My house has frequent power blips, where the power flickers off and back on again within a few seconds, after which I have to reset my router. I’m also running my ISP-supplied router, which is kind of a no-no in techie circles, so I’m debating picking up either a laptop or mini PC so I can install an open source router OS and take back some control over my own network infrastructure.
Can someone help me weigh the pros and cons of laptop vs mini PC + UPS? This project will start out as just a network router but might grow into other boxes for various things. I already have another old/jank laptop serving as my POC media streaming box, and I enjoy the fact that I don’t have to also restart that mf’er every time the power flickers.
I feel like the main selling points of laptops are that they are low powered by design (for always-on use cases), and they come w/ built-in batteries (to get through those power blips). I also appreciate that they come with a built-in keyboard and screen, so I can log in and troubleshoot without having to ssh in. The only downside I can think of is that most laptops are not very upgradable, although I’ve read/seen good things about the old Lenovo Thinkpad business grade laptops as far as durability and upgradability.
Anything else I’m not considering? Thanks in advance.
I’d go mini PC plus a small UPS. A laptop battery sitting at 100% for years tends to swell, and most laptops give you one ethernet port, so you end up with a USB NIC, which is the first thing to flake on a router. A cheap N100/N150 board with two 2.5G ports and a $50 UPS gets you through the blips and leaves room for the media stuff later. Turn on ‘power on after AC loss’ in the BIOS. That one bites people. Disclosure: I’m building a small N150 home box, so I’m biased toward that size. If you go that way I’d like to hear what you’d want in it.