Hi,
a router with adequate performance for 1 Gigabyte SQM, VPN etc usually commands a high price tag. Therefore I'm plannning to buy a used 1U server for this purpose.
Are these more cost-effective than buying a high-end router? How much power would the server consume under normal usage?
Any help would be appreciated.
Have a look at the PC Enginers APU2D4 https://pcengines.ch/apu2d4.htm
Maybe it has enough power for you.
You can install OpenWRT https://openwrt.org/toh/pcengines/apu2
The CPU also has AES-IN support build in - in case of VPN usage.
To get an impression:
-> around 75W idle
Please mind: This seems to be a dual CPU setup, see https://www.servethehome.com/dual-intel-xeon-e5-2620-v1-v2-v3-compared/
I wouldn't expect the power consumption to scale linearly with the number of CPUs, therefore estimating 50W.
Do you really want a router that consumes 50W 24/7, just for doing nothing?
Thanks for the link!
Indeed the power consumption is a little bit higher than expected. Maybe it could make more sense by building a backup server/NAS using the 4*3.5" bays in the server.
The APU board seems even more expensive than the Xeon server.
Sure, but the APU uses around 6 watts idle, that's an order of magnitude less than your Xeon board. Or to put it in real world numbers: The APU uses €10 in power per year, while the Xeon uses €100 (Edit: in Central Europe power prices, USA is about half that apparantly.)
These server boards were never designed to be energy efficient (or particularly silent, mind.) They were built to be reliable and powerful. That's why they can be had dirt cheap, now that they are not that "powerful" anymore compared to current systems.
a used enterprise desktop (eg optiplex) will do what you want, is quiet with usb-stick boot and should use about 10-30w... look for newer cpu for less power consumption.
apu maybe fast enough, but costs more due to specialized design; not worth it imo.
Or this : PFSense ?
My experience with 1U servers is that they need a low-power CPU up/downgrade, a high-efficiency DC-DC PSU, power “brick”, and several quiet fans to be usable and marginally economical. Unless the board offers something unique (like six Intel NICs), something like the APU series for moderate loads or the ODROID H2 for higher loads would be my choice.
…and even then the form-factor doesn't provide any means of natural convection, so you rely more on active (noisy, power consuming) cooling that you would on devices with more- and vertical volume (chimney effect).
Spotted another Sandy Bridge E3 platform on eBay.
I abandoned the plan to populate the router to be with HDDs, since that will be adding another layer of complexity.
For the AP part I'm using 4x Linksys EA6350v3, 2x Asus RT-AC58U and a Newifi D2.
You seem to be bent on getting a power-hungry, decade-old, loud, hot-running server ... just because they are cheap? There's a reason they are cheap.
I think at this point you'll have to decide for yourself. You heard all our arguments before.
sounds good
sounds good, too
Servers are rack mountable, have ECC memory support & expansion capabilities and generally more reliable than products from a no-name brand.
The only real problem is the power consumption of CPU and BMC, all other concerns are derived from this one.
So the question becomes:
(post withdrawn by author, will be automatically deleted in 24 hours unless flagged)
I think the manufacturers indeed tried to design those boards to be energy efficient, though not as a priority.
In the US assuming say $0.10 / kWh and 50 watts 24*7*365 hours a year, that's $307 a year. Buy yourself a 10 watt x86 box which will then cost $61 a year, spend $200 on the box, and you're ahead before year end... by the end of the second year you've bought yourself a second box...
At $0.30/kWh, the arguments are even more compelling.
Having installed a 1RU in a closed storeroom, within a cabinet in a spacious 3 roomed office... at a factory. Every single time we got called out... the poor lady on reception, had a look on her face and words to the effect that it was not smart.
There is another funny story about my boss half under the floor panels holding a fan when the data-center lost air-con... ( kW=° )