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25 Gigabit Linux internet router PC build

michael.stapelberg.ch

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Re: 25 Gigabit Linux internet router PC build

#161

Post by specialist »

Very cool post. Thank you.

This article, and its many links, are helping noob me learn how to ask about I/O perf.

TechEmpower benchmarks HTTP servers. While contestants continue to improve, I've long been curious what the theoretical fastest HTTP server could be. https://www.techempower.com/benchmarks/

Basically, an update to the "C10K problem" for the year 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C10k_problem

A bit like how Daniel Lemire initially thought about parsing JSON. Paraphrasing: Why can't a JSON parser run at wire speed? "Parsing JSON quickly: early comparisons in the wild" https://lemire.me/blog/2019/03/02/parsing-json-quickly-early...

--

Also, I really appreciate including the sound and cooling considerations. It's just great seeing the process of system design accommodating (balancing) multiple goals. Bravo.

Re: 25 Gigabit Linux internet router PC build

#162

Post by secure »

bastardoperator wrote: post #143

I have a very similar setup using a desktop as a router (opnsense, 2 WAN, fibre/switch) and it has a single, yet fatal flaw. The power button. When you lose power, and the power comes back on, your router does not. If you are away, you must physically turn it back on.

I describe the relevant UEFI option in https://michael.stapelberg.ch/posts/2021-07-10-linux-25gbit-... :)

Re: 25 Gigabit Linux internet router PC build

#163

Post by JCharante »

t0mas88 wrote: post #38
ianai wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The machine's clearly massive overkill for routing. Another commenter points out it typically runs around 50w - and the OP says they're also using it as a server in this thread.

The problem is running it 24x7, then a small 50w is still 438 Kwh each year. That's more than a 10% increase in yearly use for a typical two person household...

Aren't 60w lightbulbs still around?

Re: 25 Gigabit Linux internet router PC build

#164

Post by secure »

daneel_w wrote: post #122

At some point the idea of "use more case fans, then all of them run at lower RPM" simply turns on you and instead produce more noise. For the low wattages of this build a single case fan would've been sufficient to keep PSU and CPU fan at silent levels. I have a few more watts in my PC case, but not a single case fan, and the machine still hovers at a comfortably quiet level at 1 meter's distance. No temperature issu…

Yeah, I’ll probably turn off some fans to see how the temperatures react. That’s for some time in the future, though… :)

Re: 25 Gigabit Linux internet router PC build

#165

Post by bcrl »

tomnipotent wrote: post #145
adrian_b wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"probably consuming like x100 the power" is greatly exaggerated. A typical PC might have an idle power consumption of less than 50 W, while a very small computer with ARM little cores might have an idle power of 2 ... 3 W, so at most the power consumption ratio would be 20. However even that is not realistic because a computer or appliance with less than 3 W power consumption will not be able to route 10 Gb/s or fast…

SFP requires less energy than RJ45, only 0.7W/port. The MikroTik 4-port CRS305-1G-4S+IN draws 10-18W.

That's not entirely true. SFP power consumption depends on the type of SFP. A 10Gbps DWDM SFP+ might draw 1.8W of power. The why for this is actually quite interesting: the lasers used in DWDM SFPs have much more stringent requirements for temperature stability to ensure the light emitted doesn't drift out of spec. In order to achieve that temperature stability, they use a built in peltier to pump heat away from the laser and control the temperature. They're quite the marvel of modern engineering!

Re: 25 Gigabit Linux internet router PC build

#166

Post by specialist »

j1elo wrote: post #4

I'm always amazed by people who don't bat an eye on the perspective of having a home server, sucking up electricity 24/7. In this case replacing a typical router (which consumes like a lightbulb), with a full-fledged PC (probably consuming like x100 the power). I guess some people around the world have quite cheap utility bills! For me, it's either a Raspberry Pi type of power consumption, or else a server that only…

Why not? Every one needs a hobby.

Another benefit to Stapelberg's noodling is setting expectations.

Imagine you're bootstrapping a municipal ISP or mid-sized org. Dealing with vendors and products for the first time. What's reasonable? Who knows? Having these projects be a reality check is awesome.

Re: 25 Gigabit Linux internet router PC build

#168

Post by flatiron »

j1elo wrote: post #157
flatiron wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I run just plex and pi hole. Money I save with plex that I don’t need a million different services and having no ads at home is well worth the price. One day my friends went out and I couldn’t go. They got all drunk and shared how much they rely on my plex and by the time I woke up I had close to $1k in PayPal and a note that said “for an upgrade and your time” so honestly I probably making out on the deal. Went from…

I've been looking at the offers of big providers and the average seems to be pretty much standard: 2 TB for $10/month. All across Dropbox, Google, Apple, even Microsoft (the individual plan) are in the same ballpark.

Google drive enterprise for $20 a month for unlimited is the best I’ve found. Rclone and encfs to mount and send the content. Almost 0 issues.

Re: 25 Gigabit Linux internet router PC build

#169

Post by a2tech »

elric wrote: post #118
yakubin wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But even if, why do you keep your power efficient router running 24/7? You could turn it off when you're not home to save even more energy. You jest, but I turn off my router for the night and each time I leave home for more than a day. Not just router to be exact, everything that's connected to a power strip goes down, as I turn off all the power strips. (Not OP.)

I have physical switches on or near every outlet. Anything that's not actively being used gets turned off. With the exception of my oven and hob, because those are nearly impossible to reach. I use roughly 2kWh/day. This approach probably doesn't make much sense if you're using an order of magnitude more power. But it makes sense for me.

Crazy. My wife and I used 619 kWh last month

Re: 25 Gigabit Linux internet router PC build

#170

Post by virtuallynathan »

pmorici wrote: post #140

Kind of surprised there wasn't much attention paid to the software. My understanding is that with stuff like DPDK and fd.io you can get much better performance without going to extremes with your hardware. Netgate TNSR is one product that puts all the opensource pieces together to make it easy but it is all opensource software so should be usable by the average home user.

I was going to say that... with fd.io this should be pretty easy these days.
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