Cheap, SSF and 2 NICs for pfSense

[riahc3]

Im looking for the cheapest SSF with 2 NICs for pfSense. Im tired of my N54L giving me problems with ESXi and Im switching it over to physical WS2012R2. Problem is that it runs my pfSense box too so I need to add a small, fanless, PC to run pfSense dedicated.

I was something AIO; With RAM, storage to install pfSense (and a couple of packages) and do my network. I basically have 3 PCs and 3 mobile devices. It isnt a huge network but I want layway for OpenVPN in the future.

Thank you.

 

[wiretap]

Here's my PFsense box. It sounds like it meets your needs.

http://www.jetwaycomputer.com/JBC311U93.html

Fanless Intel Bay Trail-M Celeron N2930 SoC Processor 1.83GHz, Quad-Core, 7.5W
1 * 204-pin DDR3L-1333 SO-DIMM Single Channel up to 8 GB (1.35V required)
2 x Intel 82583V Gigabit Ethernet
1 x full size mSATA Slot + 1 SATAII port
1 x half size Mini-PCI Express Slot
NUC Form Factor
Fanless CPU Heatsink attached to the case

Then just add a stick of RAM and a mSATA drive. I used 8GB of RAM and a 128GB mSATA drive so I can run all sorts of packages and have plenty of storage. It is a 100Mbps VPN-capable box. Non-VPN you'll get around 800-1000Mbps throughput.

Next to my Raspberry Pi for size comparison.

 

[386DX]

Why don't you run PFsense in Hyper-V under Windows server?

 

[wiretap]

The proper hardware to do that would be much more expensive. In my case, I just wanted a dedicated inexpensive box (~$300). My next server build will support ESXi or Hyper-V, so I'll look to integrating that in the future. I would need a more powerful server supporting multiple streams of 1080p HQ video transcoding + CableCARD support. Going with a Xeon/ECC combo for that would be a considerable price jump over my current Intel i5 setup on my home server which I built about 2-3 years ago, before VM's were really viable for my needs and supported the newer features that most updates have integrated in the past year.