"
I've been running the "software-that-OpnSense-came-from-that-cannot-be-named-less-it-notice-us-and-be-summoned" for about 10 (?) years now on old PC's.
I came here to update myself on the state of OPNSense. I tried it when it was first released but Suricata was not working very well at all. I would like to try OPNSense but not at the expense of productivity for my work from home wife.
I started with an Old Dell XPS 630i Core2 DUO 4GB ram (non-AES capable) - retired -R.I.P - blown daughter board after 12 years of service as 1st my desktop, (free +$29.00 = ADATA 120 SSD from this point as I would dispose of it or do the following) then to firewall, then to Linux Web Server.
Currently running Old Dell Inspiron i3 6GB Ram (non-AES capable) my father-in-law hand me down (free +$49.00 = Kingston 120 SSD)
Am planning on swapping out to an OLD Dell XPS 8700 Studio 16GB RAM (AES capable) as soon as I find the time (been waiting for 1yr now) (free +$49.00 = Kingston 120 SSD) (another family member hand me down)
I guess what I am saying is it might be cheaper if you want to transfer an image of your existing firewall to a cheap'ish SSD and use an old PC.
I only pay for 150/15 Mbps so I am good. 20 odd devices in the house with 7 of them being desktops/laptops that are regularity used, the rest are a mix of WIFI routers (x2) and cell phones, hand held gaming consoles, Xbox etc....
No one ever complains about speed in my house unless the ISP is having issues or unless a piece of hardware has blown out - usually the crappy cable modems - is there such a thing as a non-crappy cable modem - you know, one that will last longer than 3 or 4 years?
Anyways, I realize there are many reason to NOT use an old PC but if you're not affected by any of those, I have found it to be pretty cheap while still getting a "corporate-like firewall.
With ALL the above systems I have never seen the "software-that-OpnSense-came-from-that-cannot-be-named-less-it-notice-us-and-be-summoned" use more than 40% RAM at it's busiest and normally runs at %20 or less. CPU has never gone over 5 or 6% that I've noticed.
Cheers.
I came here to update myself on the state of OPNSense. I tried it when it was first released but Suricata was not working very well at all. I would like to try OPNSense but not at the expense of productivity for my work from home wife.
I started with an Old Dell XPS 630i Core2 DUO 4GB ram (non-AES capable) - retired -R.I.P - blown daughter board after 12 years of service as 1st my desktop, (free +$29.00 = ADATA 120 SSD from this point as I would dispose of it or do the following) then to firewall, then to Linux Web Server.
Currently running Old Dell Inspiron i3 6GB Ram (non-AES capable) my father-in-law hand me down (free +$49.00 = Kingston 120 SSD)
Am planning on swapping out to an OLD Dell XPS 8700 Studio 16GB RAM (AES capable) as soon as I find the time (been waiting for 1yr now) (free +$49.00 = Kingston 120 SSD) (another family member hand me down)
I guess what I am saying is it might be cheaper if you want to transfer an image of your existing firewall to a cheap'ish SSD and use an old PC.
I only pay for 150/15 Mbps so I am good. 20 odd devices in the house with 7 of them being desktops/laptops that are regularity used, the rest are a mix of WIFI routers (x2) and cell phones, hand held gaming consoles, Xbox etc....
No one ever complains about speed in my house unless the ISP is having issues or unless a piece of hardware has blown out - usually the crappy cable modems - is there such a thing as a non-crappy cable modem - you know, one that will last longer than 3 or 4 years?
Anyways, I realize there are many reason to NOT use an old PC but if you're not affected by any of those, I have found it to be pretty cheap while still getting a "corporate-like firewall.
With ALL the above systems I have never seen the "software-that-OpnSense-came-from-that-cannot-be-named-less-it-notice-us-and-be-summoned" use more than 40% RAM at it's busiest and normally runs at %20 or less. CPU has never gone over 5 or 6% that I've noticed.
Cheers.
