Ethernet adapter compatibly

[PCman]

New here. My first post.
I'm installing Opnsense on an HP t620 thin client
(not to be confused with the HP t620 plus that has a PCIe connector)
This one already has an Intel Ethernet port, but I'm buying a mini mPCIe Ethernet
adaptor with a (Adopt Realtek RTL8111H ) chipset.
Will this be a problem with two different Ethernet adapters?
I know I could likely find a more costly Intel based one but those are very expensive and
this is a budget build.
Also in short is Open sense compatible with Adopt Realtek RTL8111H adaptor?

[Patrick M. Hausen]

Don't buy anything with a Realtek chipset on it. Try to get one based on Intel.

[PCman]

Thank you for your reply.
Unless you can point me to specifics, I'll assume this is just your opinion.

I've some done more research on the HP t620,
And it already has a Realtek Ethernet chipset built on the mainboard, so it would seem that using another Realtek Mini MPCIe Realtek add on Card for a Second Ethernet Port would be logical.

I've also read several places that the HP t620 is compatible running PFsense and several articles on how that done.
While there are some that use an Expensive (4 port PCIe card) add on on the HP t620-Plus ($200 more in costs),
that however is not supported on my less costly t620 has no PCIe slot, only a Mini mPCIe connector where the WiFi card is normally at.

So considering the costs involved seems my best option is still Using two Realtek chipset Ethernet cards.

A Realtek 8100 series Ethernet card is $19, and one is already built in on the Thin Client
A Intel Ethernet Card starts at $80 , not an option and I would be running two separate NICs

If you can point to me that a Realtek RTL8111H Ethernet RJ45 will not work with OPNsense I would sure appreciate that. Otherwise I'm close to pushing the Buy Button an Amazon.

[PCman]

This I also just found on this Forum. Quoted Below

"Realtek NICs tend to get a bad reputation due to the native FreeBSD driver support being poor. OPNsense does have a better driver for Realtek based NICs which can help them be more viable. Also, in situations where you are using an all-in-one device with little or no expansion options, a Realtek NIC may be the only connectivity option available."

[Patrick M. Hausen]

"... which can help them be more viable.

That's enough for me to avoid them. "can" help, not "will definitely" help. Nope. I buy gear that I know works. Like sytems that come with Intel or Broadcom NICs, ECC memory, etc. But that is really just my approach and yours is different.

[PCman]

Well it's not a "Mission Critical Project", Not yet at least..
IMHO if HP trusted the Realtek Chipset enough to build Millions of these units that we're indeed used in "Mission Critical" Commercial Client Based Networks, I can safely assume it's stable.

But a Learning curve is needed for anything new. And if it fails to perform as assumed, I'll find a fix.

This is a Budget Build.
I paid $25 for the Thin Client, and $17 for the Realtek RTL8111H Ethernet RJ45 Card.

Total of $42 for an Optimistically Great Firewall Router running OPNSense OS.

Hardware:
HP t620 Thin Client (Got on eBay for $25)
AMD GX-415GA Quad-Core APU with AMD Radeon HD 8330E
16GB SATA Drive
4 GB RAM
2ea Realtek RTL8111H Ethernet RJ45 Ports (One on the Mainboard, the other in the Mini mPCIe Card Slot (Only one on the Mainboard.

Power consumption 4 watts idle 9 watts under full load

Research supports that these units can easily handle a Home Network.

[meyergru]

You are asking questions and debating the answers. If you already know everything about Opnsense and Realtek adapters, why ask? You basically say: "I will try it anyway, because I have read it could work and find another solution if it doesn't." - so just go for it (tm).

What you are being told is that others have had problems with those adapters, so if you want to go the easy route, just use Intel, but YMMV.

[PCman]

Well call it a Debate if you like but I'd rather stay a friendly exchange of Opinions.
And no doubt the Intel Chip-Set is considered a better choice (If you have one and I don't).

This is what I know thus far.
1. There is nothing wrong with the Realtek Chip-set, as it's used successfully in Millions of computers.
2. Dell Wyse and HP has used these Chip-sets in Millions of Thin Clients used in Commercial Medical and Industrial Thin Clients for years.
3. Most problems noted with PFsense were do to none compatible drivers in their OS. This seems to have been resolved in newer versions.

That said I my Thin Client has built in a Realtek NIC and only one mini mPCIe connector to allow me to use another NIC since I need two NICs for this wot work. So again I realize that I have no other Option, at least in the budget constraints of an affordable home router.

And I just got my new Realtek NIC today.

So I will document my Testing of using a $20 Thin Client running OPNsense for the OPNsense community. Hopefully I find it works, if not I will gladly be humble enough to document my errors for others to learn from.

Also I truly appreciate everyone's thoughts and opinions here.
This community is awesome !!

Hopefully will have some good news in a few days to post, or not .. LOL

[meyergru]

The problem with Realtek adapters is indeed the FreeBSD drivers, that is why they have a bad reputation for Opnsense and pfSense and why so many people advise against them and for the Intel NICs because the latter are known to work almost anywhere, also when virtualisation comes into play.

FreeBSD as a basis has some quirks as to what works well and what does not. Even the 10 GBit AMD AX chips seem to be slower than expected under Opnsense (there are some threads about this). Linux has a far bigger user base and thus such problems are more likely to get fixed.

But, as you say, you will find out if Realtek fits your needs.

[Patrick M. Hausen]

Still Realtek is a cheap (some say crappy) design that puts a lot of processing burden on the CPU compared to Intel or Broadcom NICs. That's one of the reasons why nobody in the FreeBSD crowd feels like really improving the drivers.
Documentation, or the lack thereof, seems to be another problem area. Simply copying from Linux is not an option because of GPL issues. So the situation will probably stay as it is.

Unless of course someone (company or group of individuals) is willing to sponsor development. The FreeBSD Foundation has a really good track record in recent years spending money to get things fixed or implemented in the first place. E.g. complete rework if the bridge(4) code.

[PCman]

Thanks for the reply. I finally found out that the HP t620 Thin Client actually has a Broadcom NIC on it.
Looked everywhere to find this out. HP does not want to disclose many of the components on these devices. So If all else fails I'm halfway there. But finding a NIC with a Broadcom Chip may be impossible considering the form factor I need. I give the Realtek a try this week and see what happens, if it doesn't work I can send it back to Amazon. I did see one NIC with an Intel chioset on eBay but it was $60 Ughh.
I may be forced to use another OS than OPNsense if it gets to costly. Hopefully it works out..
Thanks Again.

[meyergru]

Look for "E1G42ETBLK low profile" on Ebay...