DIY or Qotom Q370G4 i7 wifi

[guest17058]

As usual when I go about doing something simple as just getting a new router I start to dwell on all kinds of aspects. In the end, whatever I choose I get a better solution that I've been sitting on for the last 7 years or so.

I'm not price sensitive since I run my hardware for a long period before replacing them. But I also don't throw away cash just because I can. I still have my first 50 inch flat screen tv from 2007 (friend has bought over 4 diffrent ones during same period). So price over time is key in most purchases, at least for me it has been.


I'm in the process of throwing out my old asus wl500gp router and was contemplating on building my own until I saw this product when I started researching.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Pfsense-Hardware-Qotom-Barebone-Mini-PC-Nano-itx-Core-i7-4500U-Fanless-Mini-Computer-X86-Router/32799048185.html

Brand Name:qotom
PCHard Drive Capacity:120GB
Memory Capacity:≥ 4GB
Processor Model:Intel Core i7-4500U/i5-4200U
Processor Brand:Intel
Graphics Card Type:Integrated Card
Processor Main Frequency:1.8GHz, up to 3GHz
Model Number:Q370G4
DesktopStructure:x86
Memory:DDR3L 1333/1600 1.35v
Processor Graphics:Intel HD Graphics 4400/6000
AES-NI:YES
Watchdog:YES
Power Consumption:TDP 15w
Ports:4 LAN+4 USB+COM+HD Video
WIFI:Atheros AR9287

I know some of you here allready running the brand and it looks promising. I really wanted to build my own but a setup like this that is fanless and well integrated is pretty hard to beat even if you go DIY. Is there a better DIY product for similar ammount of money? With shipping I would get this for £305 or $370 +tax.

I'm also thinking of running it with a hypervisor and two VM:s. One linux and one OPNsense. And I'm wondering if it will hurt the performance of setting it up like that. Regarding the nics will be the hypervisors and then shared to the OPNsense vm. Layer upon layers thinking here. The linux box is just for having a screen with irc and maybe a small webserver sitting there and doing nothing really.

I only have 100/10 mbit fiber at home and I don't put any serous load at all on my network but I really don't want any layers ontop of layers messing with my connection. Bit silly though, I'm pretty sure that running it virtualized on a setup like this isn't going to add any noticeable response time for my serious gaming experience (me time).


Pros and cons I'm pondering about:
If you go DIY you have the pros of easily swap out dead PSU by just ordering a new one. If Qotom dies you need to buy a new motherboard and swap it out.

Qotom has nice fanlesss case integration but there seems to be no ventilation holes if you want to add some minifans for some low airflow, but I assume the case handles the temps very decent so maybe not a con really.

DIY build is fun and buying refurbished parts like cpu and ram gives more bang for the buck. Easyily upgradeable for new hardware in the future

DIY build takes longer usually and several diffrent shippings to wait on.



Anyway, just want other peoples input or if anyone has other suggestions.

[marjohn56]

Running the i5 version, great piece of kit.

I had it running ESXi and it was fine running a web server and firewall, load rarely exceeded 10%, the only reason I stopped running ESXi was that with baremetal, you get no CPU temp etc.

[schnauz]

Running also the fanless i5 with 8G RAM and SSD with OPNSense 17.7.11. OPNsense GUI is really smooth and seamless integrated. Bandwidth 500/50 without running on high load (0.12 avg).

[guest17058]

Running the i5 version, great piece of kit.

I had it running ESXi and it was fine running a web server and firewall, load rarely exceeded 10%, the only reason I stopped running ESXi was that with baremetal, you get no CPU temp etc.

Hmm. I haven't really thought about the host (Hypervisor) CPU temp being readable from a guest on it. I can see the reason (fanless case) why that would be really nice to have monitored inside OPNsense.

you could solve that with scripting on the hypervisor though somehow and have that report it or mail it somehow for sure.

Should be solvable somehow.

I think I'm going to buy this Qotom with 8 GB ram and wifi and have it replace my old shitty htpc (boxee) and place it in the living room and run three VM:s on it; Router/www-server/HTPC.

Gonna get a lower energy bill also from it replacing two units with one. Boxee polls 35 watt 24/7 and my router is probably something similar.

I think I'm going to try the free windows server 2016 Hyper-v core edition on it and see how well that goes.

Unless someone point me to a better DIY solution for similar cash.

[mimugmail]

You know that the WIFI wont get detected by OPN/FBSD?

[guest17058]

You know that the WIFI wont get detected by OPN/FBSD?

You mean OPNsense cant get "Atheros AR9287" to load in it's freebsd host?

[mimugmail]

Afaik the WiFi Chip of Qotom is wether supported by pf mir OPN

[marjohn56]

Afaik the WiFi Chip of Qotom is wether supported by pf mir OPN

To be honest, you are way better off with an external WAP anyway.

[guest17058]

Well, regarding wifi I really don't need the newest and fanciest network modes.

I just have wifi at home for my cell phone and a work laptop that just connect for some light reading.

This guy seems to have a Atheros card working.
https://forum.opnsense.org/index.php?topic=5066.0

So what is a good way to add wifi to the router? USB Wifi dongle that you configure manually to be an AP?

[marjohn56]

The atheros cards should work, some drivers are there in FreeBSD, but not the card supplied with the Qotom. I think it says on the Qotom site the card will not work with pfSense and by extrapolation - Opnsense.

Do a little research, there is a list of wifi cards that will work work with *sense, however, I do knot know whether because they work with pf they will work with opn.

[guest17058]

The atheros cards should work, some drivers are there in FreeBSD, but not the card supplied with the Qotom. I think it says on the Qotom site the card will not work with pfSense and by extrapolation - Opnsense.

Do a little research, there is a list of wifi cards that will work work with *sense, however, I do knot know whether because they work with pf they will work with opn.

Well, the Qotom I linked ships the box with an Atheros card for wifi.

I see on other of their products with i5 and i3 setup they dont mention what brand and is more of a builtin chip I assue.

But the Atheros should work as what I understand.