pfSense Build

[DragonMatt]

I'm planning on starting with an old pc that has 4gb of ram and a core 2 duo

I have many questions however...

1. What is a good ethernet card to get? needs to be PCI and 10/100/1000

2. Would it be better to use my old wireless N router (linksys WRT120N, seems to be losing it's memory) or to buy a wireless adapter for around $30 (PCIe)?

3. Would moar ram be beneficial?

4. I was planning on putting a Hyper 212 Evo on the core 2 duo, but is there anything else you recommend I add to the box?

5. I also need a quiet 92mm case fan any ideas?

[Bluejay0]

Moar ram. Well from like maybe 16 MAx then there might not be much benefit. The faster rams have benefits though Noctuas have 92 Silent fans. Core 2? I had an old Corsair that fit with a 775

[Atlantisman]

Answers:

 

Network Cards:

 

When it comes to network cards all i put in a system like this are Intel cards, they just work, no driver mess or anything like that. This is a card i use in all different kinds of applications, including desktops, servers and etc. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106033

 

It is a bit more costly than a cheap 3rd party card, but it will save you many head aches in the future.

 

RAM:

 

Anything above like 1gb of ram for pfsense is total overkill, pfsense will never use it unless your network is massive and you're running lots of 3rd party packages. Even then anything above 2-4gb is a massive waste of money.

 

Wireless:

 

I would get a router and put it in access point mode (most can do this these days, or you just disable DHCP, give it a static ip and plug the cord from the wireless into one of the LAN ports NOT the internet port, this will effectively put it in AP mode). Or get an actual access point. The reason for this is the driver support for wireless cards in pfsense is not that great.

 

Extras:

 

Not really anything is needed, pfsense builds are quite bare-bones, you don't even need the 3rd party cooler, could just use the Intel stock, and you probably won't even need the case fans, this system won't generate much heat really. I would recommend getting at least 3 network cards in the system total, it gives you a lot more flexibility when you're planning your network such as having guest, LAN, and WAN, all separate from each other. My personal pfsense box has 7 network cards in it so i can segment everything and host servers in firewalled off silos without being concerned about security.

[Ssoele]

1. Like said above, get an Intel NIC, something like this maybe (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Long-Bracket-DELL-HP-NC360T-DUAL-PORT-PCI-E-GIGABIT-CARD-412646-001-/320982406044?pt=US_Internal_Network_Cards&hash=item4abc0ad39c)

2. I recommend using a normal router for the wireless and set him to AP (also as said above)

3. I also have 4GB in my PFSense box, just because I didn't have any smaller sticks on hand, mine uses about 256MB during heavy usage (I don't use 3th party packages).

4. Stock Intel cooler is enough, I use an Intel Celeron G530 and that one never goes above 10% load.

5. I use Noctuas in my box, but that is personal preference.

[DragonMatt]

The NIC needs to be legacy PCI, any recommendations?

[Ssoele]

You could get 2 of these cards: http://www.ebay.com/itm/low-profile-bracket-10-100-1000-MT-Gigabit-Desktop-PCI-NETWORK-NIC-lan-CARD-New-/141007379922?pt=US_Internal_Network_Cards&hash=item20d4b1ddd2

[DragonMatt]

Okay, after a short delay and long sleepless nights of thought, I'm still undecided on what I should do about wireless access.

Would it be a better Idea to get a Wireless router, wireless access point, or a PCI wireless adapter?

If I were to get a router, can I use the LAN ports as additional wired access points? (If yes, I'm probably sold on that idea)

Also for whatever wireless access you recommend, what is a good product? If it's a router I want one compatible with dd-wrt, If it's a wireless adapter it needs to be PCIe 1x

[rufee]

Almost all PCI-E wi-fi adapters are 1x though you lose portability, you are better off using an older router with DD-WRT on it configured as AP+Switch (with routing disabled a router becomes a "wired access point").

Dedicated AP's are useless unless you want to spend a ton of cash or you need more than ~15 users on at once. Myself i run a TP-Link with DD-WRT for wireless, basically any router that supports it will do.

In my servers i use D-Link DGE-528t, they are PCI, gigabit and dirt cheap also had no problems with them.

 

And do you really need that pfSense box ?

[LAwLz]

Get a normal consumer grade router instead. Cheaper and better.

[JamesThresher]

Cheaper and better.

 

Not necessarily, if the OP already has the hardware the the cost will be minimal and the throughput will be far better than a regular consumer router. pfSense has many features that you won't find on a regular router, if you need/want them then it's a great option, if you don't need them then a standard router is more than likely a better option.

[LAwLz]

Not necessarily, if the OP already has the hardware the the cost will be minimal and the throughput will be far better than a regular consumer router. pfSense has many features that you won't find on a regular router, if you need/want them then it's a great option, if you don't need them then a standard router is more than likely a better option.

OP is already asking about buying extra NICs, new fans, more memory and so on. If he were to sell the old parts he would most likely get a better router for cheaper than if he buy extra parts for his old computer and make that into a router.

As for features, I don't really see what features pfsense offers (which are suitable for home usage) that a good consumer router doesn't have.

[JamesThresher]

OP is already asking about buying extra NICs, new fans, more memory and so on. If he were to sell the old parts he would most likely get a better router for cheaper than if he buy extra parts for his old computer and make that into a router.

As for features, I don't really see what features pfsense offers (which are suitable for home usage) that a good consumer router doesn't have.

Fair point, i wouldn't buy extra parts unless pfSense was really needed.

 

I use pfSense on my home network as i need to segregate 3 separate networks and I make quite a bit of use of it's bandwidth limiting features. The ability to simulate a lower bandwidth higher latency connection is extremely useful for some of my software development. Although for 99% of people i'd agree they would be better off with a regular router. The only features that may be useful for the average home network would be virus scanning and proxy cache, but only if you have the hardware lying around.

[DragonMatt]

Can a linksys E1200 with dd-wrt firmware work as an AP for wireless and wired?