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Any recommended CPU or motherboard recommendations? I realize there is a million options but wondering if there are some great options that offer a good value for money spent and energy efficient.
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#2
Hardware and Performance / Re: Semi parts bin new build
October 23, 2026, 01:18:40 AM
I do have a Dell Intel 4V7G2 X550-T2 2 port 10Gb that I could use or atleast I've used in the past and can grab from a machine or buy another.
I don't have huge bandwidth needs. This is a residential setting and we don't do any torrents and very little streaming.
Two ports is all I need: one for WAN and one for LAN. I have a L3 switch.
I don't have huge bandwidth needs. This is a residential setting and we don't do any torrents and very little streaming.
Two ports is all I need: one for WAN and one for LAN. I have a L3 switch.
#3
Hardware and Performance / Semi parts bin new build
October 22, 2026, 06:25:41 PM
Right now I'm sporting OPNsense within Proxmox which has been humming along perfectly fine; however, this was just temporary to ensure that I was committed to OPNsense; I would rather have OPNsense on bare metal.
This is for a home application with only a handful of users and really not substantial usage. I don't run any external facing services but do VPN in (WG) here and there.
I was looking at the "off the shelf" type setups of Deciso or Protecti but I have several components already for a "custom build" and would rather have equipment that I can replace individual components.
This is what I have in my "parts-bin" just laying around:
1. 16GB DDR4 single dimm
2. 3U Rack Chassis (mATX/ATX)
3. 500GB PCIe Gen4 x 4 M.2 NVMe
My main concerns or wants are:
A. Intel onboard NIC. Bonus points for two!
B. I do have SFP switch so can use SFP so any particular cards recommended?
C Power consumption - This is going to be on 24/7. On my current setup the CPU of the Proxmox server running 3 other VM's doesn't ever hit 2% (12th Gen Intel i5-12400).
Any motherboard/CPU/NIC recommendations?
This is for a home application with only a handful of users and really not substantial usage. I don't run any external facing services but do VPN in (WG) here and there.
I was looking at the "off the shelf" type setups of Deciso or Protecti but I have several components already for a "custom build" and would rather have equipment that I can replace individual components.
This is what I have in my "parts-bin" just laying around:
1. 16GB DDR4 single dimm
2. 3U Rack Chassis (mATX/ATX)
3. 500GB PCIe Gen4 x 4 M.2 NVMe
My main concerns or wants are:
A. Intel onboard NIC. Bonus points for two!
B. I do have SFP switch so can use SFP so any particular cards recommended?
C Power consumption - This is going to be on 24/7. On my current setup the CPU of the Proxmox server running 3 other VM's doesn't ever hit 2% (12th Gen Intel i5-12400).
Any motherboard/CPU/NIC recommendations?
#4
General Discussion / Pros and Cons of bare metal versus virtualization home environment
February 13, 2025, 06:45:48 AM
Assuming hardware isn't a constraint what are some pros and cons of bare metal versus virtualization OPNsense in a home or small business environment?
Here are some that I can think of but would like to have a discussion about my small list and other items that you can think of.
Bare Metal
+ It is how the software is designed.
+ No host OS configuration, updates, etc.
+ All hardware is direct and so less potential diagnosing of issues, tunables, etc.
- Potential waste of hardware resources.
- Subject to OPNsense HA and configuration backup tools.
Virtualization
+ Can easily snapshot or backup the entire OPNsense instance in a click.
+ Can run other complimentary services/applications on same hardware such as pi-hole.
- Networking bridging versus PCI pass-thru can be confusing and complicates setup and design.
- Overall architecture is substantially more complicated.
It seems like not that long ago it was totally frowned upon to use something like Proxmox for OPNsense and now it seems like it is much more accepting and in some cases even recommended. Again, I would love to have a discussion about this.
Here are some that I can think of but would like to have a discussion about my small list and other items that you can think of.
Bare Metal
+ It is how the software is designed.
+ No host OS configuration, updates, etc.
+ All hardware is direct and so less potential diagnosing of issues, tunables, etc.
- Potential waste of hardware resources.
- Subject to OPNsense HA and configuration backup tools.
Virtualization
+ Can easily snapshot or backup the entire OPNsense instance in a click.
+ Can run other complimentary services/applications on same hardware such as pi-hole.
- Networking bridging versus PCI pass-thru can be confusing and complicates setup and design.
- Overall architecture is substantially more complicated.
It seems like not that long ago it was totally frowned upon to use something like Proxmox for OPNsense and now it seems like it is much more accepting and in some cases even recommended. Again, I would love to have a discussion about this.
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