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List:       pfsense-discussion
Subject:    Re: [pfSense] looking for silent and powerful pfsense hardware
From:       compdoc <compdoc () hotrodpc ! com>
Date:       2017-03-31 22:08:08
Message-ID: 7078f91c-02b8-89f7-b75a-b158d298a394 () hotrodpc ! com
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On 03/31/2017 02:15 PM, Jim Thompson wrote:

> I claim that a simple "fill the pipe with large packets" test is 
> useless to understand the performance of the system.  All the work is 
> on a per-packet rather than per byte basis, unless you don't have DMA 
> or are doing some type of DPI.
> ​

I suppose there as many goals as there are people in search of 
solutions. My point of view is as a system builder, and I'm sure is very 
different from yours. For myself and others Ive seen, its all about 
choosing the right x86_64 parts for the job...

One of my goals was to provide just enough performance to pass a dsl 
speed test for my connection. Plus to keep the power bill low. Comcast 
provides the fastest connections in my area, and my own connection is 
only 60/6 down/up and is fairly expensive.

For that, a cheap 25w tdp AMD 5350 cpu can handle pfsense, snort, 
pfBlockerNG, nut, and a couple of ipsec tunnels without breaking a sweat.

A nearby client has a 118/21 Mbps connection, however they had other 
needs, so pfsense (plus snort & pfBlockerNG) is running as a guest on an 
ubuntu server with qemu-kvm.

That system is an Ivy Bridge i5 that they provided, and also has a 
win7pro and a centos 6 guest, running alongside pfsense. I could only 
make that that work with a fast cpu like their i5.

Anyway, others Ive seen in the IRC channel, and I think in this list, 
who are lucky enough to have 1G connections, are wanting to squeeze 
every drop of speed out it. Using off the shelf PC hardware because we 
like building, and because we're cheap bastards.

Luckily for you, there are people and businesses who just want a fast 
and reliable and *small* appliance, along with excellent support.




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