Inexpensive 4x 2.5GbE Fanless Router Firewall Box Review
In recent weeks, the new pfSense CE 2.6.0 has been released, which allows us to use the engine we previously purchased directly. There is now a cheap Intel i225 (B3) 4x 2.5 GbE computer with pfSense. It supports both non-adult operating systems, but Ubuntu is still running on those operating systems. Now it seems time to move to a cheaper 2.5 GbE firewall. Enter the field and see what it has to offer.
In fact, we have a small video that comes with experience and talks about comparing to routers and WiFi units provided by ISPs. You can find the video here:
As always, we encourage you to open it on your own YouTube tab, screen, or app to get the best viewing experience.
The box itself has many names. This is our device on Amazon and we note that it is very expensive for an 8 GB / 256 GB configuration. We only recommend getting more storage and RAM if you have a good reason to buy a box, but since we still want to use it on Linux until pfSense support comes, we take advantage of other options.
The complicated part is that the same motherboard in the heart of the system is used in multiple systems with different appearances. We ordered a cheaper version of Topton with a larger cooler via AliExpress, but it seemed like a slow journey across the Pacific Ocean to fish.
Also, We have smaller heaters, but our best advice is to look at the USB, VGA, and HDMI sides to make sure this is the motherboard. You also need to make sure you have the same versions of the Intel i225 NIC and the Intel Celeron J4125 as ours. Then there is the question of cost. Now let's look at the hardware and see what we get.
Inexpensive 4x 2.5GbE Fanless Router Firewall Box Hardware Overview
Let's start with the show star. This palm-sized box (you can see my hand in the video) has four ports, ETH0-ETH3. Each of them is a 2.5GbE port, which is a significant improvement over the previous version of 1GbE used by many of our STH readers. On this side we also have status LEDs and a 12V DC input.
On the other side is the on / off button. Our devices are set to turn on AC power immediately, which is always a good thing. We also have two USB 3 ports, an HDMI port, and a VGA port. This unit has no external message, which is good.
For a note, there is also a reset button and two WiFi antenna ports. We generally use WiFi on this box, but tell our readers to use a specific AP. If you spend a few hundred dollars on the firewall gate, it is likely that you have a dedicated WiFi hotspot.
The case is not completely closed and there is a real vent on the side.
However, cooling is provided by a metal body with a small heater on top. This group is very hungry, most of our use is in a single-digit temple
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