Recommendations for discrete Gw/Fw etc. Router

[jalyst]

@sfx2000 @System Error Message or Anyone,

Well other than SM & Lanner, I can't find any other ODMs that do C3558/3758, except for Aaeon, but they don't even have their competing model out yet AFAICT?

It annoys me that the (not cheap!) SM unit doesn't seem to have PCIe 3.0 8x, whereas the Lanner units do, perhaps because the SM unit offers more SATA 6G, dunno?

Also, hard to tell if the SM unit's NICs are Intel, they are for the Lanner units, the IPMI NIC on the SM unit is Realtek, not sure if that's the same for its other NICs?

Still need to carefully pour over all of this one last time...
https://www.supermicro.com.tw/products/system/1U/5019/SYS-5019A-FTN4.cfm
http://www.lannerinc.com/products/network-appliances/x86-rackmount-network-appliances/nca-2510
http://www.lannerinc.com/download-center/Datasheets/x86-Network-Appliances/?download=1850

But slowly erring more towards the SM unit instead of 1 of the 3 Lanner variants I short-listed, largely because of availability/pricing, & the likelihood of better support (though I had some utterly useless experiences in relation to pre-sales support/queries that I won't go into -so fingers crossed w/support!).

Anyone know where to get some top-notch ECC RAM for these C3xxx units? I want the best performing & quality.
All 4 models have 4 dim slits, IIRC. Where's the sweet-spot in terms of VFM in terms of module size, 8 or 16GB?
If I go to 32GB it's prolly too much of a premium, presumably??
I'm best-off populating 2 or 4 slots so I can take advantage of the full mem bandwidth (dual chan mem controller etc).
So I'm thinking 2x 8 or 16GB ECC sticks, best performing/quality ones that aren't ridiculously priced.
Don't want to be saddled with a unit for which I can't get any decent ECC RAM!

For SSD I'll temporarily use an old one I have lying around (will detail it later), later I'll get something more suitable.
Won't be adding any other kind of storage any time soon, I have another NAS build with no shortage of storage types.

But I may eventually add a xDSL MODEM PCIe card, & a DOCSIS one if they exist? (doubtful)
And maybe a 4G/LTE MODEM card too if they exist, but I think you can only interface with them via USB?
What is support like in pfSense for such devices????

But really, that's just about the full extent I can think of in terms of upgrades/expansions, anything I'm missing IYO?

Thank-you.

 

[System Error Message]

@sfx2000, @System Error Message, or Anyone? Thanks again.

ECC RAM isnt exactly needed and how much RAM you need depends on what features you'll use.

For virtualisation realtek NICs dont work with it as much for pfsense thats part of the reason for intel NICs and the CPU usage but that'd also depend on your throughput. Thing is realtek NIC for LAN is fine because realtek is capable of lower latency on LAN than dedicated chips.

for IDS/IPS like snort and any other stuff you use, RAM amount depends on the number of connections. You can have thousands of connections with just 8GB of ram. tally up the features you use first and decide on whether more CPU or more RAM but i dont think you can upgrade the CPUs in these unts.

If the device has 4 ports, typically they put intel but sometimes may also put realtek. Search google for the datasheet of the exact model and there may be more details there, if not you can contact the seller.

 

[System Error Message]

@System Error Message or Anyone,

For mem. I think maybe these 8GB modules??? Or the 16GB module here???

They're the SM tested modules for unbuffered/non-registered ECC.
Registered ECC is getting too silly for my needs AFAICT, but I do want ECC.
As far as tested 2400Mhz DDR4 ECC modules go, not much of a wide choice provided by SM >.>

Decent explanation of registered ECC Vs unbuffered ECC here...

When I google using the manufacturer part #'s on those 2 page I linked above;
I get some hits for the Samsung/Micron 8GB modules & the Micron 16GB module mentioned on those 2 pages.
Best performing/quality DDR4 2400Mhz ECC 8GB+ sticks I'm gunna get? Prices look good?

If you have any idea wit these points, thanks in advance...

ECC and performance dont relate together. I can take any 2400mhz ddr4 stick and they will perform the same, the only difference is how well they can clock more or lower timings if the bios has a setting for it. Hence why if you want ECC, that means you cant afford downtown or data loss. If you want performance, that means what you use have to support it. Tested doesnt really matter, as all ram that runs at at SPD spec will work fine, compatibility only matters when you use a different ram config like different timings and speeds than normal.

Ram performance matters when you deal with high bandwidths, if you need 10Gb/s WAN than DDR3 dual channel gets pushed to the limit. So go with 1 ram stick first, perhaps a 16GB stick.

They arent best performing, they are best quality.

 

[jalyst]

@System Error Message

ECC and performance dont relate together.

Oh I realise that....

I can take any 2400mhz ddr4 stick and they will perform the same, the only difference is how well they can clock more or lower timings if the bios has a setting for it. Hence why if you want ECC, that means you cant afford downtown or data loss. If you want performance, that means what you use have to support it.

Do these SM MB's typically have decent BIOS/UEFI settings for the tweaking of timings/latency & clock-speed etc, or are they usually very limited in that respect? If the latter, then I guess getting DDR4 2400Mhz ECC sticks that are "the best" in that regard -is moot. So long as they're DDR4 2400Mhz, ECC, have "respectable" (define) timings/latency etc, & a decent price for each 8 or 16GB stick (define), then I guess that's all that matters?

Tested doesnt really matter, as all ram that runs at at SPD spec will work fine, compatibility only matters when you use a different ram config like different timings and speeds than normal.

Aha, so if I do want to tweak timings/latency & clock-speed etc, those "tested sticks" are more likely to play nicely with SM's motherboard?

Ram performance matters when you deal with high bandwidths, if you need 10Gb/s WAN than DDR3 dual channel gets pushed to the limit. So go with 1 ram stick first, perhaps a 16GB stick. They arent best performing, they are best quality.

Not sure I 100% get what you're trying to say here, will re-read later...

 

[System Error Message]

@System Error Message





Aha, so if I do want to tweak timings/latency & clock-speed etc, those "tested sticks" are more likely to play nicely with SM's motherboard?

No, as in if the device uses settings that are not standard. for instance, a device may be set to use a particular timing and frequency, this is where compatibility matters, but if its your standard x86 stuff it will most likely use standard settings which means any ram that is reputable will work fine. For instance samsung and micron are well known but you can also use kingston KVR ECC but not kingston KVR non ecc. Standard ram will work fine.

As i was saying for performance, i dont know what bios they run so i cant comment. Y0u wont see any performance difference with faster ram unless you set it yourself and did use something that uses faster ram and cache. One instance i know that benefits from faster CPU cache and ram is voxel processing in games which is basically processing on a lot of data. this is memory bound most of the time. Or if you have a multi 10g network you use the device for.

You dont particularly need to use the ram they sell, but they also need to read their datasheet on the device as well as it explains in there about things like ram, and specs and other things in relation to the board. Typically i dont expect them to be more than a cheapo foxconn china made board that uses inexpensive widely available components which usually would use standard timings.

 

[System Error Message]

@System Error Message

Of the 3 tested modules, only the 8GB Samsung one seems to be readily available, other 2 Micron sticks (8 & 16GB) seem to be only with specialist retailers, no "end-user focused" retailers.

Prices here still fairly silly...
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Samsung-M391A1G43EB1-CRC-8GB-DDR4-2400-ECC-UDIMM-/332082763277
https://www.shopbot.com.au/ps-samsu...88-pin-eudimm-m391a1g43eb1-crc-330849476.html
But getting better from about here...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0714BJ7BW/?tag=snbforums-20
https://www.ramcity.com.au/ram/ddr4/2400/eudimm/M391A1G43EB1-CRC

Only possibly decent retailer/price for the Micron sticks I found, was this one for the 8GB manufacturing part #:
https://www.oempcworld.com/OEMPCworld-com/039791.html

If I'm best-off starting with just 1x 16GB DDR4 2400Mhz ECC stick, then I'll have to find a make/model that SM doesn't recommend in their "tested" list. I'd prefer to start with 2x sticks, so as to activate dual channel etc, but if using 16GB sticks is better than 8GB IYO & price is exorbitant, then I may have to make do with just 1 for now, want it to have decent timings/latency too.

you dont need dual channel with ddr4 because the bandwidth should be sufficient. How much WAN speed do you use?

 

[System Error Message]

@System Error Message or Anyone,

WAN speed is nothing special, not until the NBN hits my area, even then it won't be amazing. Those 8GB Samsung sticks fine IYO? Not much choice with regards to 16GB, unless I use something not on SM's official list.

Tomorrow I'll find 1x 16GB ECC (un-buffered/registered) DDR4 2400Mhz stick that has decent timings/latency etc, & a decent price. If pricing's too rich I may go with that 8GB Samsung stick, perhaps 2. Do you think I should "consider" 1x 32GB, that's just way overkill, & the bang-for-buck isn't there at this time -right?

Any idea on any of these points...











I'm exhausted & a bit sick, going to go to bed "earlier" for once, thanks very much for your engagement/time, tis appreciated!

as i said, ram use depends on how much of some features you use and what features. 8GB will handle thousands of connections with snort and you can get a 16GB dimm to later to add to it. 8GB is actually a decent start for pfsense.

Also before getting registered ram, check if the board supports it. Registered ram adds latency and is only needed if you have many banks of ram. IF the board only has 2 DIMMs then it is useless to get registered ram because the onboard controller can handle the number of dimms with the capacity. When you have many many dimms or loads of ram capacity, thats when you get registered. I remember seeing sun servers with trays of ram that you could put into a x86 server. The tray itself is an extension to the board. Just remember that you cant mix registered/unbuffered. You can use ECC but you may find it to be unneeded and a waste of money.

 

[sfx2000]

as i said, ram use depends on how much of some features you use and what features. 8GB will handle thousands of connections with snort and you can get a 16GB dimm to later to add to it. 8GB is actually a decent start for pfsense.

4GB is plenty for pfSense...

Something that might be useful for sizing...

https://www.firewallhardware.it/en/firewall-hardware-sizing-guide/

 

[System Error Message]

@System Error Message

In relation to; Bare-bones Unit, RAM, & SSD, I've pretty-much 100% settled on what I'm sourcing, & where.
I'll outline it all tommorrow....
But before I pull the trigger; if you know the answer or have a rough idea, could you please address these points:

(1)
Other than SM & Lanner, I can't find any more ODMs that do C3558/3758. Except for Aaeon, but their competing model's not out yet -right?
Aside from Netgate (which sells more of an "appliance"), are those 3* ODM's the only ones making C3558/3758 based bare-bones units?

(2)
Of the 1x C3758 based SuperMicro & 2x C3758 based Lanner models I've linked in prior posts, which IYHO is the better device overall, why?

(3)
It annoys me that the (not cheap!) SM unit doesn't seem to have PCIe 3.0 8x, whereas the Lanner units do, perhaps because the SM unit offers more SATA 6G?

(4)
Also, hard to tell if the SM unit's NICs are Intel, they are for the Lanner units, the IPMI NIC on the SM unit is Realtek, not sure if that's the same for its other NICs?

You kinda already addressed this, I'll try to dig-up some more detailed doco tomorrow, or call SM in Taiwan*, to get the full picture.

(5)
But I may eventually add a xDSL MODEM PCIe card, & a DOCSIS one if they exist? (doubtful)
And maybe a 4G/LTE MODEM card too if they exist, but I think you can only interface with them via USB?
What is support like in pfSense for such devices????

(6)
But really, that's just about the full extent I can think of in terms of upgrades/expansions, anything I'm missing IYO?

Thanks again.
*good luck with that here in Oz, their call-centre/support-staff are often useless

not sure about all the people who sell these chips, the CPU is more of a specific market so not many sell it.
not sure about the difference in brands, i dont normally look at this.
Supermicro isnt cheap. And its not because they offer more sata 6G, as sata goes through the chipset whereas the PCie 3.0 is on the CPU and chipset (different lanes). IIf the units are small it would be because of space.
I ssuggest getting a modem rather than PCie card, even though i would prefer to get a SFP module and use SFP cards which are plentiful and cheap, but compatibility matters as well for these modems. for LTE i suggest USB/external to reduce interference with the metal case and emf from inside. I dont know what the support is like in pfsense, even for wired modems. Anyone you ask will ask to go with dedicated modem/LTE.

Compare the units to a normal desktop, thats your baseline.

 

[jalyst]

@System Error Message or Anyone,

Unit already ordered, pickings/availability was slim, best place I could see for 5019A-FTN4 was newegg.

At $873AUD (inc $75AUD postage) for just the barebones unit, it's bloody expensive & massive overkill, but ah well, you only live once. And as time goes on, I fully expect to do all sorts of crazy stuff which maybe/eventually comes close to justifying the overkill. It won't ever take on too many "NAS-like" duties, I have a much beefier machine for that which I'm also finalising.

And ofc minutes after I placed my order, the bloody price has dropped by $4... >.>

 

[jalyst]

@System Error Message, @sfx2000, or Anyone,

My bare-bones SuperMicro SYS-5019A-FTN4 arrived today, she's a beauty to behold!
https://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/5019/SYS-5019A-FTN4.cfm
Happy to take pics if folks want...

This snippet of an exchange I had with an Aussie RAM dealer, would you agree with their claim that the 2666Mh model they're recommending, will actually run at full speed on the SYS-5019A-FTN4? If not, I'll get the 2400Mhz stick they're offering (there's not much difference in price between both). I know 16GB is massive overkill but it's just 1* stick, I won't be getting another (if ever) till about this time next year.

05:59:50 AM) jalyst: dont want registered, overkill for my use/needs, ecc already is to some extent.
(06:00:29 AM) jalyst: just something that meets my aforementioned requirements.
(06:01:09 AM) Leonard Gill: Okay. We will also guarantee this ECC Unbuffered 16GB module, to be 100% compatible: https://www.ramcity.com.au/ram/ddr4/2400/eudimm/MTA18ASF2G72AZ-2G3B1ZG
(06:03:08 AM) jalyst: thats your best suggestion?
(06:05:07 AM) jalyst: If yes, thanks. Will keep it in mind & end chat soon. BR.
(06:07:01 AM) Leonard Gill: If you want an ECC Unbuffered 16GB DDR4 module, it is my best suggestion, yes. Actually, i have just noticed something. Your system accepts a few speeds
(06:07:49 AM) jalyst: yeah only interested in the top speed it does, which I think is 2400Mhz.
(06:08:27 AM) Leonard Gill: It also accepts 2666MHz. Hold on and i will have a look
(06:09:51 AM) Leonard Gill: Note the difference between 2400 and 2133, will be negligible
(06:10:43 AM) Leonard Gill: Here is the Crucial 16GB 2666 option: https://www.ramcity.com.au/ram/ddr4/2666/eudimm/CT16G4WFD8266
(06:10:45 AM) jalyst: nope 2400mhz is def the top it supports AFAICT.
(06:11:32 AM) Leonard Gill: I have checked with Crucial and they have the 2666 speed modules, listed under your system
(06:13:57 AM) jalyst: hmm according to supermicro, on their MB page the top-end is 2400Mhz okay will keep that one in mind too, thanks.
(06:17:38 AM) jalyst: We done? How much is shipping for these items, is that free, or usually bit extra? I'm in xxx. TY.
(06:19:28 AM) Leonard Gill: Yes but system manufacturers are not very reliable and the 2666 modules may not have been on the market, at the time your system was released
(06:20:12 AM) Leonard Gill: I have dealt with manufacturers and the memory listings for a long time and they can be a bit out of date
(06:20:58 AM) Leonard Gill: I would also trust Crucial's information, over everything

I may pick-up the ram tomorrow rather than paying to be delivered, as their main warehouse is in my city!

SSD I'll use the 240GB version of this, which is what I retrofitted into my Mac Mini some years ago & barely ended-up using, before I shelved my Mac Mini:
https://www.anandtech.com/show/7006/sandisk-extreme-ii-review-480gb
SSD tech has of course marched along hugely since. Any suggestions on what I should probably get longer-term?

If anyone has any idea in relation to some/all of my points below, it'd be a great help before I get started on building/configuring/using this device to it's full potential:

(1)
Other than SM & Lanner, I can't find any more ODMs that do C3558/3758. Except for Aaeon, but their competing model's not out yet -right? Aside from Netgate (which sells more of an "appliance"), are those 3* ODM's the only ones making C3558/3758 based bare-bones units?
Pretty-much moot now anyway...

(2)
Of the 1x C3758 based SuperMicro & 2x C3758 based Lanner models I've linked in prior posts, which IYHO is the better device overall, & why?
Ditto.... >.>

(3)
It irks me that the (not cheap) SM unit doesn't seem to have PCIe 3.0 8x, whereas the Lanner units do! Why is that, & in what scenarios/use-cases could that end-up biting me in the arse?

(4)
Also, hard to tell if the SM unit's NICs are Intel, they are for the Lanner units, the IPMI NIC on the SM unit is Realtek, not sure if that's the same for its other NICs?
SEM kinda already addressed this, I'll try to dig-up some more detailed doco soon, or call SM in Taiwan* to get the full picture.

(5)
I may eventually add a xDSL MODEM PCIe card, & a DOCSIS one if they exist? (doubtful)
And maybe a 4G/LTE MODEM card too if they exist, but I think you can only interface with them via USB?
What is support like in pfSense for such devices????
SEM kinda already addressed this too, but it needs to be fleshed out much more!

(6)
But really, that's just about the full extent I can think of in terms of upgrades/expansions, anything I'm missing IYO?

Thanks again!
*good luck with that here in Oz, their call-centre/support-staff are often useless

 

[sfx2000]

My bare-bones SuperMicro SYS-5019A-FTN4 arrived today, she's a beauty to behold!
https://www.supermicro.com/products/system/1U/5019/SYS-5019A-FTN4.cfm
Happy to take pics if folks want...

Sure - sounds like a build-thread

For memory - I'd go with two sticks - DDR4-2400 should be fine... two 4Gig sticks are probably sufficient...

For storage - the m2-sata is a nice place to be - this chip supports NVME, but you won't need it in this application... Look at the Samsung EVO860 M2 SATA, good drive - have one in my recent hotel server rebuild, and it's fast and runs cool...

 

[jalyst]

Thanks @sfx2000, recommendation for SSD duly noted!

I don't suppose you please spare a few more mins to address this sub-point?

RE This snippet of an exchange I had with an Aussie RAM dealer; would you agree with their claim that the 2666Mh model they're recommending, will actually run at full speed on the SYS-5019A-FTN4? If not, I'll get the 2400Mhz stick they're offering (there's not much difference in price between both). I know 16GB is massive overkill but it's just 1* stick, I won't be getting another (if ever) till about this time next year.

And looking at the performance metrics of the SSD I'm using in the short-to-medium term (240GB version of this), do you anticipate any potential issues?

 

[sfx2000]

I don't suppose you please spare a few more mins to address this sub-point?

The memory controller doesn't run any faster than DDR4-2400 on that chip - and with 8 cores, dual sticks are more efficient that one stick twice the size...

 

[sfx2000]

@sfx2000 RAM ordered. What about the temp SSD point/Qn I raised? Thanks.

That SSD will likely last the life of the router.. and performance there is quite good - I have one of those (the 480GB variant) in a daily usage desktop machine.

 

[System Error Message]

Thanks @sfx2000, recommendation for SSD duly noted!

I don't suppose you please spare a few more mins to address this sub-point?


And looking at the performance metrics of the SSD I'm using in the short-to-medium term (240GB version of this), do you anticipate any potential issues?

for some reason the alert didnt show up or i may have missed it as i had a lot of alerts at one point, i guess sfx, thiggins and rmerlin must have too many alerts each time they login.

Im curious to how much you paid for the whole thing, that case looks good and the fact that it takes 4 regular desktop ram modules is nice as well. You can have drives to perform caching, storing of logs and even store a bunch of other stuff even make a file server with it too, its so compact.

As with the ram speeds, follow what intel ark says in regards to the CPU rather than the board because firmware updates can be released and if you can configure the bios, that too. So if intel ark says that CPU runs 2400Mhz max than the supplier could be trying to get you to spend more money as the only way you'll run your modules at a faster speed for this stuff is with a bios that can set the ram at a higher speed as RAM speeds are determined by the memory controller on the CPU and needs to be supported by the bios of the board as well.

Besides unless you run virtualisation or multi 10Gb/s networking, faster ram is not necessary as dual channel ddr4 is rated at around 20GB/s at 2400mhz and if you divide by 4 (typical overheads for a router in such an architecture), you'll find it supports up to 40Gb/s so dual channel ddr4 2400Mhz will support a 10Gb/s symmetrical WAN with no issues.

 

[jalyst]

Sure - sounds like a build-thread

That time is approaching, sorry for the massive delay folks -so many competing priorities in life!
https://www.ramcity.com.au/ram/ddr4/2666
https://www.ramcity.com.au/ram/ddr4/2400

AFAICT....

This....
https://www.ramcity.com.au/buy/crucial-16gb-kit-8gb-x2-ddr4-2666-pc4-21300-ecc-un/2xCT8G4WFD8266
Is just 2 lots of this...
https://www.ramcity.com.au/buy/crucial-8gb-ddr4-2666-pc4-21300-ecc-unbuffered-288/CT8G4WFD8266

Right?

And this....
https://www.ramcity.com.au/ram/ddr4/2400/eudimm/2xM391A1K43BB1-CRC
Is just 2 lots of this...
https://www.ramcity.com.au/ram/ddr4/2400/eudimm/M391A1K43BB1-CRC

Right?

If yes & yes, which of those 2x8GB kits would you pick. The difference in price isn't big;
So it really comes down to known brand reliability/perf, & finer details when comparing the 2 models.

Aside from being a bit pricer, the Samsung kit is rated at a slower speed;
But according to prior posts in this thread, the mem controller used by my CPU won't do higher than 2400Mhz?
So the Crucial kit will prolly clock down to 2400Mhz anyway...

Are those prices "decent", or have you seen way better elsewhere that ships to Brisbane/Australia?

Can anyone recommend an excellent xDSL PCIe card?
DOCSIS? Do they still not exist in PCIe form?
What about 4G/LTE, can still only interface via USB?

All other components (for now) are sorted...
It's not super pricey, so I might soon get this SSD suggested by sfx2000.
But for starters I'll probably use the one I've already highlighted.

Then moving on to finalising NAS build & some other stuff.
Once all assembled, will start putting it all together.

 

[System Error Message]

That time is approaching, sorry for the massive delay folks -so many competing priorities in life!
https://www.ramcity.com.au/ram/ddr4/2666
https://www.ramcity.com.au/ram/ddr4/2400

AFAICT....

This....
https://www.ramcity.com.au/buy/crucial-16gb-kit-8gb-x2-ddr4-2666-pc4-21300-ecc-un/2xCT8G4WFD8266
Is just 2 lots of this...
https://www.ramcity.com.au/buy/crucial-8gb-ddr4-2666-pc4-21300-ecc-unbuffered-288/CT8G4WFD8266

Right?

And this....
https://www.ramcity.com.au/ram/ddr4/2400/eudimm/2xM391A1K43BB1-CRC
Is just 2 lots of this...
https://www.ramcity.com.au/ram/ddr4/2400/eudimm/M391A1K43BB1-CRC

Right?

If yes & yes, which of those 2x8GB kits would you pick. The difference in price isn't big;
So it really comes down to known brand reliability/perf, & finer details when comparing the 2 models.

Aside from being a bit pricer, the Samsung kit is rated at a slower speed;
But according to prior posts in this thread, the mem controller used by my CPU won't do higher than 2400Mhz?
So the Crucial kit will prolly clock down to 2400Mhz anyway...

Are those prices "decent", or have you seen way better elsewhere that ships to Brisbane/Australia?

Can anyone recommend an excellent xDSL PCIe card?
DOCSIS? Do they still not exist in PCIe form?
What about 4G/LTE, can still only interface via USB?

All other components (for now) are sorted...
It's not super pricey, so I might soon get this SSD suggested by sfx2000.
But for starters I'll probably use the one I've already highlighted.

Then moving on to finalising NAS build & some other stuff.
Once all assembled, will start putting it all together.

LGA1366 said to max at 1333Mhz, on the motherboard you can set them to 1866Mhz if you wish and they will run on those speeds. I have mine set to the lowest because it is running at 1600Mhz with a 50% overclock. So just because crucial says it has a higher frequency doesnt mean it cant be used, it can, and those speeds listed on intel site relate to the JEDEC standards where DDR4 is defined at 2400Mhz standard now just like when DDR3 first came out where 1333Mhz was the rated max but not the real max.

I would go with crucial, those samsung ram, even though samsung are lower grade ram.

 

[coxhaus]

I thought like you once. I installed pfsense on a Intel server board with 1 Xeon processor. I did not want to pay the electricity nor incur the heat from a second processor on the motherboard so I only ran 1 processor multi-cored. I tried a dual core and a quad core processor without seeing any difference. All the chips were low voltage Xeons using ECC ram. Utilization was around 3% staying down around 1% most of the time using.

I originally wanted snort but it turned out to be too much maintenance and induced more lag which I did not like. So I ended up running without snort. Even without snort I ended up working on pfsense every month or so which got old in the end. I switched to a Cisco RV340 router and let Cisco figure out the problems. You only have to upgrade the firmware maybe every 6 months or so. Way easier. And a lot cheaper, $151 new. Save your money.

 

[jalyst]

I think I get what you're trying to say;
Alas, it doesn't address every point/Qn in my prior post.
I don't suppose you could try again?
Tomorrow morning I'll outline it all again.

Thank-you/GN.

Tnx for addressing those final points I clarified in our private conversations thread @System Error Message

Crucial RAM is now ordered....
I might order that Samsung SSD soon-ish, but will likely play with that Sandisk model I already own 1st.
I'll worry about MODEMS (external/internal) & PCIe cards for other uses, once I've got everything else setup!

Now moving onto NAS &OR some Other (less complex but related) Areas.
I hope to get at least 1 of them knocked-over this week...
Thanks again everyone for the constructive input, as always I am very grateful.