Hi,

the issue is the kernel needs updating.

The next issue you will have is the nics are not supported. You could use one of the various vm systems. I use VMware, but it is a little heavy for your little box. I think proxmox I think it is called might be suitable.

ian

David Klein1 said:

Sophos doesn't seem concerned, from the community discussions, with providing any UEFI support for this software.  So, have I locked myself out of XG home firewall permanently?

if you want to try out, you can run Sophos Firewall on Proxmox or ESXi.

But, don't expect UEFI support any time soon.

Thank-you.  

I suspected as much.  Quite disappointing that what seems (to a non-programmer like me, anyway) a relatively basic hardware support issue isn’t happening.  I didn’t feel like paying for pFsense+, but it looks like I’ll have to abandon a great firewall and see what else is available.

Regards,

DK

Thanks!  Yeah, my preference was for a bare-metal install.  Like I said to to Rfcat-vk, looks like I’m finished with XG.  , I did drop a query to the vendor asking if they have a similar model unit w/ Legacy support that they’re willing to exchange.

Thx,

DK

If you still have time to return the mini Pc you purchased, here are some alternative hardware you can buy that should work:

Used Sophos SG/XG appliances from eBay.

Qotom fanless PC from Amazon, eBay and AliExpress that use the Intel i210/i211 NICs.

Older gen PCs that support legacy BIOS along with the Intel Pro/1000 NICs you can buy for a around $40

You won't have 2.5G Ethernet, but at least it will work and you won't have to virtualize the firewall.

Hi Alan,

Thanks for the suggestion, but I wanted my firewall platform to be a mini PC (for power savings, horsepower, size, etc.) .  Agree that one of the older Intel minis could have worked too, but I decided I didn't want the hassle of trying to ship this unit back to China.  I basically wiped it of the preinstalled PFSense and reimaged with OpnSense.  My home network environment doesn't demand a lot of complexity, so it's relatively easy to rebuild the rules I had in Sophos.  I will, however greatly miss the the XG interfaces and some of the other features.  If Sophos does eventually decide to support UEFI, I'll definitely consider returning to XG.

I purchased a used mini-ITX motherboard/CPU combo off eBay and successfully install Sophos Firewall on it. I'm sorry that you could not find a mini PC to support Sophos.

The one that I purchased was the ASRock Industrial IMB-194-L Mini ITX Motherboard. This board is fairly old, but the Intel i5 7500T CPU on it is also very power efficient. 

You are looking for low power CPU, the T series are 35 watts. But If you are happy with your current setup and don't wish to deal with older hardware, then the mini PCs with the Intel n100 CPUs are very power efficient for psSense and you get the 2.5G NIC support which is lacking in Sophos.

Hi,

please review this site's device, it might meet your requirements.

https://protectli.com/product/vp2420/

Ian

At this point the Celeron J series is really outdated. There is no reason to get anything with that CPU when a PC that has the Intel n100 or n200 will nearly double the performance for 6 watts such as the Amazon one: these two brands..

HUNSN or

MOGINSOK 

Micro Firewall Appliance with Intel Alder Lake-N 12th Gen N100

All very true Alan, but they only come with UEFI bios.

Ian