11
Laptop vs mini PC w/ UPS for frequent power blips (lemmy.ml)
submitted 1 day ago by to c/homelab@lemmy.ml
5 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

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.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 2 points 1 day ago

You need to keep in mind that most laptops are not going to have 2 ethernet ports(or even 1 these days). You will need 1 port to connect to your modem and 1 port to provide the network to an AP. All ports aren't created equal. If you want good speeds you want to find something with 2 good ethernet ports. Your internet speed will determine what is good enough for you port wise. If you are fine with pretty slow speeds then a laptop can work and you can use a usb to ethernet adapter but that's a bit janky. If you intend to use the built in wifi card for the AP just know it won't be nearly as good as a dedicated AP. Check out the Lenovo ThinkCentre line. It has some good options with decent ports. As for a UPS you can sometimes find something better by looking at "Solar Power Generators" instead. They're basically just batteries with an inverter and outlets on them. And they can recharge from solar which is why they have the name. But a lot of times they're the better bang for your buck than a normal UPS. And if you got a few solar panels you could hook them up to it. Which it sounds like might be useful to you in general.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
    •