Chinese Mini-PC With 4G and 6 NICS

https://pt.aliexpress.com/item/4000266234442.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000060.1.63d752187CQJhh&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller&scm=1007.13339.169870.0&scm_id=1007.13339.169870.0&scm-url=1007.13339.169870.0&pvid=27e0298f-9f6d-4a41-b54e-46d1378502c2&_t=gps-id:pcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller,scm-url:1007.13339.169870.0,pvid:27e0298f-9f6d-4a41-b54e-46d1378502c2,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238116%232002&&pdp_ext_f={"sceneId":"3339","sku_id":"12000022085374271"}

Anyone has ever tried this something like this? I Might buy one for testing. Looks good for me… i mean its totally nethserver capable i think :

That 4G connectivity might be really helpfull in some areas here in Brazil.

IMVHO 4th gen inte CPU is not something i would love to use as Firewall…

its like the Angels were speaking to you.
i was also researching similar gadgets and was looking at one interesting one here
https://www.voleatech.de/en/product/vtair1200/

and other chine versions.

my main focus currently is being able to get a 10Gig version

if anyone knows where i can get a more affordable firewall appliance with 10 Gig NIC and also SFP+ if possible, will be running Opnsense in It

image

I need to show you this… i have even older running Nethserver without any issues! This server uptime is now 2 days, but it was nearly 2 years! It is in my old school btw! :stuck_out_tongue:

here is another Firewall appliance
Firewall Mikrotik Pfsense VPN 1U Rackmount Network Security Appliance AES NI Router PC Intel Core i7 3520M 8 Intel Gigabit Lan|Mini PC| - AliExpress

Also got 10 gig LGA1151 Intel Core i7 9700 processor 1u 8 nic server rack 4 SFP 10G i3 i5 i7 firewall appliance PfSense with OEM H170 OPENsense|Mini PC| - AliExpress

I have something similar with 4nics, it works well. I have a small wifi card to use an old 4g phone as 4g gateway if my fiber link is down.

1 Like

I’m fine with that. You’re re-using something already available, but…
Buy “a new device” with a CPU 7 generation old, without any microcode update (hi Spectre, how’s Meltdown doin’?) and any support from the OEM, with that kind of NICs?

This could interesting only for the power consumption, but IMVHO this is not a good idea.
Do a bit more and buy an APU2 device of PCEngines. At least them are still under support!

1 Like

@pike

Hi

I do use PCEngines, but they can’t supply until 2022 - and they can’t say beginning, middle or end of 2022… :frowning:
Actually, Intel can’t provide for the needed NIC chips, and can’t say when new batches come.

I could easily use 4 APU4d4 at the moment, for clients. But I can’t get any… :frowning:

My 2 cents
Andy

Yup, i did go after them, but as @Andy_Wismer already said, nothing will come out of them until 2022 :frowning:

@ssabbath

This german company has some good alternatives - most of these are more powerful than the APU boards from PCEngines. They are also resellers of PCEngines for the EU Area.

https://www.ipu-system.de/

I’m using the IPU882 (2 boxes) for a client who needs high availability and all 8 LANs. I’m running OPNsense on it.

I also have one IPU882 as my home firewall - and also to liberate a APU box, so I have a “reserve” box for my clients.

Before actually using the box, I tested it with Proxmox and with NethServer directly installed. Both run quite fast! Due to no moving parts, it’s nice and quiet, and get’s barely warm.

They supply quite fast when available - it’s always stated if available or not.

My 2 cents
Andy

PS: My APU playbox has WLan added in. I also have 4 SSDs to interchange, one each for OPNsense, Proxmox, NethServer and VMWare ESXi. I also use OpenWRT here, but then booting from USB3.

@pike thanks for raising the security concern on hardware part. Did not have that consideration in mind. To me it was. So long as I installed opnsense and were good.
@Andy_Wismer let me check those ipu

2 Likes

@oneitonitram

Hi Martin

Most versions are available as Desktop and 19" but not all - due to supply issues…

My 2 cents
Andy

Ipu looks great, but no 10gig and no sfp

@oneitonitram

If you need 10 GBE or SFP at 10 GBE speeds, you need to put it together yourself. Good 10 GBE cards aren’t cheap (Dual are available…).

And don’t forget, you need a box (board/CPU) which can handle high I/O rates.

My 2 cents
Andy

And that’s where the headache begins

Why headache?

You can get suitable boxes eg from Supermicro, HP, Dell and others.

A good dual 10 GBE NIC will cost around 400$ USD…
Cheap, no name NICs are often a bad choice - the chip used is often MUCH slower than a good Intel NIC. Sometimes only 50% ! (Certain Realtek for example).

But if you need 10 GBE for Routers / Firewalls / Servers you also need a 10 GBE capable switch - and these cost serious money!

So the Server itself is the “cheap” part of the whole thing!

My 2 cents
Andy

Also, ask yourself: is really full gigabit needed for all of zones? In some environments, vLAN could suffice.

I have some 10gig switch. Using a hp proliant server with opnsense installed as core router.
My isp upgraded my link to 10gig but am only receiving 1gig due to my router.
I could get a 10 g NIC for the hp proliant, but I thought of getting something smaller and more power efficient. Unless I just get NIC and call it a day.

1 Like

I guess if you’re buying for business/institutional use it’s more expensive (though the Chelsio T420 I use is under US$300 new, and I see listings for new Intel X520s for around US$100; those are the only brands I’d consider), but there’s a lot of sense in buying used hardware. SFP+ really is the way to go here.

That depends how many 10G-capable ports you need. My Mikrotik CRS305-1G-4S+ has four 10G SFP+ ports and one GbE port (which also accepts PoE to power the whole thing, if desired); it sells for US$125 new. Need more 10G ports? The Unifi Switch XG 16 has 12x SFP+ ports, and 4x 10GbE RJ45 ports, US$599 new (MSRP, street price may vary). It’s often the case that you’d need a switch with a few 10G ports and lots of 1G ports, and my go-to for that was the Dell PowerConnect X1052 for around US$500 (4x 10G, 48x 1G), but that model’s now discontinued and they don’t seem to have a replacement for it.

10G is more expensive than 1G, to be sure, but it can be done without spending ridiculous amounts of money–more easily if you/your client is willing to consider used gear.

1 Like

Please, at list for switches, don’t forget Mikrotik.
The have several SFPs 10GbE affordable switches…