KingNovy has introduced a small fanless firewall appliance powered by an Intel Celeron J4125 Gemini Lake Refresh processor, equipped with six 2.5GbE ports through Intel i225-V Rev 3 Ethernet controllers, and selling for as low as $230 for the barebone model.
The system supports up to 32GB RAM, mSATA and 2.5-inch SATA storage, features HDMI output and four USB 3.0/2.0 ports, plus an RJ45 console port, and is said to work with pfSense 2.5.x, OPNsense 22.1, OpenWrt, ROS7, ESXI, Proxmox, CentOS, and more.
Specifications:
- SoC – Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core Gemini Lake Refresh processor @ 2.0 / 2.7 GHz (Turbo) / 2.4 GHz (Turbo all cores) with Intel UHD Graphics 600 @ 250/750 MHz; 10W TDP
- System Memory – Dual-channel Memory DDR4 (2400MHz) supporting up to 32GB RAM in total
- Storage – 1x mSATA socket, 2.5-inch SATA bay for SSD or HDD
- Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K (4096×2160) @ 60 Hz
- Connectivity
- 6x 2.5GbE RJ45 ports via Intel i225-V Rev 3.0 controllers
- mPCIe socket + SIM slot for WiFi, 3G or 4G LTE module
- 2x antenna openings
- 6x 2.5GbE RJ45 ports via Intel i225-V Rev 3.0 controllers
- USB – 4x USB 3.0 ports (specs says 2x USB 3.0 + 2x USB 2.0 ports, photo description show 4x USB 3.0 ports)
- Serial – RJ45 RS232 console port
- Misc – Power button, reset pinhole, HDD and Power LEDs, watchdog timer, auto power on, RTC, PXE boot, Wake-on-LAN, etc…
- Power Supply – 12V DC power jack
- Dimensions – 155 x 124 x 53 mm (Aluminum alloy enclosure)
- Weight – TBD
The firewall appliance ships with a power adapter, a power cord, a SATA cable, and a screws bag. The company also offers optional accessories with a $10 WiFi module, a $50 3G module, and a $70 4G LTE module, I’d assume with antennas.
If the design looks familiar, it’s because we wrote about a similar Tiger Lake appliance with 6x Gigabit Ethernet ports last January, from a company named HUNSN, but considering the enclosure and software support description is virtually the same, it must be an OEM model sold by several companies. It also used to be possible to make a similar system with ODROID-H2+ SBC and the H2 Net Card, but Hardkernel discontinued the device.
I was first made aware of the compact firewall appliance on Amazon US where the barebone model is sold for about $240 (after $35 discount), but while looking for additional information, I also managed to find it on Aliexpress for about $230. The seller recommends purchasing it with RAM and storage options since that way pfSense will be preinstalled for free. He/she even issues a warning to those who plan to do it themselves:
DO NOT buy Barebone Mini PC (“No Ram No Storage” bundle)If you are NOT IT hardware technician. PC demands professional skill to assemble and debug. Barebone bundle had best to use Samsung, Skyhynix etc ORIGINAL brand ram and storage. We are afraid to see you suffer a bad shopping experience and DO NOT compensate for buyer’s man-made damage and faulty.
If you’d prefer having a faster processor, and four 2.5GbE ports are enough, the company is also selling a Jasper Lake firewall appliance starting at $213.92 with a Celeron N5095 SoC on Aliexpress.
Via FanlessTech
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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