1U Edge Router
1U Edge Router -- the only device in the roster that can hold the ISP uplink. Everything the rack does that touches the outside world routes through whichever router owns that connection.
- Category: Networking
- Rack height: 1U
- Power draw: 15W typical, 80W max
One 10G WAN port, two LAN ports, real DHCP server support, 10Gbps max throughput. Enable its DHCP server and wire client devices to its LAN side (directly or through a switch) to actually hand out working IP addresses.
No IP = no service, full stop -- a device with no address from a real DHCP server can't run a hosted game, mine crypto usefully, rent AI compute, or do anything else that depends on being reachable.
Also carries real defensive stats (128 firewall rules) even without a dedicated Firewall device sitting in front of it, though a real Firewall device's deep packet inspection goes further for Heat purposes.
Tip: the ISP connection itself is an "invisible uplink" the same way the Residential Grid is for power -- the router needs its WAN port explicitly wired to it before anything downstream is actually online, not just powered.
VPN tunnels start at 0 and are a locked stat, not free-editable -- buy a VPN Module (one-time) from this router's own panel or the top bar's Upgrade Console to provision one. Once this router has at least 1 and is powered on, every terminal in this rack can run racks / rackscan <id> / ping against your OTHER owned racks too, no cable required. See the Rack-to-Rack Terminal Access section for the full flow, and Hardware Upgrades & the Upgrade Console for the full upgrade system.
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.