Protectli Vault FW4B Firewall Appliance - Compact Silent Network

Our review of the Protectli Vault FW4B finds it best suited for small offices, home labs and network hobbyists who need a compact, fanless firewall with solid hardware offload. The single biggest reason to buy is its combination of an Intel Quad Core Celeron J3160 with AES-NI and four Intel gigabit ports, which delivers reliable packet handling and VPN acceleration without the noise or footprint of a full desktop. The unit ships with 4GB RAM and a 32GB mSATA SSD, and while no OS is preinstalled, it is well tested with popular open-source firewall distributions.

Key Features

• Processor and encryption: The Intel Quad Core Celeron J3160 with AES-NI provides useful hardware acceleration for VPNs and encrypted tunnels, improving throughput for secure connections.
• Four gigabit ports: Four Intel gigabit Ethernet ports let the device handle multi-WAN, DMZ and LAN segregation without additional switches for many small deployments.
• Fanless and compact: The silent, fanless design keeps operating noise to zero and fits on a shelf or rack, ideal where space and sound matter.
• OS flexibility: No OS is preinstalled so users can install pfSense, OPNsense, Untangle or other open-source solutions that were tested on this hardware.
• Connectivity and expansion: Two HDMI, two USB 3.0 and an RJ-45 COM port provide options for local console access, media output or peripherals during setup and troubleshooting.

Who It's For

The Protectli Vault FW4B is aimed at IT pros, network-savvy small business owners and home lab enthusiasts who want a reliable, silent appliance for firewall, VPN and routing tasks. Its AES-NI capable CPU and four Intel NICs make it especially valuable for users running pfSense or OPNsense who need hardware crypto acceleration and stable throughput.

Those who prefer an out-of-the-box commercial firewall with preinstalled software, turnkey cloud management or more RAM and storage for heavy throughput and inline services should look elsewhere or consider upgrading components, since the unit ships without an OS and with modest 4GB DDR3L and 32GB mSATA storage by default.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Quiet, fanless operation that fits small footprints and offices.
• Good performance for secure routing with AES-NI support aiding VPN speeds.
• Four Intel gigabit ports providing flexible network segmentation without extra hardware.
• Proven compatibility with pfSense, OPNsense and Untangle for advanced firewall features.

Cons

• Ships without an OS, so initial setup requires time and some networking knowledge.
• Memory and storage are modest out of the box, which may limit heavier multi-service deployments unless upgraded.

Specifications

Our Verdict

The Protectli Vault FW4B is a practical, quiet mini appliance for users who want a customizable firewall platform with reliable Intel networking and AES-NI acceleration. It represents good value for small offices and labs that can handle initial OS installation and may upgrade RAM or storage if they need heavier service loads.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the unit come with an operating system?
No, the FW4B ships without an OS so users must install pfSense, OPNsense, Untangle or another supported distribution.

Can it handle VPN and encrypted traffic well?
Yes, the Intel J3160 includes AES-NI hardware support which helps VPN throughput and encrypted tunnel performance.

Is the device noisy in operation?
No, the fanless design makes it effectively silent under normal conditions.