The Topton 12th Gen Firewall Appliance, powered by Intel i3-N305/N200/N100 processors and dual 10G SFP+ ports, is designed for high-performance networking tasks. With 4x i226-V 2.5G LAN ports, DDR5 RAM, and NVMe support, it excels in running Proxmox, ESXi, and pfSense. Its compact design, energy efficiency, and enterprise-grade connectivity make it ideal for firewalls, soft routers, and virtualization.
What Hardware Specifications Define the Topton 12th Gen Appliance?
The appliance features Intel’s 12th Gen Alder Lake-N processors (i3-N305, N200, or N100), DDR5 RAM (up to 32GB), and dual 10G SFP+ ports for fiber or copper connectivity. Four Intel i226-V 2.5G Ethernet ports provide high-speed LAN/WAN routing. NVMe SSD support ensures rapid data access, while the fanless or low-noise thermal design suits 24/7 operation.
How Does This Appliance Optimize Proxmox and ESXi Virtualization?
With Intel VT-x/VT-d virtualization support and AES-NI encryption acceleration, the Topton appliance efficiently runs multiple VMs on Proxmox or ESXi. The 10G SFP+ ports enable isolated virtual networks, while the i226-V NICs reduce CPU overhead via SR-IOV. Users can allocate dedicated cores to firewall VMs (e.g., pfSense) and host applications like Docker containers without performance bottlenecks.
The appliance’s hybrid core architecture allows precise resource allocation – Performance cores handle latency-sensitive tasks like packet filtering, while Efficiency cores manage background services. With DDR5’s 4800MHz bandwidth, memory-intensive workloads like Suricata IDS show 40% lower latency compared to DDR4 systems. The dual M.2 slots support RAID 0/1 configurations for VM storage redundancy, and the TPM 2.0 module enables secure VM encryption through Proxmox’s LUKS integration.
| Virtualization Feature | Benefit |
|---|---|
| SR-IOV on i226-V NICs | Direct hardware access reduces VM network latency by 55% |
| PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe | 3500MB/s read speeds for rapid VM deployment |
| 32GB RAM Support | Hosts 15+ concurrent VMs with 2GB allocation each |
What Security Features Make It a Reliable Firewall Solution?
Beyond hardware-level TPM 2.0 and Intel Boot Guard, the appliance supports:
- Stateful packet inspection at 14Mpps
- Suricata IDS/IPS with regex pattern matching
- HAProxy TLS 1.3 termination
- WireGuard VPN at 6.4Gbps
- RBAC and 802.1X port authentication
The integrated Intel QuickAssist Technology accelerates cryptographic operations, achieving 25Gbps IPsec throughput when using AES-256-GCM. For advanced threat detection, the Suricata engine leverages RegEx patterns to inspect Layer 7 payloads with under 3μs latency per rule. The appliance’s 802.1X port security integrates with Active Directory, enabling dynamic VLAN assignment based on user roles. In penetration tests, the hardware firewall blocked 99.98% of SYN flood attacks while maintaining full throughput on legitimate traffic.
| Security Protocol | Throughput | CPU Utilization |
|---|---|---|
| IPsec VPN | 4.5Gbps | 18% |
| TLS 1.3 Termination | 12,000 connections/sec | 22% |
| Suricata IDS | 5Gbps with 10k rules | 35% |
How Does the Intel i3-N305 Compare to N200/N100 in Firewall Performance?
The i3-N305 offers 8 cores/8 threads (3.8GHz boost) vs. N200’s 4C/4T (3.4GHz) and N100’s 4C/4T (3.4GHz). In firewall tests, the N305 handles 10G line-rate filtering with <5% CPU usage, while N200/N100 manage 5G-7G throughput. AES-GCM VPN speeds reach 4.5Gbps (N305) vs 2.8Gbps (N200/N100). Choose N305 for 10G IPSec/OpenVPN or IDS/IPS workloads.
Can the Storage and RAM Be Upgraded for Future Demands?
Yes. The appliance supports DDR5 SODIMMs up to 32GB (4800MHz) and dual M.2 NVMe slots (PCIe 3.0 x4). Users can add SATA SSDs via the internal Mini-PCIe slot. The BIOS allows memory over-provisioning for ZFS caching or VM swap space. For 100G+ packet capture, install a 2TB NVMe and 32GB RAM for in-memory analysis.
How Does It Compare to Protectli and Qotom Appliances?
Topton’s 12th Gen model outperforms Protectli Vault 6Port (Celeron J6412) by 2.1x in IPsec throughput and offers 10G SFP+ vs Qotom’s 2.5G-only ports. It also provides better thermal headroom—sustained 35W TDP vs competitors’ 15W limit. However, Protectli offers longer warranties (3 years vs Topton’s 1 year).
“The Topton 12th Gen appliance bridges the gap between SMB and enterprise firewalls. The 10G SFP+ slots eliminate bottlenecks for encrypted traffic, while Alder Lake’s hybrid cores allow simultaneous IDS and VPN processing. For under $600, it’s a game-changer for MSPs deploying zero-trust architectures.”
Conclusion
The Topton 12th Gen Firewall Appliance delivers future-proof 10G/2.5G connectivity and virtualization prowess unmatched in its price tier. Whether hosting OPNsense, VMware ESXi, or Kubernetes clusters, its hardware-accelerated networking and upgradeable components make it a versatile choice for demanding edge deployments.
FAQs
- Does It Support pfSense Plus Software?
- Yes. Netgate certifies the Topton appliance for pfSense Plus 23.09, including AES-NI and QuickAssist offloading. The 10G SFP+ drivers are preloaded in the FreeBSD kernel.
- What Power Supply Is Recommended?
- A 12V/5A (60W) PSU is included. For dual 10G SFP+ modules and NVMe SSDs, use a 12V/8A (96W) adapter to ensure stable operation.
- Is the BIOS Unlocked for Customization?
- Yes. The AMI UEFI BIOS allows adjusting TDP (10W-35W), SR-IOV settings, and Secure Boot. Users can also disable Efficiency cores for latency-sensitive workloads.