New Untangle Build

[CLC]

I have 2 different boxes I'm leaning towards and it just depends on the clients budget as to which one. I just want to get your input on these, I'm pretty sure they would both do fine. I'm going to throw in 4GB's of ram and a small SSD.

Of course the rackmount with the extra available fans looks very enticing.

http://www.mitxpc.com/proddetail.php?prod=JBC200F9N-2930-B

http://www.mitxpc.com/proddetail.php?prod=ER1UNF9NM02

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

First one only has 1x LAN...so by the time you've added extra NICs....prices get closer to each other. Thus the second one would seem better. I realize it comes with no RAM and the first one comes with 2 gigs already, but you want at least 4 gigs..and the first one probably just has one DIMM slot so you'd have to toss the 2 giger stick.

How many nodes on the network?
Will you be running e-mail filtering with heavy mail flow? Multiple policies and racks?

The hardware you run Untangle on...it can run on fairly low power...but depends on how you have it set up. An Atom CPU will be fine for 25 even 50 users....but certain apps, if enabled, need more CPU power. heavy mail flow filtering...you want a full desktop CPU minimum. VPN tunnels. Reporting. Multiple policies and racks.

Stick with Intel NICs for best performance.

 

[CLC]

You just confirmed what I was thinking, the rack mount is just sooo much better I think. Either way I have to buy ram and a hard drive and with the fanless unit another $70 daughter board. I guess it's a no brainer.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

One note....the firewall/gateway is one of the more important pieces of hardware for a clients network.
You don't want to skimp on quality. I don't have personal experience with that MITXPC brand, but I saw you link a Jetway in that other Terminal Server thread. I urge caution when using cheaper brands like that...I wouldn't have faith in running that 24x7 for ~5 years. Probably some 17 dollar power supply in that little thing. We tend to lean to more industrial mini computers for these. We get the hardware from NexGenAppliances.

I know they cost more...but that extra hundge or two....if it avoids an internet outage or two over say...5 years, the client should find it worth it.

 

[nlinecomputers]

I buy mine from Untangle themselves. Makes it all one stop support. It dies, they replace it. Period.

Edit: I will say that I need to look at NextGen as they have cheaper units and come with Untangle preinstalled.

 

[OaksLabs]

I hand build mine from scratch. I normally buy a brand name mini-ITX MB, a SSD and good NICs. (My current build is an ultra-cheap, but I'd never recommend that to a customer).

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I buy mine from Untangle themselves. Makes it all one stop support. It dies, they replace it. Period.

Edit: I will say that I need to look at NextGen as they have cheaper units and come with Untangle preinstalled.

Way back when Untangle was around version 5..they used to sell the hardware.
Then they got out of the hardware.

NexGen came along (1 of them very active on Untangles forums since day 1)....so after looking at various hardware options, we went with them.

Relatively recently, Untangle started selling hardware appliances again. Problem is...their margins for the resellers sucks. We get great margins reselling Untangle licenses directly from Untangle, (and renewals each year)...but when you bundle it with the hardware..the margins drop to nearly nothing. Dunno why.

So we've been selling the appliances from NexGen, and selling/reselling the Untangle licenses direct from Untangle.

NexGen sells licenses for Untangle, but our discounts are much better direct from Untangle since we've been with them for a long time and have a big volume through them.

Having Untangle installed or not....no biggie, doesn't take long to install the latest version anyways.

 

[frederick]

+1 for NexGen.

I would try and avoid a after market, diy setup. Go with either direct from Untangle or manufacturer like NexGen. Ive done a few diy for budget reasons and they proved to be more of a headache, and less reliable in the long run.

Also, i suggest getting a device that is one step above what you need. This allows them room to grow, and provides a smoother network for those heavy traffic days.

 

[OaksLabs]

+ Ive done a few diy for budget reasons and they proved to be more of a headache, and less reliable in the long run.

Out of curiosity, what type of issues did you have? I've built Untangle boxes that I use for temp in-house stuff on really low grade hardware and I've only experienced burnt out NIC cards.

 

[frederick]

Out of curiosity, what type of issues did you have? I've built Untangle boxes that I use for temp in-house stuff on really low grade hardware and I've only experienced burnt out NIC cards.

Burnt out NIC cards being the most common, but Ive also had RAM and CPU utilization issues. Those issues were more on the part of the OS/applications than anything to do with the hardware. When you start mixing and matching hardware, there is bound to be problems with how the software uses them.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

A couple of times back a few years ago, for some MSP clients that I couldn't get them to purchase hardware for Untangle "yet"....since they were MSP, I'd invest an hour or so and build an Untangle unit to replace their old firewall. Using an old small form factor business grade desktop, I'd just shove in a second NIC. Biz grade desktops on Intel chipsets with good NICs ran it well.

I would notice on Untangles forums, people who used "cheap" hardware....were always the ones complaining about how unreliable Untangle was...once a month or so it would lock up on them or stop passing traffic. AMD based stuff, realtec NICs, el cheapo grade junk. Gee..wonder why!

 

[Frick]

I have built and deployed a good number of Untangle boxes using models off of mitxpc.com. I stick with intel processors and nics and have never had an issue with them failing (5+ years).

The thing you have to be careful about is not all hardware is compatible with Untangle. Its better then it used to be but you may buy what you think is perfect to find that Untangle wont run. I also will add a fan as most of the systems are sold "fanless".

The cost comes in at around half the price of Untangle, and sometimes, NextGen hardware. With the profit I have made I have a couple backup devices on-hand incase I have the eventual failure (I provide a 1 year warranty).

 

[CLC]

I have built and deployed a good number of Untangle boxes using models off of mitxpc.com. I stick with intel processors and nics and have never had an issue with them failing (5+ years).

The thing you have to be careful about is not all hardware is compatible with Untangle. Its better then it used to be but you may buy what you think is perfect to find that Untangle wont run. I also will add a fan as most of the systems are sold "fanless".

The cost comes in at around half the price of Untangle, and sometimes, NextGen hardware. With the profit I have made I have a couple backup devices on-hand incase I have the eventual failure (I provide a 1 year warranty).

I went with the rackmount unit with the intel nics, dual case fans, and the specs do seem to be comparable to the nextgen at about 1/3 -1/2 the price.