Protectli Vault FW4B - 4 Port, Firewall Micro Appliance/Mini PC - Intel Quad Core, AES-NI, 8GB RAM, 120GB mSATA SSD

Pros

Easy to install and operate with pfsense community edition. Just downloaded an image file and I was up and running. pfsense comes with a version of Free BSD as an operating system as this system is bare bones. You need to understand what you are doing. That being said, I was up and running in less than an hour with really packet packet moving This replaced my problematic Netgate 3100, also with pfsense. The Celeron, 8 gigs of RAM and 120 gigs of space makes it a really fast mover for streaming. I use for two separate networks in my house and that was a breeze to set up. There is room for one more completely segmented network. I use IPv6 routing and it works like a champ. Highly recommended for a bare bones system for pfsense fir walling.

Great device to use as a firewall and vpn client.

I run pfSense on this unit, which is a truly superior routing solution. If you have been running DD-WRT-style firmware on proprietary hardware (i.e., prosumer wireless routers), this is a major step up in terms of reliability and horsepower. It can easily process 500mbps traffic through the firewall--which is my current ISP maximum--and terminate VPN traffic at about 100mbs. It will presumably run OPNsense--or your favorite full Linux distribution--without a hitch.

I purchased this unit in order to run a stand-alone pfSense firewall for my home network. Its silent operation--no fans needed--makes it the perfect compact host.

Works like a charm

Im pretty disappointed. I upgraded to this device because my old PfSense box did not have AES-NI CPUs.

My Protectli Vault FW4B has its mSata screws locktight/glued from the factory. This makes zero sense considering you have to install your own storage. The screws used are very low quality and strip immediately. Buyer be warned.

I found this while looking for a replacement for an old first-generation FitPC device that I used to use as a network firewall. The FitPC still runs, but for the last few years, Ive needed something with gigabit ethernet ports, which it doesnt have.

Installation of OPNsense was a breeze, although the installer defaulted the WAN/LAN ports reversed, an easy fix and documented on the protectli website (not really needed, as it is easy to figure out). I added the RAM and disk listed below, and so far it seems fast and stable (although I have only had it a short time).