Primary Device
Netgate 6100
★ 3.5 Value Score
Technical Specifications
- Firewall Throughput: 9.93 Gbps (10k ACLs, Netgate shop figure); 10.1 Gbps (Netgate blog, pfSense Plus iPerf3)
- Threat Prevention Throughput: Not published by Netgate in sources reviewed
- IPsec VPN Throughput: 1.77 Gbps (AES-GCM-128 with QAT, Netgate shop figure); 2.1 Gbps (Netgate blog, AES-GCM)
- Max Sessions: Not published in sources reviewed
- New Sessions/sec: Not published in sources reviewed
- Interfaces: 2 x 10GbE SFP+ WAN; 2 x 1GbE RJ45/SFP combo WAN; 4 x 2.5GbE RJ45 LAN (Intel i225); per reseller listings, LAN ports are unswitched
- Form Factor: Desktop unit with optional wall or rack mount kit (per most listings); one NetBox Labs listing says 1U half-depth
- Routing Throughput (L3): 18.50 Gbps (Netgate shop figure); 18.7 Gbps (Netgate blog)
- CPU: Intel Atom C3558 quad-core, 2.2 GHz; passive cooling
- Memory / Storage: 8 GB DDR4; 128 GB NVMe (MAX) or 16 GB (BASE)
Curation Review
- ✔ Pros: Strong routing throughput for its class, about 18.5 to 18.7 Gbps L3; 10GbE SFP+ uplinks plus 2.5GbE LAN ports suit small business and home-lab backbones; Runs pfSense Plus with a mature feature set, and Netgate offers TAC support with licensing; Passive cooling gives quiet operation; Rack mount kit available for the BASE configuration; BASE listing states unlimited IPsec tunnels (licensing statement, not capacity)
- ✘ Cons: Netgate does not publish session capacity or new sessions per second in the sources reviewed, so sizing for busy networks is difficult; IPsec throughput of roughly 1.8 to 2.1 Gbps with AES-GCM is modest for a 10GbE-class device; Atom C3558 CPU limits performance under mixed IMIX traffic and inspection-heavy loads; Threat prevention throughput is not published, and pfSense Plus does not ship IDS/IPS as a built-in feature; Prices vary widely between resellers and configurations, and the 2021 launch price of $699 is outdated; Form factor is inconsistent across listings (desktop versus 1U)
- Est. Price: $949 - $1,300
Compare Against
Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine Pro Max
★ 5.0 Value Score
Technical Specifications
- Firewall Throughput: Not published by Ubiquiti. Third-party tests: about 3.8-4.7 Gbps internet (WAN) throughput; about 3.0 Gbps inter-VLAN routing
- Threat Prevention Throughput: 5 Gbps IDS/IPS (Ubiquiti spec)
- IPsec VPN Throughput: Not published by Ubiquiti. Unverified third-party estimate of about 1.8-2.2 Gbps
- Max Sessions: Not published
- New Sessions/sec: Not published
- Interfaces: 2x 10G SFP+ ports; 8x 1GbE RJ45 LAN ports; 1x 2.5GbE RJ45 WAN port (sources conflict on WAN; one lists a 25GbE WAN port)
- Form Factor: 1U rackmount
Curation Review
- ✔ Pros: 5 Gbps IDS/IPS rating from Ubiquiti; 10G SFP+ ports for fast uplinks or LAN; Multi-WAN support with 2.5GbE WAN; Integrated UniFi Network controller and UniFi OS for centralized management; Built-in NVR bay for UniFi Protect cameras; Rackmount 1U form factor suited to server racks
- ✘ Cons: Ubiquiti does not publish firewall, VPN, or session-rate figures; Real-world WAN throughput in independent tests is about 3-4.7 Gbps, below the 5 Gbps IDS/IPS rating; Port layout and WAN specs differ between sources; Costs about 2x the UDM Pro (about $220 more) for a modest throughput gain; Limited 1GbE LAN port count compared with dedicated switches; Requires UniFi ecosystem for full feature set
- Est. Price: $599 - $660