Hardware Compatibility List

[dmorris]

The Hardware Compatibility List is being removed from the wiki.

It has several issues:
1) Its out of date
2) Its unmaintained
3) It communicates the wrong expectations for hardware compability.

If you are using Untangle on your own hardware you will need to do the research to determine if the hardware is compatible.
Generally speaking, if a particular piece of hardware is known to work well in recent versions of Linux then it has a good chance of working with Untangle. You can get opinions and thoughts by posting in this forum.

To know for sure, you will need to order the equipment and install NGFW on it. If it works - it is compatible. If it does not work, you can try tweaking BIOS settings and possibly swapping parts and/or monitor and disk configurations. If it still does not work, the hardware is likely incompatible.

Many users, understandably, do not want to go through this process.
For users not wanting to do the compatibility research buying a pre-made appliance is your best option.
The only hardware we can guarantee is compatible and support is a genuine Untangle appliance.
Many resellers also sell compatible hardware solutions and support them.

As state above, THIS INFORMATION IS OUT OF DATE AND IS INACCURATE.

edit: removed out of date information

[westgj]

The only hardware we can guarantee is compatible and support is a genuine Untangle appliance.

Firstly I want to say that I have been using Untangle for 6 years and have around 10 Untangle servers and it is a great solution that works well for us and is a solution I recommend to other sys admins

The pre-built hardware that Untangle offers is definitely useful for some users but of course many (most?) want to build their own and that is what I have done, by doing the research as you suggest. We are in Australia and buying your appliances and getting them shipped from the US is not desirable for us. The cheapest shipping cost is USD 190. In addition I assume turn-around times for faulty hardware is not going to be as quick as if we were in the US.

Correct me if I am wrong but I was under the impression that Untangle is primarily a software solution and that the pre-built appliances are to simply make it easy for customers to get up and going quickly with no uncertainty about hardware compatibility. Is it possible for you to specify what are the exact motherboard models and possibly the cases so that for customers who want to build their own can do so with the same certainty that customers of the appliances have.

[dmorris]

Thats great. Thats why we offer a software solution.

Is it possible for you to specify what are the exact motherboard models and possibly the cases so that for customers who want to build their own can do so with the same certainty that customers of the appliances have.

It is not feasible for us to order and test every motherboard from every manufacturer. (Also, the motherboard is just a small piece of the puzzle)

[westgj]

It is not feasible for us to order and test every motherboard from every manufacturer. (Also, the motherboard is just a small piece of the puzzle)

No what I meant was, can you specify the motherboard and BIOS setting for the appliances that you sell? I understand if you consider that information to be proprietary and could possibly cannibalize your sales of appliances but I'm sure you can see where I'm coming from.

[sky-knight]

All of the information in this regard can be obtained via Google, and some knowledge of Debian. Untangle doesn't need to provide anything, the Debian maintainers have already done it.

For specific details a virtual installation of Untangle can be used to query specific details for kernel modules required for specific hardware, if the module of an appropriate version is present, the hardware will work, if it's not, it won't work.

It requires some effort, but it's not impossible to validate hardware before a purchase.

[westgj]

All of the information in this regard can be obtained via Google, and some knowledge of Debian.

Thanks for the detailed info and that will help a lot of people but having said that, there are also a lot of people who don't have Linux knowledge or the time or inclination to go down that path; they just want to get Untangle working asap. The installation of Untangle does a great job in guiding someone through the installation without requiring hardly any Linux knowledge but there is a big disconnect on sourcing knowledge on supported hardware. What's trivial for some maybe very difficult for others. This is why I asked that if Untangle themselves detailed the hardware specs for their own appliances then that at least would be something definitive for someone to work from if they wanted to build themselves.

[dmorris]

Our appliances are custom made for us. Its not something you can order on newegg.

[sky-knight]

Thanks for the detailed info and that will help a lot of people but having said that, there are also a lot of people who don't have Linux knowledge or the time or inclination to go down that path; they just want to get Untangle working asap. The installation of Untangle does a great job in guiding someone through the installation without requiring hardly any Linux knowledge but there is a big disconnect on sourcing knowledge on supported hardware. What's trivial for some maybe very difficult for others. This is why I asked that if Untangle themselves detailed the hardware specs for their own appliances then that at least would be something definitive for someone to work from if they wanted to build themselves.

You're asking Untangle to take on the absurd task of making up for the fact that Dell doesn't make it easy for non-Windows users. If you want this work done for you, buy the appliance from Untangle, or buy an appliance from me, or buy a supported platform from another reseller. You have options to make it easy, and you have options to teach yourself to do it yourself.

If you want Dell to support Untangle, go yell at Dell for support for Untangle. Same goes for HP and IBM.

[westgj]

You're asking Untangle to take on the absurd task of making up for the fact that Dell doesn't make it easy for non-Windows users. If you want this work done for you, buy the appliance from Untangle, or buy an appliance from me, or buy a supported platform from another reseller. You have options to make it easy, and you have options to teach yourself to do it yourself.

If you want Dell to support Untangle, go yell at Dell for support for Untangle. Same goes for HP and IBM.

I'm not asking for anything absurd or upset or angry at anyone. All I am asking is for specific component information for the Untangle appliances. If Untangle doesn't want to release that information then I accept that as that is proprietary information. All I did was ask that specific question in my original post.

Being down in Australia there are no local Untangle resellers either that I am aware of to source from. There's a significant cost in getting Untangle to ship their appliances down here which instigated my original post not to mention the probably delays in turn-around time for problem hardware.

[sky-knight]

There are several Untangle resellers in Australia. There are more that ship to Australia, I'm one of them.

I am however unaware of a local partner that stocks equipment. I've tried to work with several, none have bit on the idea. That being said it's not terribly expensive to ship devices down under. And thus far everyone has been content with simply waiting a bit longer for delivery. Though I have heard customs can be a bugger at times.

The BIOS settings on the uSeries is also irrelevant, as such information is hardware specific and wouldn't be useful on another platform anyway.

[westgj]

There are several Untangle resellers in Australia. There are more that ship to Australia, I'm one of them.

I am however unaware of a local partner that stocks equipment. I've tried to work with several, none have bit on the idea. That being said it's not terribly expensive to ship devices down under. And thus far everyone has been content with simply waiting a bit longer for delivery. Though I have heard customs can be a bugger at times.

The BIOS settings on the uSeries is also irrelevant, as such information is hardware specific and wouldn't be useful on another platform anyway.

OK that is useful to know. I did have a look on your site for info on international shipping but didn't see anything. I will definitely consider yourself when looking to source a new box if I don't want to build one.

[tedm]

The Hardware Compatibility List is being removed from the wiki.

It has several issues:
1) Its out of date
2) Its unmaintained
3) It communicates the wrong expectations for hardware compability.

If you are using Untangle on your own hardware you will need to do the research to determine if the hardware is compatible.
Generally speaking, if a particular piece of hardware is known to work well in recent versions of Linux then it has a good chance of working with Untangle. You can get opinions and thoughts by posting in this forum.

To know for sure, you will need to order the equipment and install NGFW on it. If it works - it is compatible. If it does not

I just loaded Untangle 11 on a SuperMicro 1U server that has 8GB, a single 200GB sata disk, a Xeon 4 core CPU E5405 running at 2.0Ghz. Works great. Cost of the server - free. A customer was discarding it because it was out of warranty. Ebay is full of systems like this for not a lot of money.

My $0.02 is that the Untangle appliances are tremendously underpowered for what they cost. Get real please - a u150 running on a 32bit system with 4GB of ram? No wonder you have to have it custom built - nobody sells that low end hardware anymore.

These days many businesses are getting 100Mbt connections from cable providers, etc. Nobody ever complained about "too much power" on their router or computer. We have a number of u150's configured and I assure you, the interface on my discarded server runs twice as fast. On the u150, you do a simple operation then sit there tapping your fingers for minutes before the firewall comes back. On the Xeon, click and bang - it's back.

Untangle's approach on hardware they sell has consistently been to aim for what is just barely able to run their stuff. I have never understood this logic. Why hamstring your software with old-tech hardware?

[WebFooL]

tedm,

Remember that the cost also includes Licenses for all the modules.
If you would remove that cost it would be atleast over here "normal" price.

And the licenses in the NGFW units is gold as you can run unlimited of users to them. (and it should be able to handle more than 150 users)

[onenerdyguy]

tedm,

Remember that the cost also includes Licenses for all the modules.
If you would remove that cost it would be atleast over here "normal" price.

And the licenses in the NGFW units is gold as you can run unlimited of users to them. (and it should be able to handle more than 150 users)

Woah, you can do unlimited users on branded hardware? I've been building my own boxes and using them for the past 5 years, and I wasn't aware of this. That could definitely change things when it comes time to upgrade hardware.

[WebFooL]

Why an Appliance?

• Easiest, most cost-effective deployment option. Discounted hardware and software renewals mean you’re getting the best possible deal.
• Ship with the software package of your choice (Complete or Free) included in the price and already installed on the hardware.
• Priced without user bands, so you don’t have to worry about incurring incremental cost. Your price is all-inclusive.

From:

http://www.untangle.com/appliances?#appliances-table