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as a built-in feature; Prices vary widely between resellers and configurations, and the 2021 launch price of $699 is outdated; Form factor is inconsistent across listings (desktop versus 1U)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 Cloud Gateway Max
★ 4.9 Value Score
Technical Specifications
- Firewall Throughput: 2.5 Gbps (routing, IDS/IPS off)
- Threat Prevention Throughput: 1.5 Gbps (IDS/IPS on)
- IPsec VPN Throughput: Not published by Ubiquiti; WireGuard/Site-Magic VPN up to 500 Mbps (third-party review, untested method)
- Max Sessions: Not published
- New Sessions/sec: Not published
- Interfaces: 5x 2.5GbE RJ45 (1 WAN + 4 LAN, one LAN port can be remapped to a second WAN)
- Form Factor: Compact desktop, 142 x 127 x 30 mm, USB-C 5V/5A power (max 16.1 W)
Curation Review
- ✔ Pros: 2.5GbE WAN and LAN ports on a compact, low-power chassis (max 16.1 W); 512GB built-in NVMe storage on the standard SKU for local UniFi data; Integrated UniFi controller with IDS/IPS and no license or subscription fees; Supports 300+ clients and 30+ UniFi devices; Multi-WAN capable through the remappable LAN port
- ✘ Cons: Only 1.5 Gbps with IDS/IPS enabled, well below the 2.5 Gbps routing figure; IPsec VPN throughput, session counts and new sessions per second are not published; No PoE output and no built-in Wi-Fi access point; No LAG/LACP support; 500 Mbps VPN throughput is limiting for high-volume site-to-site tunnels
- Est. Price: $240 - $279