this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2026
43 points (92.2% liked)

Selfhosted

57792 readers
634 users here now

A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don't control.

Rules:

  1. Be civil: we're here to support and learn from one another. Insults won't be tolerated. Flame wars are frowned upon.

  2. No spam posting.

  3. Posts have to be centered around self-hosting. There are other communities for discussing hardware or home computing. If it's not obvious why your post topic revolves around selfhosting, please include details to make it clear.

  4. Don't duplicate the full text of your blog or github here. Just post the link for folks to click.

  5. Submission headline should match the article title (don’t cherry-pick information from the title to fit your agenda).

  6. No trolling.

  7. No low-effort posts. This is subjective and will largely be determined by the community member reports.

Resources:

Any issues on the community? Report it using the report flag.

Questions? DM the mods!

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

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?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] FlexibleToast@lemmy.world 24 points 4 weeks ago (3 children)

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.

[–] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 4 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

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.

[–] MagnificentSteiner@lemmy.zip 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

50w... holy shit!

My server with 1 SSD, 3 HDDs running multiple docker containers doesn't usually pull more than 35-40w.

My router tops out at 8w and my wireless access point at 5w IIRC.

[–] tal@lemmy.today 2 points 3 weeks ago

My consumer broadband router (which acts as a WAP, modem, and router) looks like it's rated for a 36W power supply. Putting a Kill-A-Watt wattmeter on it shows it currently using about 14W.

[–] FlexibleToast@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I would definitely complain. That sounds defective.

[–] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] pipes@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 weeks ago

Holy moly, what modem is that??

[–] hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 3 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

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...

[–] FlexibleToast@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Wow, that's a power hungry modem... But, look into the power usage of those sfp modules. They can be ~10w on their own.

[–] hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 1 points 3 weeks ago

Yeah, they often get quite warm. Some day I'll be in the same situation as OP. And I can't wait to throw out that supid modem. No clue, though what kind of SFP the fiber provider requires. I mean there's quite a selection available...

[–] xavier666@lemmy.umucat.day 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

This is something I completely forgot to account for. I heard that some SFP modules (10G) can consume a lot of power. I think the devices are pretty low powered. I'll have to get a smartmeter and rethink the setup. Thanks a lot!

[–] FlexibleToast@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

Older 10G SFP+ models were definitely power hungry. I think they've gotten better since then, but I haven't really looked into how much better.