I want to experiment the route of the DIY Router, i came by this computer wich is very small (Hp Prodesk Mini 400 G3) but i think it can get the job done for me… Intel I5 6500T and 8Gb ddr4 2666mhz. The thing is, is it very very small there´s no way i can put a NIC on it. So i was wondering can i put a switch to take in the WAN from the ISP Router (in Bridge Mode) then go in the PC port and later distribuite the signal from the switch itself?, i hope this make sense.
How much does the PC you are looking at cost? or do you already have it?
If you have to buy it, there are other options that you may have available as well that are more suited to this sort of thing. Not sure what specifically you have available in your country but there are various brands you can find on Amazon like Protectli, Qotom, ZimaBoard, plenty of Chinese brands with various names that can also be found on AliExpress as well as Amazon.
No, it’s a bad advice and not recommended. @Mach3.2 sums it up pretty much.
No network appliance except cheap SBCs comes with USB NICs and for a reason (it’s not cost because any other solution is more expensive).
Worst thing that can happen is download speeds might sometime drop for a while.
He already has the thin client and as an easy solution there’s pragmatically nothing wrong with using a usb dongle for a home environment.
Best advice? No, you’re right but I don’t feel the need to be a purist about it.
I have never been a fan of USB NICs and have never recommended one to someone as a solution for more than testing. But honestly now that I am thinking about it, I did do an install a year or two ago for a pro audio upgrade and was installing network switches and running Ethernet lines because the mixing console and new amplifiers would send audio over the Dante protocol. A Mac Mini was used for running the controller and doing recording by receiving all the channels over Dante as well. We kept having problems post-install with the controller and recording and after searching around I found that the company behind Dante (Audinate) had known problems with Mac Mini NICs that had been going on for like 6 years by that point and the solution everyone recommended as the proper fix was to use a USB or Thunderbolt to Ethernet NIC device, as long as it wasnt the official Apple one which also had the same problems as the built in NIC. Ever since I bought that and installed it the co0mputer has worked perfectly with the controller never crapping out and the recordings all coming through fine. So I guess all that to say that thinking about it now I suppose my opinion on modern USB-C to Ethernet NICs has changed and there can actually be good ones out there. You may still run into issues like higher latency and more jitter, but the performance overall should be fine as long as you get a good modern one. and the USB C controller you plug it into has a direct PCI-E lane attachment to the CPU.
You can buy a few different USB dongles and have spares that take only seconds to change in case of a problem.
I have 3 in my drawer (even if I use mellanox CX-3s), and one of those is even a combo USB hub. They are really handy, the only problem I got with them is that the 1Gb USB-C Dell-branded one runs very hot…
I think the USB way is a good & cheap advise, you can always get something better later, after having learnt a lot with the cheap stuff.
EDIT: You can even learn how to do link-aggregation & failover networking
Ah shut it. If its what the guy has available, its whats available. Theres actually some USB cards that do fine. Shutting down options to those who have none is not reasonable decorum, nor a way to conduct yourself.
@Zadrik If you have any PCIe at all, which looking at the size of there case I would think there has to be somewhere (wifi slot maybe?), you can get an extension cable and use a riser off that to have an available X16 port. It will electrically be a X4 port, however, if off a mini pcie slot. Like, say, for a wifi card.
Theres also USB 3 to PCIe things that exist but I have 0 clue how those work, nor do I want to find out. Look up USB3 PCIe Bridge, I think thats what brings those up.
You can also use an M.2 slot if there is one.
Oh and thought of one last thing. HP might do something stupid like have a “smart module” storage thing with a proprietary slot. IDK if that machine has one, but if it does, thats a X2 slot right there. Need a riser to plug into it though. IDK if any exist or if you’d need to design one.
Thanks all for the responses, im aware of the troubles that a USB to Ethernet can carry, with that say is only for home use realy so i dont need the best of the best and also i can´t afford it…About the PC the pc cost, if i have to put it in USD it will be something like 100us (the USD currecy in Argentina is going wild 1USD = 440$ PESOS). With that say i think i would maybe do a little more research on what i need, like the most minimum but decent spec hardware to run this.
Thanks to all again!
Pd: Also in Argentina the availability of hardware like good nics is very hard to find to a decent price
fwiw, my usb3 nic I use, hasn’t caused a single problem for me yet, in probably almost 2 years since I set it up …
… but I just use plain Debian testing for routing, not OPNsense. It’s an old Dell branded Realtek rtl8153a based nic. … TP-Link UE300 are popular and similar - and said to have a better and more efficient rtl8153b revision of the chip.
Almost any desktop processors made in the last 6 or 8 years will NAT 1Gbps no problem, but you’re still stuck with 1 onboard NIC + whatever you can find to put into the USB port for the Gigabyte PC.
Ideally you get something with 2 onboard NICs if you haven’t bought anything yet, but if you’re fine that, then by all means go ahead.
I wonder if machines are just used for so long in Argentina, that maybe there just isn’t enough of a market for these second hand 4th - 8th gen intel “data entry/knowledge worker” machines.
can you get something like this?
This is the “small form factor” aka SFF which will take a fancy nic, and an HBA as pcie cards.
… and there’s 1L / ultra small form factor, Lenovo tiny, HP mini, Dell micro (servethehome makes tinyminimicro clusters).
Old 7th and 8th gen micro are good jellyfin qsv transcoding workhorses good for taking your media on the go.
My Spanish isn’t that great, if those are AR pesos … that brix might not be a bad idea afterall. (520 series graphics, not good for jellyfin transcoding… but ok for a router)
