Hello:
I am choosing between raspberry pi 3b+ vs Atomic pi for running the latest IPFire.
I am sure some of you are already running IPFire on raspberry pi 3b+. So I don’t have to provide the specs here.
Atomic Pi specs:
-Intel Atom x5-Z8350 quad core with 2M Cache. Runs up to 1.92GHz with a 480MHz GPU. 2GB DDR3L-1600, 16GB eMMC, SD slot for adding up to 256GB storage (the biggest draw back is the “only” one USB 3.0 port).
I would like to setup IPFire with green + red + blue.
Which SBC is more efficient to run 24/7 with IPFire ?
Choosing appropriate hardware for IPFire is a difficult task indeed. This wiki page gives some buying considerations; especially having active NICs is important.
That being said, if you are planning to use IPFire’s IPS (see here for configuration recommendations), I am afraid both boards won’t make you happy. It depends on the bandwidth you want to have available behind your IPFire machine, but in general, the current landscape of ARM SBCs does not really fit more advanced needs.
Some people use supported ARM boards as a “firewall in the pocket”, but they are merely using IPFire’s packet filter, and perhaps a VPN session to their home or corporate network. Anything else exceeds the capability of such boards quickly.
As I mentioned above, the features you want to use are just as important. IPS and the web proxy are almost certainly a show-stopper if you want to achieve significant bandwidth.
For SOHO scenarios, I usually recommend this appliance (full disclosure: I am not related to the company selling it ). While it is more expensive, it is worth the cost from my point of view.
Thank you for responding to my question.
I have another older generation mini pc with AMD A4-5000 cpu @ 1.5 ghz. 6gb ddr3 ram and 128gb ssd.
I can add USB Ethernet adapters to this mini pc.
Will it work?
I have an A6-1450 @1.2 Ghz mini pc 4GB DDR3 & 64 GB SSD running IPFire 64 bit quite well. It does not have inbuilt WiFi.
You could try extracting the img.xz of IPFire to a USB stick and booting your A4-5000 from that. If it has inbuilt WiFi, then test whether it is found.
