small fanless mini-pc for home router/firewall?

[dweimer]

On 05/08/2013 9:10 am, firmdog at gmail.com wrote:
> What is the best option out there for a mini-pc to run FreeBSD as a 
> home
> router/firewall?  (needs to have 2 nic's)
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You might want to look at the pfSense project, works great for this use, 
Embedded FreeBSD with Web configuration.  <http://www.pfsense.org> they 
have a hardware page on the website with links to vendors where you can 
get some complete kits and do it your self assembly and installation for 
around $200 (using PC Engines Alix Boards), or for a little more 
pre-assembled, and installed systems.

I have been running it at my house and 3 installations at work for well 
over a year, on the Alix platforms.  Performance and stability have been 
great, though the Alix platform does lack memory and processor for doing 
much more than routing/dhcp/firewall/ipsec.  I used one of the do it 
your-self kits at my house, and used pre-assembled and installed setups 
for work, big difference is writing the image to the compact flash 
yourself.  Assembly is so simple it might as well not be called 
assembly.

If you are wanting IPSEC do pay attention though to the throughput on 
the Alix systems, and what you have available on your bandwidth, the 
same would likely go for any of the low boarded fan less systems, they 
should all handle routing/firewall just fine for whatever bandwidth you 
likely have but once you starting getting into 15Mbits and up these 
smaller boards will likely struggle with IPSEC.

-- 
Thanks,
Dean E. Weimer
http://www.dweimer.net/