What kind of Intel CPU is capable to handle the workload?

The Core 2 quad which is only a 45 watt CPU (no hyperthreading) will be fine for XG Home. It will be even better if you don't use HTTPS decryption, and limit your IPS rules. You would have nothing to worry about. It would be on an older motherboard supporting legacy mode BIOS, so you could run the firewall bare-metal without needing to virtualize it with Proxmox, ect. If you have between 4 to 8Gb or RAM, you will be fine, the home version is limited to 6Gb or RAM even if you have more. Any Intel CPU 9th gen or lower will be OK as long as you are using a retail motherboard (not HP) since it can be supported by the firewall, otherwise any current or older gen CPU would be fine if you want to virtualize through Proxmox, VMware, ect.

Also, the older server-grade single/dual/quad port Intel NICs are well supported especially for use in bare metal installation. Realtek NICs are not recommended,. The newer Intel NICs (i219+) would almost certainly need to be virtualized.

The Core 2 quad which is only a 45 watt CPU (no hyperthreading) will be fine for XG Home. It will be even better if you don't use HTTPS decryption, and limit your IPS rules. You would have nothing to worry about. It would be on an older motherboard supporting legacy mode BIOS, so you could run the firewall bare-metal without needing to virtualize it with Proxmox, ect. If you have between 4 to 8Gb or RAM, you will be fine, the home version is limited to 6Gb or RAM even if you have more. Any Intel CPU 9th gen or lower will be OK as long as you are using a retail motherboard (not HP) since it can be supported by the firewall, otherwise any current or older gen CPU would be fine if you want to virtualize through Proxmox, VMware, ect.

Also, the older server-grade single/dual/quad port Intel NICs are well supported especially for use in bare metal installation. Realtek NICs are not recommended,. The newer Intel NICs (i219+) would almost certainly need to be virtualized.

Hi, Thanks for sharing.

I am going to run Sophos Firewall on a dedicated PC, so Proxmox is not applicable to my case.

Yes, I was thinking about using Core 2 CPU but did not proceed due to the following reasons:

1) This platform does not have built-in GPU, meaning I will have install a cheap VGA card and that is going to drive up the wattage usage.
2) This CPU does not support AES-NI, so running it will be slow when I have VPN server set up.
3) I need to use PCI-E express bus X16 slot to install my quad port INTEL NIC which uses X4 PCI-E lanes, how am I going to install a cheap VGA card?

Hi,

I would check whether the AES-NI is supported on the software licence?

Ian

 rfcat_vk 

Someone asked the same thing about AES-NI support  6 years ago, but no one answer.......

community.sophos.com/.../aes-ni-require-in-future

rfcat_vk 

After further digging from Google I found this post:

https://community.sophos.com/sophos-xg-firewall/f/discussions/119782/hardware-acceleration-aes-ni-isn-t-being-used-on-the-software-version-of-xg-v18?pifragment-2944=3

It seems that AES-NI is only supported in Sophos Hardware Appliance.

Is this information still valid in 2024?

Wepee said:

Is this information still valid in 2024?

It isn't.

Currently at v20 MR2, AES-NI is supported for Software/VM installations. (Including home licenses.)

Maybe a USB external graphics card will work.

Thanks, may I know but where did find this information from Sophos ?

Yes, correct your idea is workable, but I personally just wouldn't going to that route

when AES-NI is supported in Sophos Firewall v20.

If you just want to run bare-metal and not worry about specs and working hardware, I honestly would just buy a used Sophos appliance like the XG or SG 125/135, slap a new SSD in it and install Sophos home version on it. For 2-6 users it would be more than good enough.

You can find a ton on eBay for around $100. There are also the fanless Qotom PCs with the Intel i211 network cards that will work and are available for around $150 on Amazon/Alibaba.

Most people would recommend these as working with Sophos firewall without needing to build a custom PC if you don't already have the parts.

Thanks for sharing.

Yes, I just noticed yesterday. I can buy an old XG appliance from ebay and install Sophos Firewall Home on it.

But I already had my custom built hardware last time when testing out pfSense. So I am sticking with my custom built PC.