pfsense build for ~$150

[kylejwx 28]

Wish List:

 

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$16.8

 

 

 

 

Thoughts and opinions? Pfsense can be installed on that USB stick, right?

[Poppapete 104]

I would not run my router from a USB stick unless it is just for "testing"

[schoondoggy 901]

I would watch Craigslist or find a local shop that sell used business computers.

The HP DC5850 is my favorite for these applications. Dell and Lenovo have good choices as well.

http://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetDocument.aspx?docname=c04290692

You can usually find them for $50. Add memory and NIC's and you are still around $125

[revengineer 20]

You should have three network ports total, one for incoming, one for internal, and one for dmz.

[oj88 136]

Well, a DMZ is not necessary if you don't have plans to publish/expose anything. But yeah, you can put more ports than you need now so you wouldn't have to worry later.

 

I do have a suggestion that you get an Intel NIC (dual- or quad-port gigabit). They typically come in PCIe x4 cards and should work with the board you posted (the specsheet says it has a physical PCIe x16 slot but only wired for x8 and below)

 

The onboard "desktop-class" NIC (Realtek) on the said motherboard, I don't typically trust for tasks that I'd consider critical such as a router or firewall. Our office pfSense uses D-Link gigabit NICs (Realtek chipsets), which was all we had at the time, and we're experiencing packet loss under certain conditions. But if you still want to use the onboard NIC, you only need one additional port. Make that an Intel NIC. A single-port Intel gigabit NIC comes in PCIe x1 card, and should also fit your board.