Using a thin client

Thin clients are lightweight computers that are optimized for logging into remote servers, and they are ideal for situations in which much of the processing is going to be offloaded to the server. Their properties also make them ideal for use with pfSense for the following reasons:

• They utilize less power than most desktop computers. For example, an HP t5740e thin client uses 10.7 watts of power (according to HP’s documentation) and it is not uncommon to see thin clients with power consumption at approximately this level.
• They are likely to use flash storage or an SSD, which is less likely to fail than an IDE or SATA hard drive.
• Because they are designed to connect to a server, they have built-in networking capabilities. A typical thin client will have a built-in Gigabit Ethernet interface, thus providing at least one of the two interfaces needed for a pfSense system.

There are drawbacks, however, to using a thin client. Disk space can be limited (sometimes to either 2 GB or 4 GB); therefore, if you plan on installing a lot of third-party packages or maintaining large log files, this may not be the best option. Moreover, unless you plan to use pfSense with a single Ethernet port (for more about this, see the next subsection), you will need to install a network interface card on your thin client, and the expansion options on thin clients are limited. Expansion modules for thin clients typically exist, but they may only accommodate low-profile cards. Furthermore, even when adding a network card is technically possible, sometimes unforeseen difficulties emerge. For example, I found an HP thin client that met the minimum pfSense specifications, installed the expansion module, and added a four-port network card to the expansion module, only to find that the unit overheated when the network card was installed. Using a thin client is probably the best option if you want to optimize for power consumption, but it is also an open invitation to various setbacks. Before you purchase a thin client for use with pfSense, you will definitely want to do your homework. Consulting online pfSense forums is not a bad idea, either.