This blog will give you an idea on what are the things to consider when installing pfsense on an SSD drive. If you are planning to make a pfsense firewall box that small enough like a router, then you might consider using SSD or solid-state drive for that purpose. But there are things you need to know before installing pfsense on it.
Before You Install Pfsense on an SSD
- Make you sure you have the latest copy of Pfsense software. Some older versions of Pfsense will not install pfsense firewall. I don't know the reason. But it is more likely it cannot support installing pfsense on ssd drive.
- You will have a computer that has good cooling system. SSD drive are easily to overheat if no proper ventilation on your computer. I recommend adding more fan on your computer or buy a coolant for your cpu.
- It is recommend not to use swap partition during installation of pfsense as much as possible. It needs more memory to process pfsense requests.
- Do not install more packages on Pfsense when using SSD. It is more like on Pfsense to hang-up or not functioning well. You will have to restart again your computer and it may cause short life span on your SSD drive.
- Backup the latest pfsense configuration. We do not know the time SSD crashed. It is safer to back it up.
Although installing Pfsense on SSD drive is not recommended, you need extra care for your pfsense firewall to stay your ssd live longer.