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non-nuc_projects

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Non-NUC Projects

Most of my Non-NUC projects involve having a second wired LAN interface.

You can also find my Monero CPU Miner on this site, which I am now using for F@H.

Work-From-Home (WFH) Firewall

A work-from-home environment needs to be reliable and secure. Something less expensive than a netgate or Protectli box with built-in WiFi. Given the recent Ubiquiti compromise, I'm not using their USG until further notice.

  • Secure and stable - pfSense is a reputable firewall
  • Use my cellular LTE data as a second/backup WAN with a built-in wireless adapter - pfSense again does this seamlessly
  • Two gigabit interfaces for LAN and WAN so I don't have to use a managed switch and trunking

The ZOTAC mini PC model ZBOX-CI325NANO was used.

  • Two gigabit wired interfaces (LAN and WAN)
  • Integrated wireless (dual band AC 3165, 3165NGW, 801.11ac)
  • Older CPU - Intel Celeron N3160 (quad-core 1.6GHz, up to 2.24GHz) 4 cores 4 threads
  • 2.5“ SATA drive and two (2) DDR3L-1600 SO-DIMM RAM slots (16GB MAX)
  • Has a fan

Setup

  • WAN interface to cable modem
  • LAN interface to network switch
  • WAN2 wireless interface to Jetpack LTE data modem
  • WAN_GROUP uses WAN and WAN2 for internet access, failing over on packet loss or high latency
  • Ubiquiti Unifi wireless access points and CloudKey

freePBX

While I can use a NUC configure and trunked interface to run a VoIP system, I wanted two interfaces: VoIP network and DMZ. The FreePBX platform is perfect for my needs.

The Qotom Mini PC Q220S-S02 came configured as I wanted:

  • Intel Core i5 Processor, Dual core 1.7 GHz
  • 8GB RAM
  • 128GB SSD
  • Dual LAN
  • Fan 1), not suitable for desktop use
  • Compares favorably to performance of freePBX appliances
  • Does not have space to install two drives as RAID 1

Mac Mini Model A1347

This is change of pace from refurbishing NUCs.

  • Apple support shows Catalina as being the latest compatible OS for this model; no further updates are available
  • 21 Monterrey was also mentioned
  • Probably has 1TB HD running at 5400 RPM (very slow, no Fusion drive)
    • Option to change to SSD or add an adapter and NVMe

3 devices

  • Device 1
    • Lion OX X 10.7
    • CPU:
    • RAM:
    • Disk:
  • Device 2
    • Yosemite OS X 10.10
    • CPU:
    • RAM:
    • Disk:
  • Device 3
    • MacOS Sierra
    • CPU:
    • RAM:
    • Disk:

Original state:

  • Clean
  • Non-booting
  • Unable to re-image any of them via the recovery utility
  • Download DMG file
  • Write to USB using UltraDMG
1)
Really annoying variable fan, not engineered like a NUC
non-nuc_projects.1714327897.txt.gz · Last modified: 2024/04/28 18:11 by user