<h1>Routing With VyOS on a Minisforum MS-01: A Comprehensive Guide</h1>
<h2>Introduction</h2>
<p>In our quest to optimize home routing solutions, we transitioned from a high-power SuperMicro server to the more energy-efficient Minisforum MS-01 running VyOS. This series of experiments and benchmarks helps shed light on the capabilities and performance of the MS-01, particularly focusing on various aspects, such as hardware choices, power consumption, throughput, and the impact of security mitigations.</p>
<h2>Initial Setup and Hardware Selection</h2>
<p>The journey of migrating our home router began by moving from an aging Xeon E5-2683v4 to the compact and power-efficient Minisforum MS-01. The chosen hardware for this setup includes an i9-13900H CPU, specific RAM, and SSDs. These decisions were made to balance performance and efficiency, addressing critical factors like NIC selection, BIOS configuration, SSD longevity, and overall power consumption.</p>
<h3>Key Hardware Components</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>CPU</strong>: i9-13900H</li>
<li><strong>RAM</strong>: Selected for balance between speed and capacity</li>
<li><strong>SSDs</strong>: Prioritized for longevity and performance</li>
</ul>
<h2>Migrating to Minisforum MS-01</h2>
<p>The migration process involved several challenges, primarily centered around ensuring that the new setup could match the performance of the existing SuperMicro system while benefiting from reduced noise, heat, and power usage. Preliminary results showed significant power savings with comparable performance, laying the groundwork for more in-depth testing.</p>
<h2>Benchmarking VyOS Performance</h2>
<h3>Part 1: High-Level Performance</h3>
<p>Initial benchmarking showed the Minisforum MS-01’s capability of sending 40 Gbps of HTTP traffic. However, detailed data on small-packet performance and scaling beyond this threshold was missing at this stage.</p>
<h3>Part 2: Comprehensive Performance Testing</h3>
<p>To address this gap, we installed trex for traffic generation and conducted extensive tests with varying packet sizes and configurations. These tests utilized the slower MS-01 i5-12600H model to uncover key insights:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Flowtable Offloads</strong>: Sustained about 8 Mpps, delivering over 90 Gbps for full-sized traffic.</li>
<li><strong>Jumbo Frames</strong>: Enabling these surprisingly reduced throughput.</li>
<li><strong>Power Saving</strong>: Minimal impact on overall performance.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Part 3: Mitigation Impact</h3>
<p>Exploring the impact of Spectre/Meltdown mitigations revealed a noticeable, albeit not substantial, performance boost when these mitigations were disabled. Corrections to previous peak throughput measurements provided detailed throughput and IPC data.</p>
<h2>Future Investigations</h2>
<p>Plans for further investigations include exploring the impact of routing table size, firewall rules, and additional performance comparisons to ensure the reliability and efficiency of the setup. These future tests will help optimize VyOS performance on the Minisforum MS-01.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Our comprehensive evaluation of the Minisforum MS-01 as a home router running VyOS highlights its viability as a powerful, energy-efficient alternative to traditional high-power servers. Despite some challenges, the MS-01 demonstrates impressive performance and lends itself well to continued optimization and fine-tuning.</p>


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The transition from a high-power SuperMicro server to the energy-efficient Minisforum MS-01 running VyOS is detailed, highlighting key hardware choices, power savings, and performance benchmarks. The guide covers initial setup, migration challenges, comprehensive performance testing with tools like trex, and the impact of security mitigations on performance. Future tests are planned to further optimize the setup.