TLDR; looking to combine Lenovo ThinkCentre M720q with a Mellanox dual 10Gbps SFP+ PCIe card to create my dream homelab router/firewall

Hi,

I’m looking to set up a router/firewall for my home network, behind my ISP’s router.

Here’s my current setup :

  • ISP Router : 1xSFP+ 10Gbps, 4xRJ45 1Gbps, used as a (temporary) NAS

  • Switch : 1xSFP+ 10Gbps, 3xRJ45 2.5Gbps, 8xRJ45 1Gbps

  • Proxmox Host : RJ45 2.5Gbps

  • 3 laptops, IoT devices, …

I’m looking to insert this new device in-between the existing router and the switch, meaning it has to have dual SFP+ to be able to uplink and downlink at 10Gbps. It’s a bit overkill but it means I’ll be fully utilizing my ISP box and my switch to their full potential, with some headroom.

I’ve looked around and found nothing that checks all boxes, while trying to keep this under budget (~300€ max). I’ve finally landed on a frankenstein combination but I wanted to verify that the parts all are compatible and that I wouldn’t have any nasty surprises when everything finally comes together (from different sources)

Here’s my router proposal :

I’m wondering especially about these things :

  • is the card compatible with the pc?

  • will the 65W adapter suffice to power everything ? and if not, can i safely use a larger brick?

  • can the pc handle the dual 10G traffic, knowing either stream will rarely be fully saturated? RAM upgrades are no issue, planning at least 16GB to start

  • any other issues I should be wary of?

  • any other hardware suggestions that work better/are cheaper?

This combination should also be a good thing if i run it with proxmox to host a few network related services, such as pihole, wireguard…

Thank you :D

  • @peregusEnglish
    2•1 year ago

    Have a look at the Fujitsu Futro S720/920, they’re about 30/40€ on eBay. If you’re not in EU, have a look at some other thin client like the HP T730. They are cheap and they consume about 6W! Well, maybe a bit more with the dual SFP+ PCI card, but way less than the 65W of the Lenovo (are you sure it consumes that much?) I’ve been using one S729 for some months now and I’m very happy (not with the fiber thow since I’ve just a 100/20 vDSL ☹️)