1U Comm Device -- the first real step toward multiplayer: a live directory of who else is active, not a static leaderboard.
Racked, wired to power and network, and switched on, a Comm Device opens a directory of other active players: their registered username, current Reputation rank, and how recently they were actually online (a genuine save within the last 15 minutes counts as active, not a guess or a static flag). A few names in the directory are the community itself keeping things lively rather than a live player, same as any comm channel with a bit of background chatter.
You must own and power one to use this, either way in. There are two paths to the same directory: open the Comm Device's own inspector directly, or run the players command from a Terminal Server or KVM Console already wired into the same rack -- but that terminal command only works if a Comm Device you own is racked and powered too, the same as the device's own inspector. Neither path is a shortcut around owning one.
Registration matters here. The directory itself needs a registered account to actually use -- unregistered play can still buy and rack a Comm Device like any other unit, but it won't show the player list yet. Rather than fail silently (easy to mistake for a bug), a powered, unregistered Comm Device shows a clear, explicit message telling you to register, right in its inspector.
Tip: this is deliberately the social layer shipping ahead of full PvP raiding multiplayer -- see the Roadmap for what's planned on top of it.
Takes the Redundant PSU upgrade ($1800, Inspector → Upgrades): it adds a second power input, PSU2. Wire PSU2 to a DIFFERENT PDU or UPS than PSU1 and this device keeps running when either one dies. Two feeds from the SAME PDU protects nothing -- the redundancy panel simulates that PDU failing and watches the device fail with it regardless of cable count. The spare idles at zero draw, so it costs nothing extra on the power bill. See Redundancy & Failover.