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as a built-in feature; Prices vary widely between resellers and configurations, and the 2021 launch price of $699 is outdated; Form factor is inconsistent across listings (desktop versus 1U)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 Enterprise Fortress Gateway (EFG)
★ 4.9 Value Score
Technical Specifications
- Firewall Throughput: 23.5 Gbps (routing, iPerf3, DHCP WAN)
- Threat Prevention Throughput: 12.5 Gbps (IDS/IPS)
- IPsec VPN Throughput: 580 Mbps (site-to-site, single tunnel)
- Max Sessions: 1,000,000 concurrent
- New Sessions/sec: 71,000 (listed under general capacity; not specific to VPN or IPsec)
- Interfaces: 2x 2.5GbE RJ45, 2x 25G SFP28, 2x 10G SFP+ (some listings show 2x RJ45 + 4x SFP28; verify against the Ubiquiti datasheet)
- Form Factor: 1U rack-mount, dual hot-swappable PSUs
- SSL/TLS Inspection Concurrent Sessions: 10,000 (5,000 recommended under heavy traffic)
- CPU / Memory: 18-core ARM v8.2 @ 2 GHz, 16 GB DDR4
- UniFi Capacity: 500+ UniFi devices, 5,000+ clients
Curation Review
- ✔ Pros: 25G SFP28 and 10G SFP+ uplinks at a gateway price point; 23.5 Gbps routing throughput; 1 million concurrent sessions; 18-core ARM CPU with 16 GB RAM; hot-swappable redundant PSUs; supports 500+ UniFi devices and 5,000+ clients; manages through UniFi Network controller with a single pane of glass
- ✘ Cons: IPsec VPN throughput of 580 Mbps is low for a gateway at this price; IDS/IPS throughput of 12.5 Gbps halves routing performance when threat inspection is enabled; SSL/TLS inspection is limited to about 10,000 concurrent sessions; port configuration differs across listings and should be verified; frequently out of stock at major US retailers, with a $170 memory surcharge at some resellers; no built-in Wi-Fi, so it depends on separate UniFi APs and switches; reviewers cite a steeper learning curve than consumer-grade routers
- Est. Price: $1,999 - $2,892