2.5" SSD. This is going to be my firewall/router box for running pfsense.

The other mini PC I'm designing is an i5 system and I'm trying to match the most appropriate PSU to my desired CPU/motherboard combination. I would prefer a low-power, 35W Kaby Lake CPU (i5-7000T series) to the regular 65W CPU (i5-7000 series, etc). This should ease cooling requirements, but I still need to decide on an appropriate CPU cooler and fan so that it will fit in the M350 and stay quiet. The proposed motherboard is the Gigabyte GA-H270N-WIFI. I understand that a picoPSU-120 is more appropriate in this situation. May I ask what you think of this build? It's going to be used as a lightly loaded virtualization host, with one of the VMs runing pfsense.

 

[mstone]

Can you please elaborate on your statement about the efficiency of larger PSUs such as the one @mstone suggested? Is there a link to some explanation about the efficiency of PSUs and how they work? I'd like to know where I can find information so that future decisions regarding PSUs are well informed.

One of the main points of the evolving 80 plus certifications is efficiency at low utilization. 80 Plus - Wikipedia Older power supplies got really inefficient at low utilization because there had high fixed consumption (like constant speed cooling fans). I pointed out the one I did because once upon a time it was a $60 PSU that hit about 90% efficiency at 20% utilization. (72W) Efficiency According To The 80 PLUS Spec, Standby Power, And Sound Level - Part 2: Four Cheap 80 PLUS Bronze Power Supplies, Reviewed I think that specific model is obsolete, but the point remains: if you don't need to worry about trying to fit into a tiny case, a cheap relatively high efficiency standard PSU is going to be a better choice than a picoPSU. You get more flexibility (more power cables for adding drives, the ability to use a CPU that peaks higher) and even if the picoPSU is marginally more efficient, in most places it will take a long time for the marginal savings to pay for the difference in price.