However, if you plan to run more resource intensive services, you will need a faster CPU and likely a minimum of 8 GB of RAM (you can run both Zenarmor with Elasticsearch and Suricata with 8 GB of RAM). You can use a basic dual/quad core system with a low amount of RAM (1-4 GB). If you only want to run the basic router/firewall services, nearly all lower end hardware will be sufficient especially if you only plan to have a 1 Gbps network. VPN services (especially if hardware does not support AES-NI) General Recommendations.Services which Require a Significant Amount of CPU: Zenarmor (if running Elasticsearch on the OPNsense box).Services which Require a Significant Amount of Memory:

Basic network services (DHCP, DNS, Dynamic DNS, mDNS Repeater, NTP).Services which Require Minimal Hardware Resources: To help guide you with your decision keep in mind the following bullet points below when determining your hardware requirements. There are a number of considerations you must take into account in order to be satisfied with your hardware selection. If you are new to running a more advanced routing/firewall such as OPNsense, you may not know which is the best device to purchase for your home network. How to Choose the Appropriate Firewall Hardware? I suggest you further research the products below or others not listed before making your final selection to ensure it meets your needs. However, I hope it will illustrate the many hardware options you have for OPNsense and provide you with a good starting point in your research. Depending on your needs and your budget, you should be able to narrow down your selection to a few good choices.įor my recommendation list, I do not have the means to test every item in my list since that would require purchasing all of the hardware or getting review units from companies to test the hardware so I cannot fully endorse all of the options below. There are a number of devices that will run OPNsense, which is the great because you have many choices available to you. So I thought it may be helpful to categorize OPNsense features based on hardware utilization along with a list of products in various price ranges that should perform well for many home users.

Occasionally I have been asked for hardware recommendations for OPNsense and the question appears on Reddit frequently.

Pfsense router hardware