Help needed building SFF router/firewall

[mghazal]

Hey guys, I'm new to SFF and am interested in building a system. I'm hoping you can help me out! Thank you ahead of time.

I've done basic research with regards to parts, and here's what I come up with:
MB: GIGABYTE GA-Z87N-WIFI LGA 1150 Intel Z87
CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 54W
RAM: Crucial Ballistix 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
HDD/SSD: WD Black 2TB...maybe a small 120GB SSD if budget permits
PSU: Dependent on case, but won't require too much power...max 400w?
CASE: Not a clue.



1. What will you be doing with this PC?
This will be a side project to further my experience in networking. I'm looking to build a SFFS, that is (in priority) a router and firewall down the road NAS, VPN server. I understand that using a entire pc build is overkill, but I'd like to go this route so that I may be able to reuse the PC for any other needs down the future.

2. Will you be overclocking?
Most likely not, I don't think I will need to overclock.

3. What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included in this budget? Is your budget flexible? Is cost a driving factor in component selection?
Budget is at max $600 tax and shipping included. Budget is flexible...downward..haha. Cost is not much of a driving factor in selection, I'd rather go for performance.

4. Where do you live? Do you have any big B&M (brick and mortar) computer chains nearby (e.g. Microcenter, Fry's, etc)?
Just moved to Seattle, WA. A Fry's is about an hour away.

5. What exact parts do you need for that budget?
Just about everything for a basic build. Board, CPU, RAM, Case, PSU, HDD/SSD. I think that's about it.

6. If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
Fresh build, nothing to spare from my main rig.

7. What specific features do you need in a motherboard?
MUST: dual NICs. I'd rather avoid installing PCI NIC for the sake of leaving that option open.
WANT: plenty of SATA 6Gb/s, RAID

8. What resolution output do you need?
As this is primarily a router build it won't require a monitor, but if one were to be used it'd be a 1080p monitor.

9. Does this system need to fit into a particular space and do you need an optical drive?
No specific space restrictions, however I do want to build a SFFS. It wouldn't be fun having a full tower used as a router. No optical drive full time, I can connect one simply for installing programs and what not.

10. How comfortable are you with custom case design/modification and electrical wiring? What tools do you have (Screwdrivers/Leatherman, Drill, Dremel, Metal snips, Soldering Iron, Bending Brake, CNC/Welding machines/Plasma cutter, etc...)?
I fail miserably here. I don't have any experience with custom modification or design.

11. How important is the noise/silence of this sytem?
I'd like it to be pin drop silent...don't we all? Sound is not too big of a factor, however, it's a router build if I can hear it over my other PC we have a problem.

12. How mobile does this system need to be? Need a carrying handle or carrying straps? Is weight important (carry-on bag, etc)? Water cooling quick disconnects, etc?
Doesn't need to be mobile at all. It'll be on a desk for the majority of it's life.

13. Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
I was intending to go for a Pfsense or SmoothWall build OS. So no key/license necessary, however there are restrictions on NIC chipset compatability.

14. When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
The budget has been set aside, and ready to build immediately.

I appreciate any contribution or criticism.

 

[bbenz33]

From a strict security point of view I would not suggest trying to your firewall/router on the same hardware as your NAS unless you are planning to do it via virtual machines. Additionally having just one system could increase issues with external connections should you decide to initiate large file transfers to/from the NAS.

I am running my pfSense box on a VIA EPIA setup with an additional 2 port NIC and it has been great. I got the box off of ebay for around $50.

For my FreeNAS box I used an AMD Fusion micro ATX board that had 6 onboard SATA ports. However if you want something that is somewhat pre-build you can look into one of the HP Microservers and when they go on sale can be found for roughly $250 (no drives). These can easily accomodate 5 drives and with some minor modifications can handle 6. There are a couple of threads on these systems in the storage sub-forum for more information.

Bottom line I would suggest figuring out how you want to operate your firewall/router and NAS configuration prior to building something as it may dictate different paths.

 

[mghazal]

The NAS would be further down the road. It could possibly be a seperate project. For the time being, it'll only be a firewall/router.

I like the VIA EPIA suggestion. I'm going to look into that. Do you get any sort of bottlenecking?

 

[bbenz33]

I don't notice anything, but I'm not running anything advanced and it is just a home setup with 10 devices behind on a standard cable modem pkg. If you have more devices and will be maxing out a fairly good internet connection then you might want to get a better setup than mine. However I'm running a very old C7 800mhz setup. For the most part routers aren't extremely CPU intensive. You also might look into one of the Alix board setups that are designed for running pfSense. The other option is one of the latest Intel Atom setups.

 

[iroc409]

If you're going for pfsense or Smoothwall, I think you could save some money and go with a Celeron, like the G1820. They are $50, instead of $140 for the i3.

However, they don't have AES-NI, which may or may not be an issue depending on what VPN you are using and how much.

If you look more towards something like Sophos UTM, you will need the i3, I think.

ETA: Something else to consider is the SOC Gigabyte Celeron 1037U board. It has the Celeron on it, with 2 Realtek NICs, for $89 in Mini-ITX format. From interweb benches, it has almost the same amount of horsepower of my E3300 Celeron in my current firewall (but uses significantly less power). It ran Untangle for years with no issues, runs Sophos "OK", and would probably be ridiculous for pfsense. A friend of mine has the 1007u Celeron version (I believe) running pfsense and likes it. The Realtek NICs are a let down, but probably won't be a hindrance to what you are doing. I have a Realtek NIC (because it's onboard) in my server for the wireless portion of my network and haven't had any issues.

 

[corge]

I might suggest something from Fit-PC. I've purchased two units from them and they're solid. Dual Intel NICs, Atom or faster processor, upgradeable (to a point).

They run pfSense like a champ.

http://www.fit-pc.com/web/