Buying a Sophos XG105 or DIY for Sophos XG Home (or UTM)???

MKR74,

for home my advice is always to choose a custom pc because after few years you need more resources on pc you can save some parts, case for example, PSU while on XG, you cannot save nothing at the end.

Regards

Hello Luk,

Thanks for the fast reply!

My question was more from a hardware/performance/cost perspective. Maybe my question was not clear.

I can buy a XG105w for around $200.

If I would do a DIY system, what would the hardware specs need to be to be better performing than a XG105w?

Can I buy a DIY system for around $250 that would outperform a XG105w?

Hi,

your system for home use has the following limits

1/. 6gb ram

2/. 4 CPUs

The XG105w will have external interface limitations so check the specifications because you haven't said what your internet connection is.

The XG105W at the price you are quoting is excellent value because you would not even get an Sophos AP for that amount. These devices are not expandable.

I found specifications for an SG105w, a dual core atom 1.6ghz and 2 gb of ram. Looking at my ram usage on a simple XG with 6 rules it uses about 3gb, so you could be in trouble as far as performance goes. My CPU usage is about 4 to 6% so CPU wise you would be okay.

Ian

Dear Ian,

Thanks for the fast reply!

I made a little mistake.... I can source a XG105 without W for around $200. (So no wifi, but that is also not supported on XG home anyway).

I currently have a 100/20 fiberline and use a UTM120 with XG (home) on it. The max speed I can squeeze througg the UTM120 with XG is about 125/25.

Will the XG105 give a better performance than the UTM120 with XG?

And would adding more RAM to the XG105 also improve performance?

Any help is appreciated!

Thx!

Hi,

I don't believe you can upgrade them, but that might be a hangover from the business boys wanting to upgrade their commercial licenced machines.

Ian

Hi,

I don't believe you can upgrade them, but that might be a hangover from the business boys wanting to upgrade their commercial licenced machines.

Ian

Hi,

I've read on this forum that the RAM of the XG105 is indeed upgradeable to maximum of 8Gb, but only when using XG with home license.

Hi Greg,

in that case go for it. I can't see why the onboard wifi isn't supported in the home licence, same software, just different licence which has AP support.?

Hi Greg,

Yes I could go for it for $200.

But the question is: can I built a DIY mini pc for around $250 that outperforms the XG105?

Hi,

See the XG105 performance parameters in this document.

If you enable full protection then your internet connection will slow down to about 30-40 Mbps. If you disable all security features then only the firewall with full link speed will remain, but why spend 200USD for XG105?  Your connection needs more powerful hardware.

Regarsd
Jan

Hello Jan!

Thanks for the fast reply.

What I do not understand is why my current UTM120 with XG Home license gets a performance of 115 Mbps (download) with AV, IPS, APT and firewall activated (3 firewall rules).

Or is the hardware of the UTM120 faster than the XG105?

Hi,

I do not have the UTM120 specification but if it pulls 115Mbps it's a little better. The most burdensome in XG SFOS v16 is IPS. You need to configure it well enough to not overload the firewall. At one location I have installed the XG-105 rev.2 (SFOS 16.05.6 MR-6) on a 300/30 Mbps fiber optic cable and with full protection enabled I have 120/20 Mbps test bandwidth. If I disable IPS, AV, Web, Applicatoons then I have full bandwidth. The problem with the XG105 is 2MB of RAM. When enabled full protection the RAM usage is at a level of 90-95%.

Regards
Jan