Intel 8505 with 4xSFP+ 10Gb on Opnsense

[Weekly_Rush]

When researching to build/buy a new router for my homelab, I found the H14 Topton router, with an Intel 8505, 4x2.5Gb NIC and 0 to 4 SFP+ 10Gb. I plan to use Opnsense bare metal on it, and am hesitating with the 2 SFP+ or 4SFP+ versions (I don't know if the box can handle 4x10Gb?).

Since I use a ~8gb WAN, and that I plan to buy (1 to 3) MS-01 with 2xSFP+ ports (and/or the new MS-A2), do you think such router with an 8505 could route & filter 10gb traffic between LAN & WAN, and some inter-vlan traffic (some vlan com will need firewall rules)? I'll also have some computers/systems that'll use all the 2.5Gb ports.

I also consider using VPN (won't try to hit 10gb or even 2.5gb obviously, I only need something like 300-800mb/s), quite some fw rules, captive portal, DNS server, LDAP and maybe Suricata (if the box can handle, but I don't think so). For you, do the router can handle that with such CPU?

I am also hesitating with another version with an i7-13620H, however I doubt this is worth the money (regarding heat for example)?

[pfry]

1P4E? Fascinating.

4x10Gb SFP+ probably wouldn't be worth the money (unless you just need ports), but the 2 SFP+ option doesn't look too bad; you could run the SFP+ ports at 1Gb, so the 4x1Gb SFP is a niche product.

As far as performance, others here will have more experience (I run simple filters on an AMD 7700X, which works fine, by the way). It should be fine, but of course your headroom is a bit limited. Hm: Compare to the DEC700, which appears to have a quad-core Zen 1 at 2.2GHz.

As for the i7-13620H... Yeah, it looks like a weenie roaster. They both do, really, but I'm a poor judge. (I don't see any reviews offhand, but I didn't look too hard.) The extra performance would be nice, of course.

[Weekly_Rush]

1P4E? Fascinating.

1P4E? What do you mean?

4x10Gb SFP+ probably wouldn't be worth the money (unless you just need ports)...

In fact, I think I'll need those extra ports. But if I go this way, I want to be sure the router/CPU can handle 4x10Gb with some filtering, if not the two extra ports are indeed not worth the money.

Compare to the DEC700, which appears to have a quad-core Zen 1 at 2.2GHz.

Yeah nice comparison.

As for the i7-13620H... Yeah, it looks like a weenie roaster.

I fear thermal throttling without any fan, and therefore wasting the additional power...

They both do, really, but I'm a poor judge.

I didn't find any review either, but looking at N100 fanless routers, it might be okeyish (I hope).

[pfry]

1P4E? What do you mean?

The 8505. Alder Lake, one P-core, four E-cores.

[...]
I fear thermal throttling without any fan, and therefore wasting the additional power... [...]

That's one thing I was looking for: fans. I don't know what your planned environment is, but I tested my HDPlex passive machines in an ~85F/30C room. Three are ~65W (CPU) and the enclosures/heat sinks are a lot bigger than the Toptons, and I consider them to be... adequate. (The 35W Haswell with a SATA SSD is fine.) But without more data (a nice teardown), they'd be tough to evaluate. The N100 is pretty powerless, but at ~6W heat is not much of a concern.

[Weekly_Rush]

The 8505. Alder Lake, one P-core, four E-cores.

Ah yes, of course... My bad.

The N100 is pretty powerless, but at ~6W heat is not much of a concern.

The 8505 has 15W TDP, I think this should be OK (Topton provide an external fan if needed). However the 45W TDP of the i7 without proper active cooling... I have a big doubt.

I hope somebody will have some additional info about using something like an 8505 for a 10Gb network (with 4xSFP+ ports). If I need to go to the i7 route, I think I'll need to change router format completely.

[pfry]

[...]
The 8505 has 15W TDP, I think this should be OK (Topton provide an external fan if needed). However the 45W TDP of the i7 without proper active cooling... I have a big doubt.
[...]

The 8505 has a 55W max and the i7 115W. In the past most Intel devices have essentially unlimited turbo, e.g. the i3-9300T is not a 35W device (the C246 BIOS has few/no power/clock options), while the fixed-clock i3-4130T is. The Ryzen 5650GE is also not a 35W device (by default), but it does follow the advertised clocks. So they may be configurable, but you won't see maximum clocks (for any length of time) at the advertised TDP.

Have you looked at STH? I didn't see anything quite like the Toptons, but they have a few mini-PC reviews. You might find something relevant.

[Weekly_Rush]

The 8505 has a 55W max and the i7 115W.

N100 seems to have 25W max, so yeah you are right, 8505 with 55W max (more than double) might also have thermal issues even if N100 routers don't... And the 115W of the i7 is surely a no go.

Have you looked at STH?

Yep, even posted there (on the forum), they reviewed 1 similar Topton machine (with i5 & i7), but it doesn't cover thermals or 10Gb speed capacities.

I guess it's either I search for other hardware with greater CPU capacity and active cooling, or I'll be one of the first to test the 8505 Topton solution (and post results for others).