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otl , to Selfhosted
@otl@hachyderm.io avatar

Follow-up: OpenBSD routers on AliExpress mini PCs

I got lots of replies to the last post showing the little OpenBSD internet gateway setup (super interesting; thanks!). Here's more info and pictures:
https://www.srcbeat.com/2024/02/aliexpress-openbsd-router/

Something I've been meaning to share for years now.

@selfhosted

areyouevenreal ,

Normally you use a separate AP to do that. BSDs don't normally have good support for WiFi cards. Consumer WiFi cards aren't really meant for use as APs anyway.

Decronym Bot ,

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

Fewer Letters More Letters
AP WiFi Access Point
NAS Network-Attached Storage
Unifi Ubiquiti WiFi hardware brand

[Thread for this sub, first seen 4th Mar 2024, 20:25]
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otl , to Selfhosted
@otl@hachyderm.io avatar

Another successful OpenBSD setup

I've been buying these little boxes from AliExpress for years to use as firewalls and routers. My oldest one is almost 9 years old now! OpenBSD installs just fine. Just a BIOS tweak to always boot up after power is restored.

@selfhosted

Ajen ,

Openwrt works great for gigabit networks with simple firewall rules and no IPS. But used 10-56gbps enterprise equipment is getting pretty cheap, and more complicated firewall configurations need more powerful hardware than the typical openwrt router.

And 56gbps on a home LAN might be overkill, but that's not important.

Violet_McQuasional ,
@Violet_McQuasional@feddit.uk avatar

Yeah. I've no need to change to anything else. pf/OPNsense 4life.

Wander , to Selfhosted
@Wander@packmates.org avatar

The future of selfhosted services is going to be... Android?

Wait, what?

Think about it. At some point everyone has had an old phone lying around. They are designed to be constantly connected, constantly on... and even have a battery and potentially still a SIM card to survive power outages.

We just need to make it easy to create APK packaged servers that can avoid battery-optimization kills and automatically configure an outbound tunnel like ngrok, zerotrust, etc...

The goal: hosting services like , , !? should be as easy as installing an APK and leaving an old phone connected to a spare charger / outlet.

It would be tempting to have an optimized ROM, but if self-hosting is meant to become more commonplace, installing an APK should be all that's needed. can do SSH, VPN and other tunnels without the need for root, so there should be no problem in using tunnels to publicly expose a phone/server in a secure manner.

In regards to the suitability of home-grade broadband, I believe that it should not be a huge problem at least in Europe where home connections are most often unmetered: "At the end of June 2021, 70.2% of EU homes were passed by either FTTP or cable DOCSIS
3.1 networks, i.e. those technologies currently capable of supporting gigabit speeds."

Source: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/broadband-coverage-europe-2021

PS. syncthing actually already has an APK and is easy to use. Although I had to sort out some battery optimization stuff, it's a good example of what should become much more commonplace.

cc: @selfhosted

Wander OP ,
@Wander@packmates.org avatar

@benjohn @selfhosted 6-8 GB of RAM with powerful CPU and GPU that was designed to run games and can in some cases run small AI models is nothing to scoff at imho.

z00s ,

Counterpoint: spicy pillows

I was going to host pihole on an old android until I noticed it getting quite warm while continuously connected to power. Realised I didn't know the lifespan of the battery and didn't want it tp start a fire.

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