Comment on Homelab hardware choices
tofubl@discuss.tchncs.de 1 day ago
I have one of those n100 mini pcs with 4x2.5G NICs. My ISP device does have bridge mode but I never enabled it. Being new to opnsense, the NAT rules gave me a headache but got it to work fine before long.
Downside to the device is no bios updates ever. Otherwise it’s perfect for me. Debian + incus + opnsense VM. Some additional Docker services in separate VMs. Fanless, so completely silent in the living room next to the modem. And plenty of power to spare. I’m not close to maxing out the cpu by any stretch.
hacktheplanet@programming.dev 1 day ago
Interesting! How much RAM does your device have, if you don’t mind me asking?
I am hoping to be able to do the same and just have it downstream of the ISP router, will make the setup more portable if down the road we change provider.
tofubl@discuss.tchncs.de 1 day ago
Had to check - started with 8GB and figured I’d upgrade when the day comes where I need it. Since that hasn’t happened yet, in this economy I suppose it will stay as is. But no issues, sitting at 12% utilization.
hacktheplanet@programming.dev 1 day ago
Ok cool. I think that I’ll be looking for an option with upgradeable RAM then, rather than something like the DEC697 that has a fixed amount.
tofubl@discuss.tchncs.de 23 hours ago
Correction, I have 16GB. 8GB is what I have assigned to the Opnsense VM. Upgradable RAM would definitely be a must have for me, though. You never know what you might want to run on such a box.
tofubl@discuss.tchncs.de 1 day ago
When I was considering which device to get the Zima board was in the running for me. In the end I ruled it out because of outdated processor and only 2xNIC. They seem to have a v2 now that at least addresses the cpu “issue.” So if 1xWAN and 1xLAN is enough for you it might be something to consider.