Qotom Denverton fanless system with 4 SFP+
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Hi SlowmoDK, this SAS enclosure is pretty interesting and affordable.the perfect companion for this unit https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006064182068.html
model : K35274SAS
3.5" Four Bay Docking Station External Hdd Enclosure RAID Function Disk Array Box Support SAS interface SFF-8088
connect to the sff8087 port on unit
I'm getting one and using as a backup target for my main TrueNAS box
This expand this unit to more general use cases besides just as network router, with the 4 hdd external and the 2 nvme slots internally
...
I searched the model name on alibaba.com, its manufacturer has below SAS models, but all are wholesale only, due to alibaba.com's rule:
RAID HDD Cabinet, RAID HDD Cabinet direct from Shenzhen KSY Co., Ltd. in CN
The official site's 2 categories on this SAS enclosure series:
SAS HDD Enclosure and docking station-Kintec
深圳市凯祥源科技有限公司专业生产移动硬盘盒,硬盘座,易驱线,maiwo麦沃,移动电源,充电宝
www.kintec.cn
I've been using a vga monitor so far, but have one adapter incoming soonish, will report back when it gets hereHas anyone managed to boot into BIOS using a VGA to HDMI active adaptor? Cant seem to get it working
I had tried such a VGA-to-HDMI adapter/converter on other PCs. The video quality from the output to the monitor is not good as what I thought before using it. Only thing is that the view is able to see the screen for the viewer's job, not unable to do so.
(That means it is not as what I thought as the quality as the regular converter used for from hdmi output to vga monitor input. The video quality is much much lower than that, since its theory and mechanism is completely different.)
You can look at the benchmarks for the Netgate pfsense appliance that I linked a few pages back. It uses practically identical hardware as the highest tier Qotom model.
Based on the benchmarks I've seen for the slightly old R86S-U using an Intel N6005, I would expect Zenarmor to have a significant performance impact. In the case I mentioned performance dropped from 9.3 Gbps to 3 Gbps or less with Zenarmor enabled.
You can check some performance benchmarks between the two CPUs, but I suspect that Zenarmor isn't feasible in this performance class if we are talking MTU 1500. Please double check yourself though.
Basically, be happy if you are able to route at close to 10 Gbps full duplex (i.e. 20 Gbps) with a basic firewall.
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I dunno
... proberly just fine, watch Lawrence systems netgate 8200 review as they are basically same unit besides the 200 mhz bump on newer C3758 R vs C3758 in this.My use case is 1Gbit/1Gbit INET and some inter-vlan routing, but i'm only using 4 of the cores for pfsense, the other 4 cores are running TrueNAS CORE
4 cores handles my traffic just fine
Some simple iperf3 tests isn't fully representative of actual internet traffic though.I dunno
My use case is 1Gbit/1Gbit INET and some inter-vlan routing, but i'm only using 4 of the cores for pfsense, the other 4 cores are running TrueNAS CORE
4 cores handles my traffic just fine
That's why there is such a thing as IMIX tests that are meant to better represent such traffic patterns a bit better. It's why I referenced the Netgate numbers instead, because those are sure to be the best values they can get away with publishing.Also, people generally only test in one direction at a time, which is literally half of the performance needed.
I'd say it's borderline (but there aren't many good options with decent prices), and adding an IDS or IPS on top of that is almost certainly a big bottleneck. I'm saying that as someone who is considering buying one to use as a 10 Gbps router. The upcoming fanless device from GoWin is the other one I'm currently looking at.
Has anyone managed to boot into BIOS using a VGA to HDMI active adaptor? Cant seem to get it working
My adaptor arrived today, and tested just "fine"/ok, bios working no issues
like @newabc says, it's noisy and a bit blurry, but for installation/management, it will do just fine and saves me dragging out my vga monitor
I wasn't expecting miracles, and I'm actually impressed by this 1½ dollar adaptor
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I can inter-vlan route at full 10gps all i needSome simple iperf3 tests isn't fully representative of actual internet traffic though.
Also, people generally only test in one direction at a time, which is literally half of the performance needed.
I'd say it's borderline (but there aren't many good options with decent prices), and adding an IDS or IPS on top of that is almost certainly a big bottleneck. I'm saying that as someone who is considering buying one to use as a 10 Gbps router. The upcoming fanless device from GoWin is the other one I'm currently looking at.
or not really since main rig has 25gig direct DAC to main NAS, and the rest of the network is segmented for a reason I know you posted the netgate numbers earlier in tread, but video also has same slide as part of review
What cpu are in those GoWins ?
Update:
Below is the Taobal Global site's webpage of Maiwo's K8AC and K8AD enclosure. Its price does not include the shipping fee. But the viewer should be able to read Chinese language and understand the whole process of global shipping completely, since all the taobao global stores will only ship to a global shipping service provider's warehouse located in China or Singapore first, then the warehouse will group all the packages for the same buyer, then to USA or Europe. Much more difficult than placing order on aliepxress.com or temu.com which the platform will take care of this process automatically.
I see.I can inter-vlan route at full 10gps all i need
I know you posted the netgate numbers earlier in tread, but video also has same slide as part of review
What cpu are in those GoWins ?
We don't know the CPU they will use in it yet. They have previously used the Intel N100, N200 and N305 but they've been looking into potentially using one of the higher powered chips with more PCI-E lanes. If you disable the P-cores on those higher end chips, I imagine their power draw will be similar to the N-series chips at the same clock speed.
Would the CPU be able to route/NAT/basic stateful forewall at 10 gig? I have 10 gig fiber at home but my current gear can only handle 1Gbps.
Even on plain OPNSense (I’d be running it virtualized in Proxmox with PCI pass through for the 10 gig NICs)? Or does it need to use TNSR to reach those speeds?
Even on plain OPNSense (I’d be running it virtualized in Proxmox with PCI pass through for the 10 gig NICs)? Or does it need to use TNSR to reach those speeds?
You can look at Netgate's official pfsense and TNSR benchmark numbers for the Netgate 8200.
Hello everyone !
First post on the forum, been eyeing it for a while and decided to make the jump ! Happy to be here ! Starting with this tread because I ordered the C3758R version of this router PC, barebones as I have RAM on hand and got a dirt cheap decent NVMe to slot in, yadda yadda... It'll get here in 10 days or so (hopefully)
Considering where I'm putting it, I also thought it'd be a good idea to put this on top (will probably improve the overall airflow of the semi enclosure my IT hardware is in haha) also plan to change the thermal paste (and pads I guess) before even initializing it...
Plan is to bare metal OPNsense on it, use it as a home lab router in a first time and then in a second time, couple years from now, get rid of the ISP router, use the mini PC instead.
So I had several questions, some are probably more related to OPNsense than the PC itself but a couple of them are dedicated to the network hardware of the PC :
- You see those first party switches/router that have combo ports, either SFP(+) either RJ-45 on the same controller ? Think it's possible to do the same (through software I'm guessing, here OPNsense) with the interfaces available ?
- I've read in this here thread "NIC is X553", after asking around, I've been told this is an Intel NIC, I'm guessing the ones integrated to the C3758R or so says Intel's CPU spec sheet, do I need to look for Intel compatible GBICs then ? (First time dealing with fiber hardware, still learning what to look out for, advice welcome)
- I have an x8 2.5G ports switch, no SFP(+) ports, looking to trying out aggregation, I'm guessing this is more a matter of software again ? Anything hardware related I should know about ?
- Also read a couple of you put ECC RAM in it to check for compatibility, I've been told putting ECC RAM in a router is useless, considering their experience and what they do for a living, I'd be inclined to listen to them but I'd like to ask for more opinions even if just for educative purposes, why would one put ECC RAM in a router, why would another find that overboard (also, where do you get affordable DDR4 ECC SODIMMs ???)
- Is the BIOS update intuitive enough that I would just have to follow instructions on screen or is there a step process out there I can follow ? Does the PC comes with a user manual ? I couldn't find anything of the sort in PDF of Qotom's website or mentioned on the product page
- Any "hidden" features or non mentioned hardware specs some of you may have noticed that would be good to know about ?
Thank you for your time (and possible replies ?) and I wish y'all a happy new year by anticipation !
First post on the forum, been eyeing it for a while and decided to make the jump ! Happy to be here ! Starting with this tread because I ordered the C3758R version of this router PC, barebones as I have RAM on hand and got a dirt cheap decent NVMe to slot in, yadda yadda... It'll get here in 10 days or so (hopefully)
Considering where I'm putting it, I also thought it'd be a good idea to put this on top (will probably improve the overall airflow of the semi enclosure my IT hardware is in haha) also plan to change the thermal paste (and pads I guess) before even initializing it...
Plan is to bare metal OPNsense on it, use it as a home lab router in a first time and then in a second time, couple years from now, get rid of the ISP router, use the mini PC instead.
So I had several questions, some are probably more related to OPNsense than the PC itself but a couple of them are dedicated to the network hardware of the PC :
- You see those first party switches/router that have combo ports, either SFP(+) either RJ-45 on the same controller ? Think it's possible to do the same (through software I'm guessing, here OPNsense) with the interfaces available ?
- I've read in this here thread "NIC is X553", after asking around, I've been told this is an Intel NIC, I'm guessing the ones integrated to the C3758R or so says Intel's CPU spec sheet, do I need to look for Intel compatible GBICs then ? (First time dealing with fiber hardware, still learning what to look out for, advice welcome)
- I have an x8 2.5G ports switch, no SFP(+) ports, looking to trying out aggregation, I'm guessing this is more a matter of software again ? Anything hardware related I should know about ?
- Also read a couple of you put ECC RAM in it to check for compatibility, I've been told putting ECC RAM in a router is useless, considering their experience and what they do for a living, I'd be inclined to listen to them but I'd like to ask for more opinions even if just for educative purposes, why would one put ECC RAM in a router, why would another find that overboard (also, where do you get affordable DDR4 ECC SODIMMs ???)
- Is the BIOS update intuitive enough that I would just have to follow instructions on screen or is there a step process out there I can follow ? Does the PC comes with a user manual ? I couldn't find anything of the sort in PDF of Qotom's website or mentioned on the product page
- Any "hidden" features or non mentioned hardware specs some of you may have noticed that would be good to know about ?
Thank you for your time (and possible replies ?) and I wish y'all a happy new year by anticipation !
Can anyone confirm those are indeed the auto power jumpers because Qotom's site states it does not have auto power jumper. and can you provide a better resolution pic and maybe video of it auto powering?
Welcome to the forum!
It's not clear to me what you are asking for. What do you want to do? Bridge some or all of the ports in software to make them all a part of the same network (i.e. act as if they were connected to an internal switch)? Since they are all individually connected to the CPU, that would be very inefficient and you would be better off with a switch that will do all that in hardware.
The 10G SFP+ ports are Intel X553 NICs integrated in the C3758R SoC, yes. Intel often vendor locks their NICs to only work with Intel programmed SFP+ modules (with the exception of passive DACs), although this can often be unlocked through flipping bits in their EEPROM or through driver flags. I don't know whether the X553 NICs in this particular device are unlocked or not, but you can get cheap fiber transceivers vendor coded to appear like Intel branded transceivers just in case. GBICs are no longer a thing as far as I'm aware. What you are looking for are either passive DAC cables (for short runs), fiber modules/transceivers (long or short runs) or 10GBase-T modules/transceivers (avoid unless you have to).
In terms of fiber there are multi-mode and single-mode, and a few generations of each.
I was thinking about the ports 9 and 10 here, it looked interesting so I was wondering if it was possible to reproduce that, not that I need it or anything, mostly out of curiosity but after some thoughts put in it, it's probably more effort than it is worth...
Oh, what is a GBIC, what do we use today and what's the difference between the two of those ?The 10G SFP+ ports are Intel X553 NICs integrated in the C3758R SoC, yes. Intel often vendor locks their NICs to only work with Intel programmed SFP+ modules (with the exception of passive DACs), although this can often be unlocked through flipping bits in their EEPROM or through driver flags. I don't know whether the X553 NICs in this particular device are unlocked or not, but you can get cheap fiber transceivers vendor coded to appear like Intel branded transceivers just in case. GBICs are no longer a thing as far as I'm aware. What you are looking for are either passive DAC cables (for short runs), fiber modules/transceivers (long or short runs) or 10GBase-T modules/transceivers (avoid unless you have to).
I wanted to get a couple of 10GBase-T transceivers (no idea if those are good, compatibility lists includes Intel, hopefully they aren't 10G locked and can retrograde to lower speeds... They're the only one at that price point, anything "brand name" or from specialized websites like fs.com is stupid expensive and that's before VATs and shipping
) exclusively for testing/tinkering purposes (as I don't have yet anything that actually uses/benefits from fiber, that'll probably be my next purchase, we'll see) and also it doesn't hurt to have a back up on hand at the ready so I can just hook a laptop in an SFP+ port for troubleshooting and/or accessing the management interface of the router (if I end up locking it out of the built in RJ-45 interfaces)Talking about the DAC cables, yeah, when I get there, it'll most likely be passive very short ones, my "IT cabinet" isn't Versailles sized and I don't drag links across the house so that'll be more than good enough anyways.
I appreciate the welcome, sorry for about the slew of questions, I'm just really excited about all the new stuff I'll be able to do with my new box !
All the ports on this unit can be used at the same time as far as I'm aware, they didn't cheap out and make it "one or the other".
I've never personally dealt with GBICs so I can't tell you anything else than what you can find yourself.Oh, what is a GBIC, what do we use today and what's the difference between the two of those ?
I wanted to get a couple of 10GBase-T transceivers (no idea if those are good, compatibility lists includes Intel, hopefully they aren't 10G locked and can retrograde to lower speeds... They're the only one at that price point, anything "brand name" or from specialized websites like fs.com is stupid expensive and that's before VATs and shipping
Talking about the DAC cables, yeah, when I get there, it'll most likely be passive very short ones, my "IT cabinet" isn't Versailles sized and I don't drag links across the house so that'll be more than good enough anyways.
I appreciate the welcome, sorry for about the slew of questions, I'm just really excited about all the new stuff I'll be able to do with my new box !
What you are looking for are different kind of SFP+ modules/transceivers.Be aware that 10GBase-T transceivers are kind of a hack. They generally draw more power than the SFP+ standard allows and generate quite a bit of heat. Most of them are also range limited. That's why DACs or fiber transceivers are often recommended nowadays since you can now find good and relatively cheap third-party transceivers or used name brand ones. If the NICs in this box have vendor locks disabled, those ones you linked would probably work though.
Additionally, since 2.5GbE and 5GbE are significantly newer standards than 10GbE, most devices you'll find will support 1GbE and 10GbE, nothing in between. Transceivers might also not necessarily have been programmed to support anything other than 10GbE if that isn't specified as supported. If you want to run a slower speed, you are better off using the 2.5GbE ports anyway.