Mini pfSense Build

Gallery Completed Builds
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When I came across the Mini pfSense build, I didn’t even know what pfSense was. There was something about that tiny little computer that was compelling… so here I am with a completed build! I went with the recommended motherboard and CPU, and then used a spare SSD, SODIMM, and power supply I had onhand.

Type            Item                             Price 	
Motherboard     Intel DQ77KB                       $42 	
CPU 	        i5-3470T 35                        $32 	
RAM 	        4GB DDR3 SODIMM                 onhand 	
CPU Cooler      Titan DC 115X Low Profile 24       $16 	
Case 	        Goodisory C01                      $90 	
SSD 	        60GB 2.5"                       onhand 	
PSU             65W 19.5V 3.33A                 onhand
Total                                             $180

IMG_20190718_182127
IMG_20190718_1821273024×4032 3.36 MB

The build was super easy, although the case did cause some frustration. When I went to place the motherboard on the standoffs I realized that they had installed the bottom plate rotated 90 degrees, which caused the standoffs to not line up.

IMG_20190718_180046
IMG_20190718_1800463024×4032 3.08 MB

I took the case apart and installed the bottom plate correctly. Then, after everything was installed and I hit the power button for the first time, nothing happened. I pulled the front panel off and figured out that the soldering job on the button was poor. I happened to have the same switches on hand, so I cut the wires and soldered them up to the new switch.

IMG_20190718_192938
IMG_20190718_1929383024×4032 2.8 MB

Thankfully after that everything was in order, so I went about getting pfSense installed. I went through two (old and small) USB sticks that didn’t work before I finally decided to overwrite my Windows 10 install USB with the pfSense image. After that, the install went as described on JDM’s video.

Next up will be the changeover from my existing DD-WRT router to put this thing into production!

Thanks JDM for all your work… this is a great hobby and your efforts make it all the more enjoyable!!

IMG_20190719_212931
IMG_20190719_2129314032×3024 3.02 MB

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That is the dankest router. I LOVE IT.

I can’t wait for you to see how much faster that will be than your old one.

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Yeah, this case is like 50% of the reason why I decided to do this build!!

By the way, I know there was some discussion about the potential to mod this case to accept the 4-port pcie card. It’s definitely way too small for that, however if you need more NICs in this case, you could definitely get something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Gigabit-Ethernet-Controller-1000Mbps-RTL8168C/dp/B00B524102

For now I’m going to survive with just the two, but if I find I need another I’ll probably find a way to mount one of these in the full-height IO shield.

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Hello 1 question this is a Wired & Wireless Router that you made ??

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pfSense is wired only, you can simply add a wireless access point for wireless devices.

Scroll down to the “Access Point” section here.

https://www.serverbuilds.net/jdms-network

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Yup, what JDM said. I believe the idea is that a firewall should be a firewall, and let a WAP be a WAP.

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Yes, I also think it is usually a very good idea to separate out the various networking duties.

Also, from what I have read on this forum and various other places on the web, I believe the other reason that pfSense is generally considered to be “Wired Only” is because it has very bad compatibility with most wireless chipsets. So while getting wireless to work in pfSense is probably technically possible, it is mostly considered not worth the time and effort it would take to get it working.

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Any current source for these motherboards? They seem to be sold out everywhere and there is not much that is comparable without spending a bunch more money on something newer.

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The Gigabyte GA-B75TN is very similar, it doesn’t have dual NIC though - so you’ll have to use a PCIe NIC.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2FGigabyte-GA-B75TN-Socket-1155-DDR3-Mini-ITX-Motherboard-and-IO-Shield-Tested%2F174306450035%3Fepid%3D152264218%26hash%3Ditem2895795a73%3Ag%3ALbEAAOSwxMle2QTe&campid=5338535236&toolid=20008

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Yes, it seems there are a few m-itx boards but just not much out there with dual NICs and then on top of that, dual intel NICs. All I am really seeing are the overpowered Asus H370M-ITX/Z390M-ITX for 8th gen Intel and the Asus P9D-I server board that takes Haswell i3/Pentium/Celeron or Xeon 12xx v3 processors. Other than that, the prices start getting pretty astronomical for a dual NIC board.

Thanks for the info.

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I haven’t tested it myself, but if I needed to add a second NIC to that board, I’d be looking at something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Gigabit-Ethernet-Controller-1000Mbps-RTL8168C/dp/B00B524102?tag=serverforums-20

You should be able to modify some of the small cases that were promoted in this build to mount a NIC like this.

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The one I linked is perfectly fine, just add your own NIC.

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That’s interesting. Thanks.

Yep no questions on the reliability or suitability of the board you linked. Specifically looking for other mobos with dual Intel NICs, is all. I appreciate the advice.

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Just a quick update… I’ve been using this as my primary home router for the last two years. The other day I noticed that the CPU temperature, which has been steady around 50C, had jumped to a steady 80C for the previous few days. I opened it up, and found that the fan on the CPU cooler was not functioning.

I replaced it with a Noctua NH-L9i. However, the Noctua is slightly taller than the Titan, which means that I can’t close the lid of my case properly with the 2.5" drive caddy. So, I’ve ordered a MSATA (https://www.amazon.com/Zheino-Internal-Notebooks-Tablets-Ultrabooks/dp/B079DRN48Z/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&qid=1632950760&sr=8-3) to replace the 2.5" drive.

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