You can make a powerful router out of an off-lease Enterprise Thin Client machine and a server-grade multi-port Ethernet adapter.
Thin Clients are small, quiet, and power-efficient computers that are used as graphical terminals in enterprise networks. You can convert a "retired" Thin Client machine into router.
A Thin Client router can have a powerful (for a router) CPU and multiple server-grade networks ports. Your router can run pfSense OPNsense or IPFire, for example. Both are actively developed and are well-suited to the task.
Here's what you need:
- Thin Client machine with at least 2GB of RAM and 2GB of flash storage
- PCIe expansion capability
- Multi-port Gigabit PCIe server NIC with Intel chipset
HP 5740 Thin Client
| HP 5740 Thin Client SKUs | |
| SKU | Capacities |
|---|---|
| VU902AA | 2G RAM/2G ROM * |
| VU899AA | 1G RAM/2G ROM |
| VU900AA | 2G RAM/2G ROM |
| VU901AA | 2G RAM/4G ROM |
(*) The VU902AA model has Wi-Fi.
A router made from an HP T5740 Thin Client can handle up to 650-megabits of throughput without adding significant latency.
The T5740 has a 1.66 GHz Intel Atom CPU and comes with various RAM and ROM capacities. A chassis expansion module adds a PCIE slot and doubles the width of the device. A one-, two-, or four-port server-grade network card (full-height bracket) will fit into the PCIe slot. Price per port is about $8, which is astoundingly low.
T5740 Parts
Search Links:
Thin Client | Expansion Chassis (AMZN) | Network Adapter
Reminder: choose one with 2GB of RAM and a power adapter.
Historical pricing:
$70.98 as of 2018-08-11
$62.28 as of 2018-07-09
$67.95 as of 2018-01-28
$71.37 as of 2017-12-29
$66.97 as of 2017-11-27
$69.77 as of 2017-09-01
$72.52 as of 2017-08-07
$63.54 as of 2017-06-23
$69.74 as of 2017-06-11
$66.55 as of 2017-05-27
$69.29 as of 2017-05-16
$63.77 as of 2017-05-13
$66.10 as of 2017-05-10
$70.55 as of 2017-05-08
$76.52 as of 2017-04-22
$62.25 as of 2017-03-20 (record low)