Hey guys. Has anyone had experience with these Qotom mini pc unit ( https://www.ebay.com/itm/Qotom-I3-I5-I7-4th-5th-Mini-PC-4-LAN-VPN-Firewall-Router-Server-Industrial-PC-/264458765771?nav=Search) I’ve been on a hunt to get one for my home to replace the noisy and bulky pfsense build I currently have. If these devices are nice and stable it will make a great project for work as well.
On Reddit forums i have read mixed comments. The bad about problems with the network cards and random reboots if I remember correctly.
Please note that there are probably way more users that are happy with their Qotom boxes, but unhappy people is more vocal.
Check Netgate own boxes. they are not that pricey.
I’m not sure how much time you have or inclination – however the Qotom boxes can be ordered on AliExpress directly for a much cheaper price. Depending on the seller on AliExpress you may or may not need to include RAM/Storage Drive. It takes about 30 days for the products to arrive from China since they are shipped by sea but they will probably be about half the price. Protectli is another option if you are looking for a US supplier as well as Netgate. My only problem with Netgate is that in terms of price – they seem to charge a lot for slower hardware. That being said, if its a work project they would be easily and quickly replaceable if they had a problem.
Great, appreciate the responses guys, thanks. I will check out AliExpress. Perhaps for work I will put together a proposal and go with using Netgate.
Im actually using one of those qotom boxes, and I can tell you it works fine for me… , i picked up the 6 port i5-6200u and has been pretty stable.
Personally I am using a Protectlli box for my router but it is basically the same concept. Low power and routes packets efficiently.
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I have a Qotom with an Intel i5, 8GB RAM, 120 GB SSD (I disabled the included 32 GB SSD and added a Crucial SATA one), and four NICs. Even an i5 is overkill, but it works well, takes up very little space, and is quiet.
I paid more for mine because I ordered it from Amazon, but I’m impatient (Prime shipping) and like Amazon’s return policy.
I have the Qotom Q355G4 with Core i5-5250U, 8GB ram, and 60GB SSD and it has run pfSense flawlessly for a number of years now.
Hi…in my setup I used the CI323 quad-core version of the Nano for exactly as specified. You can run it native as a dedicated router for best performance or what I did was run Win10 + Hyper-V running pfSense/Sophos UTM.They can get hot under continual load and specifically the SSD at the bottom of the case was running a bit hot but mine didn’t fail in a couple of years use.
Been running a similar type of box, they run warm but no issues over the last year.