Blake Ridgway

The order of the new firewall that will replace my current Netgate 4200 may be the reason I actually clean up my homelab infrastructure and move my stack to #FreeBSD and #OpenBSD...

Specs of the new firewall are as follows

* 1U Server
* 15" Depth
* E3-1230v2 3.7Ghz
* 16GB RAM
* 1TB HDD
* SuperMicro X9SCL(+)/X9SCM

Mar 7 at 6:44pmWeb
Show threadcurtosisMar 7
@blake I wonder how loud those fans will be.
Show threadBlake RidgwayMar 7
@curtosis I'll know in a week or so. ETA for delivery is between March 11th and March 14th.
Show threadWaitman GobbleMar 8
1U's are a joy. Might want to do a test drive before committing
Show threadcurtosisMar 8
@hello I have a Sun (RIP) X4100 that is about 3dB quieter than a jet engine. It’s a shame, as it’d probably make a decent home server. Maybe someday I’ll try to quiet it down and use it.
Show threadWaitman GobbleMar 8
Yes. Jet engine is a good analogy.
Show threadBlake RidgwayMar 9
@hello Absolutely. It beats what I am currently having to do which is a shelf that is taking up 2U worth of space because of the size of my current firewall.
Show threadDeltaLima 🐧Mar 8
@blake This generation of hardware is still pretty capable for many scenarios. May it serve you well many years!
Show threadBlake RidgwayMar 9
@DeltaLima I found it on eBay for about $85 USD. It will be my primary firewall going forward. 😀
Show threadzolarisMar 8
@blake why not #Illumos ?
Show threadDoerkMar 8
@blake Wow, that’s a firewall. What do you plan to run on it, OpenBSD?
Show threadBlake RidgwayMar 9

@NebulaTide That is my plan! I am currently using a Netgate 4200. So it was tie between FreeBSD or OpenBSD.

I am leaning more towards OpenBSD mostly because of the focus on security. Plus it will be the doorway into my network.

Show threadDoerkMar 9
@blake I would also recommend OpenBSD as it has a slightly more recent version of pf. Both BSDs are excellent, but it’s important to choose the right tool for the right task.
Show threadXenotarMar 10
@blake
The Xeon E3-1230 V2 is an excellent processor. I upgraded the processor on an Intel DH67BLB3 motherboard with an i7-2600 and gained the performance of an i7-3770 with thermal and operational stability.
Show threadBlake RidgwayMar 10
@xenotar Sweet! The seller also had some i3-3220 builds for sale. But the E3-1230v2 was only $10 more. Which is why I decided to get that instead. :)