Overview and Target Audience: The Netgate 8200 MAX is the fastest Intel Atom-based firewall offered by the brand, housed in a whisper-quiet 1U rackmount configuration. It is perfectly suited for remote offices, edge deployments, managed service providers (MSPs), and enterprise networks.
Key Hardware Specifications
- Processor: 2.4 GHz, 8-Core Intel Atom C3758R (Denverton family) with integrated QuickAssist & AES-NI.
- Memory: 16 GB DDR4 (single channel, non-ECC, soldered down), which doubles the memory of the outgoing Netgate 7100 model.
- Storage: 128 GB NVMe M.2 SSD.
- Connectivity: It provides extensive networking options, including two 10 Gbps SFP+ WAN ports, two 1 Gbps combo WAN ports (auto media detect for RJ45 copper or SFP fiber), and four 2.5 Gbps RJ-45 direct ethernet LAN ports.
- Physical Expansion: Includes two M.2 slots (Key-B) with dual-SIM support (for LTE, Wi-Fi, or NVMe) and one Mini-PCIe slot (Wi-Fi only).
- Cooling and Power: It features an actively controlled, quiet chassis fan and operates on an external 60W power supply, allowing the unit to remain power-efficient and quiet.
Performance Metrics: Compared to other models in the lineup, the 8200 MAX delivers over 80% greater firewall and VPN throughput than the Netgate 6100, and double the firewall performance of the outgoing 7100. Tested on pfSense Plus software version 22.05 using iPerf3 traffic, it delivers:
- L3 Forwarding: 18.60 Gbps.
- Firewall (10k ACLs): 18.55 Gbps.
- IPsec VPN (AES-GCM-128 w/QAT): 3.24 Gbps.
Software and Support: The unit ships with the latest version of pfSense Plus software, which imposes no artificial limits or additional feature-based pricing on users, firewall rules, or IPsec tunnels. Your purchase also includes the Automatic Encrypted Configuration Backup Service (ACB) and complimentary TAC Lite support, which provides 24x7x365 “zero-to-ping” technical assistance from Netgate Global Support.
