DaBeach Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 I am considering updated my pfSense box with a removable trayless drive unit and I am wondering if there would be any benefit or loss using a laptop hard drive vs. the desktop drive I am using now. I would imagine that the laptop drive would use less power (not sure if it would be enough to care) and maybe a little less generated heat internally however, I am wondering if I would see a loss of speed due to the lower RPM on the laptop drive? Anyone have any suggestions and/or opinions about this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Netshroud Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 Laptop drive uses less power, and is usually slower (5400RPM standard versus 7200RPM standard), however it should be more than enough speed for a PFsense box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misfitsman805 Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 If you really wanted to go to a laptop hdd you could try one of these 7200 rpm drives. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822136279 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKo Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 If you have to spend money, don't bother unless heat is an issue. But if heat is an issue, consider doing PFsense embedded on a Compact Flash card instead. Disk IO isn't going to be an issue either way so buying a fast disk is going to be a waste of money. Even if your using a 4200 rpm disk and running squid, its still going to be way faster than your internet connection buy a long way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBeach Posted August 8, 2010 Author Share Posted August 8, 2010 If you have to spend money, don't bother unless heat is an issue. But if heat is an issue, consider doing PFsense embedded on a Compact Flash card instead. Disk IO isn't going to be an issue either way so buying a fast disk is going to be a waste of money. Even if your using a 4200 rpm disk and running squid, its still going to be way faster than your internet connection buy a long way. I am really just playing around with my systems and would like to add the removable drive tray to allow for a quick image restore vs. having to boot off a USB stick. Currently I am only using 5% of a 10GB IDE HDD. I have no experience using Compact Flash cards. Would a pfSense install be just like installing to an HDD when using a Compact Flash card? Can pfSense be installed on a USB stick? And if so how would the access speed compare to a Compact Flash or HDD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBeach Posted August 8, 2010 Author Share Posted August 8, 2010 Seems like with Compact Flash and/or USB Drives the potential downfall might be exceeding the write cycle life of the media. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infiltrator Posted August 8, 2010 Share Posted August 8, 2010 (edited) Can pfSense be installed on a USB stick? And if so how would the access speed compare to a Compact Flash or HDD? It can be installed, but I have to say that the speeds will be the limiting factor. Why don't you go with a laptop's hard drive, it will be smaller and will generate less heat. Edited August 8, 2010 by Infiltrator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBeach Posted August 8, 2010 Author Share Posted August 8, 2010 It can be installed, but I have to say that the speeds will be the limiting factor. Why don't you go with a laptop's hard drive, it will be smaller and will generate less heat. I think I will give it a whirl perhaps this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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