My current internet setup is like this (which is common for most people).
fiber line from ISP <-> ISP fiber modem <-> Personal wifi router <-> switch
This is working fine with no issues. But I need to power two devices. I want to reduce this to a single device.
fiber line from ISP <-> Modem+Firewall PC <-> Switch <-> AP1,AP2...
From my initial research, what I need is an SFP module which can be attached to a PC which supports SFP. OPNsense should be able to handle most SFP modules.
What is the community’s take on this? Is this worth the effort? Can I find a mini-PC which supports SFP? Will it be cost effective?
Just use the fiber modem, it’s gonna be a huge pain and fight with your ISP to use your own modem likely.
Those two devices are likely very low power arm devices. I wouldn’t be surprised if a mini pc consumes more power than those two devices. If power is your concern you should probably measure how much they’re actually pulling.
I dunno, my newest cable modem chews up a boatload of power for no good reason - really pisses me off.
It uses more power (50w) than my 2019 SFF desktop I run as a server, with an 8TB drive (20w).
I know because they both sit on their own smart switches.
Maybe correct? Though my cable modem gobbles down some 15W… Without even doing the Wifi… So, I bet this isn’t a universal truth, as a Mini-PC will comsume less and provide all kinds of extra services, networking, NAS…
Wow, that’s a power hungry modem… But, look into the power usage of those sfp modules. They can be ~10w on their own.
This is working fine with no issues.
It seems like a lot of time and effort with no upside except having one device in the place of two. Is there more you are hoping to accomplish with this proposed change?
Follow the guides at https://pon.wiki/ for replacing your ISP modem with a sfp module running custom firmware. The sfp module will require some sort of active cooling, I bought a 3D printed bracket and fan from their discord server. You can also get a sfp to Ethernet media converter if your firewall does not have sfp: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0FCFWGWHT
These work great as a firewall: https://www.ebay.com/itm/358186631570 8 cores with the n355. I split up the cores to run multiple VMs and docker containers. I passed through all the network interfaces to the opnsense VM. It also has 2 m.2 slots(pcie 1x) I use for mirroring 2 64GB intel optane ssds in a zpool.
Most fiber services register the sfp/sfp+ module. it is much cheaper, easier and usually not against the terms of service to just use the isp-provided sfp in your own routing device instead of messing with OLT settingw and custom firmware on a $160 WAS.
This may not be so easy, what protocol does the ISP use over fibre? Honestly the network card that you will probably need might already pull more than the modem.
Is this worth the effort?
In terms of electricity cost?
I wouldn’t do it myself.
If you want to know whether it’s going to save money, you want to see how much power it uses — you can use a wattmeter, or look up the maximum amount on the device ratings to get an upper end. Look up how much you’re paying per kWh in electricity. Price the hardware. Put a price on your labor. Then you can get an estimate.
My guess, without having any of those numbers, is that it probably isn’t.
Protectli sells opnsense firewalls with SFP+ support. Make sure these can handle gigabit data rates.
You can also terminate SFP with a switch and route that at L2 (VLAN) level to your firewall’s NIC.
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Unrelated but do you guys get pussy? Feels like everyone in this sub is a virgin
I’ll ask your mom.
Better yet, LemmyShemmy should ask his mom - no reason to do his work for him
