I want to install and configure on it GNU/Linux or OpenBSD so that this computer will serve as router
Is it a good hardware for that purpose?
Hi,
I want to install and configure on it GNU/Linux or OpenBSD so that this computer will serve as router
Is it a good hardware for that purpose?
Honestly, it's likely that even those specs are overkill for the
intended purpose - compare to your bog-standard AIO modem/router
which likely uses some flavour of ARM with <1/4 the RAM and clock
speed.
There's nothing stopping you from installing OPNsense or manually
achieving the same result by installing Linux.
You will require at least two interfaces on the device in order
to act as a proper router, and the spec sheet for that ASRock
board suggests a single gigabit ethernet port.
Consider grabbing a nice, well supported, and relatively cheap, NIC
such as an Intel PRO/1000 (or similar) to provide appropriate
interfaces for your router.
Cheers,
Matt
On Monday, 19 May 2025 23:35:02 British Summer Time Matt Jolly wrote:
Hi,
I want to install and configure on it GNU/Linux or OpenBSD so that this computer will serve as router
Is it a good hardware for that purpose?
Honestly, it's likely that even those specs are overkill for the
intended purpose - compare to your bog-standard AIO modem/router
which likely uses some flavour of ARM with <1/4 the RAM and clock
speed.
There's nothing stopping you from installing OPNsense or manually
achieving the same result by installing Linux.
You will require at least two interfaces on the device in order
to act as a proper router, and the spec sheet for that ASRock
board suggests a single gigabit ethernet port.
Consider grabbing a nice, well supported, and relatively cheap, NIC
such as an Intel PRO/1000 (or similar) to provide appropriate
interfaces for your router.
Cheers,
Matt
Or perhaps take a look at a board built for this purpose, rather than trying to repurpose a MoBo more suited to a small desktop PC. For example:
https://mikrotik.com/products/group/routerboard https://teklager.se/en/products/routers/
Can you recommend some Mikrotik model?
On 20/5/25 09:55, whiteman808 wrote:
Can you recommend some Mikrotik model?
A re-used SFF PC and cheap network card may be more cost effective
than buying a new router!
Will something bad happen if I reuse over-spec mentioned PC instead of
buying a new Mikrotik, for example spending too much money on electric
energy bills?
On 20/5/25 09:55, whiteman808 wrote:
Can you recommend some Mikrotik model?
Really it's going to come down to what your requirements are
and how much you want to spend. Get something with sufficient
ports for your current requirements and any (near) future expansion.
Don't spend money on things that you don't need (the majority of my
lab equipment was free or heavily discounted).
A re-used SFF PC and cheap network card may be more cost effective
than buying a new router!
Note that switches are far more performant at, well, switching,
so a 'dumb' router with a few ethernet ports might do the job well,
and you can get a switch (or switches) that support your devices.
Something a bit like one of these:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008591539955.html
My homelab is a bit outdated at this point, but I have some decent kit
that supports 10GbE/40GbE. Here's an older network diagram for my homelab, for context: https://jumpshare.com/s/1D6YRNZPjylI3Jpx3MEI
It's been through a few iterations since, currently the NAS and
PVE-hosted utilities have been consolidated onto a single server
(90t+24t metadata/hot data bcachefs) for much lower bills!
Since I rarely need to do things like spin up a full set of AD/CA infra,
that I'm operating with a fraction of the RAM is barely noticable.
At one point I had the router trunking VLANs to each switch over 40GbE, but had some issues with the mlnx2 drivers causing massive packet loss
in one direction. With the PVE cluster inactive I'm just using the
CRS354 and a couple of the 10GbE SFPs. I could split the 40s out into
4*10GbE each, but I don't have a need for it at the moment, especially
with my T4 having failed recently.
I now just use an Intel SFP+ card on the router, trunking VLANs (to
segregate traffic) to the CRS354, my APs are on a trunked port with
default VLAN, most every thing else is just an appropriately VLAN'd
access port.
Mikrotik devices are relatively easy to run, and configuration can
be as straightforward as SSHing into the device and running commands
in the prompt (or using the WebUI).
Also, while copper DACs are annoying they can be much easier than
dealing with fibre in a dusty environment (though I've had good
results with fibre polishing tools).
Good luck with the lab.
Cheers,
Matt
</div></blockquote><div dir="auto"><br>Really it's going to come down to what your requirements are<br>and how much you want to spend. Get something with sufficient<br>ports for your current requirements and any (near) future expansion.<br>Don't spendmoney on things that you don't need (the majority of my<br>lab equipment was free or heavily discounted).<br><br>A re-used SFF PC and cheap network card may be more cost effective<br>than buying a new router!<br><br>Note that switches are far more
</pre></blockquote></div></body></html> ------WX2ENUG44JY1RBCRM6MBL8NZMETR2F--
On 21/5/25 20:42, whiteman808 wrote:
Will something bad happen if I reuse over-spec mentioned PC instead of buying a new Mikrotik, for example spending too much money on electric energy bills?
Energy usage will likely be higher, but that's offset by the cost of
having to buy low-power hardware if you already own something that
you're planning to repurpose. The difference probably isn't as much
as you'd think, at idle anyway. To measure it you need equipment that... >costs money. You can estimate the maximum by looking at the components
that you're going to use and comparing it with your utility rates.
At the end of the day, a single 'real' server in your homelab might blow
this out of the water - my SPARC drew 60W... when it was turned off!
Does make sense buying new router or just repurposing this PC will be
a better idea?
Does make sense buying new router or just repurposing this PC will be a better idea?That's up to you and what makes the most sense right now. You can always
On 21/5/25 20:56, whiteman808 wrote:
Does make sense buying new router or just repurposing this PC will be a better idea?
That's up to you and what makes the most sense right now. You can always change your mind later and repurpose the hardware for something else.
My router is still a SFF desktop with a USB 4g dongle as a backup
connection because it was 'cheap at the time'. It probably costs me more
in power over the long run, but I haven't done the maths to know what
the break even point on a N100 or ARM device would be like.
Besides, letting perfectly good hardware go to (e)waste is a terrible
thing to see, and I get a lot of my power (at least half the day)
from solar.
| Sysop: | Keyop |
|---|---|
| Location: | Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK |
| Users: | 715 |
| Nodes: | 16 (0 / 16) |
| Uptime: | 169:55:30 |
| Calls: | 12,097 |
| Calls today: | 5 |
| Files: | 15,003 |
| Messages: | 6,517,844 |