This page was last edited on February 4, 2026

The Greasane firewall server project is part of my Jiass 16U network rack. I want to build it with pfSense – an open-source firewall software – that provides comprehensive network security features, including firewall, VPN, and routing capabilities; to protect my networks and manage traffic effectively.

There are two modems, and five cloud router switches in the rack. So the hardware firewall will need seven Ethernet ports. The enterprise grade "Netgate 8300 BASE pfSense+ Security Gateway" is way out of my budget. I spend time looking to get a refurbished rack mounted server from the likes of Dell and HPE that had eight Ethernet ports, but these nodes were too expensive.

The though of building a hardware firewall around a rack server case did cross my mind, but I soon dismiss the notion based on me being blind.

Instead I began to research dedicated hardware that have been built with the likes of pfSense in mind. I came across the Protectli Vault Pro range which looked promising. However, they only make models with 2, 4, and 6 ports. To overcome this limitation I would need to connect two Protectli Vault nodes running pfSense together – increasing the number of Ethernet ports required to nine – and the "Protectli Vault Pro VP6650 6 Port" would be my only option. Two is still above my budget, but at least achievable, in time.

By connecting two "Protectli Vault Pro VP6650 6 Port" together would create a more robust firewall setup, as it would provide a high-availability (HA) configuration with CARP for failover, allowing for redundancy and improved performance in my network; making sure to manage routing rules carefully to ensure proper traffic flow.

Protectli offer a rack mount shelf that has been customised with pre-drilled holes – four holes per node – to mount two Protectli Vault Pro VP6650 6 Port nodes in a standard 19-inch rack. The height of the rack mount shelf is 1.875″ (47.62mm), which exceeds the 1U rack unit of 1.75″ (44.45mm), and is recommended that the rack shelf is placed a top-of-shelf mounting position where there is slightly more room. Otherwise the shelf will consume 2U. Since the Protectli Vault Pro VP6650 measures 3" (76mm) I think it would be best to place it below the modems, and let it have a full 2U of rack space.

If I can't stretch my budget to two nodes, another option would be for me to purchase one node and add an unmanaged switch to a Protectli Vault Pro VP6650 to increase the number of Ethernet ports. This setup would then allow me to connect multiple nodes.