Never turn off router?

[System Error Message]

As the router is not needed to provide service during the night, I turn it off by the power button at the back of the router (instead of unplugging the power adapter from the wall electrical outlet) and turn it on during the day.


Not surprisingly, I belong to the minority here.

any electronic item plugged in even when turned off still uses a bit of power because of the PSU and the motherboard. That power use depends on the type of psu and the type of system but for embedded is below 2W while for desktops it can go up to 20W. You need to turn it off at the plug.

Tiny switching based DC adapters use very little power in the range of milliwatts when left plugged in.

 

[sm00thpapa]

24/7 as long as we are home. If we take a family vacation I shut it off till we come home.

 

[coxhaus]

I figure my server rack cost me $10 a month. I would think I run a couple hundred watts. I have 2 servers, one being a software firewall, a 28 port switch, a extra isolated small switch to work on virus problems, a router, a video switch to switch between servers, a couple of poe adapters, a large APC, modem, and a monitor which is only on when I am using it.

This stuff is too much trouble to shutdown and restart. It just runs in the background. I hardly mess with it any more. I just expect everything to work. Any equipment which can not run for more than a year is discarded and replaced.

 

[AdvHomeServer]

As the router is not needed to provide service during the night, I turn it off by the power button at the back of the router (instead of unplugging the power adapter from the wall electrical outlet) and turn it on during the day.


Not surprisingly, I belong to the minority here.

Don't worry about it. As long as it works for you, then it's a good solution. There's nothing wrong with penny pinching. I've been so cheap most of my life it's practically a middle name ... plus a dime here and a dime there can add up to a lot over time when it becomes a habit. I think I read somewhere that cutting out the daily Starbucks can amount to a year's income when you finally retire.

 

[coxhaus]

In my younger days when I was trying to stay on top of the all the latest and greatest networking and server software my rack was full. It produced so much heat I had to run a 220V AC window unit in my computer room. I bet it costs $50 or more a month in the summer time. Winter was nice toasty. My window unit sees very little if any use and more.

 

[System Error Message]

I've gotten my router down to 20W before by manually underclocking it however changing clocks require restart. I wonder how many watts all your networking gear and services use in total. Im trying to set up power saving and using my very fast router to wake up servers whenever theres traffic.

I use a mikrotik CCR1036, ASUS AC3200 and a mikrotik CRS226 in the leanest of times but at times i also use an AC68U and netgear GS724T if i have to. I also have a cluster of 7 GPGPU servers/desktop and 4 laptops that are mini GPGPU servers, and a bunch of multicore ARM (including 64 bit 8 core with openCL capable GPU) based stuff as well and they all use gigabit NICs. A lot of my servers use multiple gigabit ethernet ports which is why i got the CRS so that i can use port aggregation for as many hosts as i like and it has SFP+ just as my router does so i can stack, use 10G on servers once the NICs are cheap and am ready for 10G internet which would never come to where i live. My cluster does perform a bunch of other functions from hosting games to media and storage server and also my own personal storage cloud. The entire cluster can use a total of 4KW on stock speeds.

At least it is still uses less than cisco's edgerouter which uses up to 7KW. I wonder if theres anyone here who uses a cisco edgerouter at home.

 

[L&LD]

I think I read somewhere that cutting out the daily Starbucks can amount to a year's income when you finally retire.

That is great for people that make it to retirement age. But I've seen many friends, family and read about many others that never get there and thinking that the pile of money in their bank account (or their parent's) was a sad and lost opportunity of the life they could have had.

Not saying to spend what you have foolishly. But having money in the bank only has some possible meaning if every other area of your life is lived with balance too.

The way I see it, saving money (excessively) is another way to be wasteful. Really. It is not doing anyone any good except for the bankers if it is only being stockpiled and never used. The joy and freedom it can bring (especially when it isn't used just for 'us', but rather, for others too) is far more beneficial than the false sense of security it provides otherwise.

Again, balance is the key. But if I see a need (not extravagance) for any savings I've created (for myself or immediate others); the money is used and spent. With any luck, in the near future I'll be able to save up once again and do it all over. But what I don't want is to die with more than $5* to my name (that would be the ultimate waste, for me) when all is said and done. Inheritance you ask (for my family)? I think that is the worst thing I could wish for anyone. Especially anyone I loved. Just look how lotto winners lives become wreaked, as an example.


*Pick any amount you feel is 'enough' here.

 

[coxhaus]

The problem with all the large Cisco gear, it's what I use to work on, they suck a lot of power and the fans are incredibly loud. The equipment is designed for an equipment room are a large wiring closet. I had to close the door when testing at home because my did not like the noise. I would never run that kind of gear at home long term. Most of the testing for the big Cisco 6600 switches was a work. I did not have the power requirements and equipment is very heavy. At home I ran like a small Cisco PIC firewall which had no fans. I had access to free software upgrades.

 

[TonyH]

24/7 as long as we are home. If we take a family vacation I shut it off till we come home.

For me, if router is off while we're away, I can't check around house or control home HVAC system.

 

[Ronv42]

I used to have N16's on timers at my clients sites until I was starting to blow caps on the boards. From that point on I just let them run and never ran into many issues. I don't know if there is any official study on how inrush current effects the longevity of the routers themselves but I do know from experience that the heat up/cool down cycling of the circuit boards can lead to component separation if the connections from soldering them on is questionable.

 

[System Error Message]

networking gear are actually meant to be kept on 24/7 and there are so many power saving techniques that can be used but none of them are actually implemented. For example low power modes and CPU standby when there are no clients/traffic. Other than x86 routers do not clock down during low CPU usage. I would say i have overkill equipment because the most i've ever used practically on my CCR is just 1 out of 36 cores on doing VPN and a bunch of other stuff other than NAT, routing and bridging.

 

[coxhaus]

Some of the green ports and stuff I have had to turn off on the Cisco gear. It does not ramp up quick enough or older hardware is unaware of green settings. I had green set on my Cisco WAP flowing across green Cisco switch ports. Some Apple products and some Windows PCs had timeout issues so I turned it off. I think green setting are hard to use for the general public. If you hand pick your gear it might work.

 

[sfx2000]

That is great for people that make it to retirement age. But I've seen many friends, family and read about many others that never get there and thinking that the pile of money in their bank account (or their parent's) was a sad and lost opportunity of the life they could have had.

Very good point - I've never seen an armored truck at a funeral...

 

[stevech]

As the router is not needed to provide service during the night, I turn it off by the power button at the back of the router (instead of unplugging the power adapter from the wall electrical outlet) and turn it on during the day.


Not surprisingly, I belong to the minority here.

I confess... I don't unplug my electric toothbrush overnight.

 

[RogerSC]

Modem and router stay on all night. We have unpredictable sleep times here, any of us could be up at any time. Easier to just leave them on (they're on a UPS) and not think about it. Computers do get turned off at night, though...except for mobile phones and tablets that are charging at night.

 

[sm00thpapa]

For me, if router is off while we're away, I can't check around house or control home HVAC system.

Understandable. I don't have any of that so I just shut it off when we are gone for 4 days or more. I plan to get wifi cameras soon so I'll have to leave it on than. Thanks for your input.

 

[coxhaus]

I assume my wife's iPhone and iPad back up to the cloud at night. Does anybody know the setting for Apple and the cloud?

 

[azazel1024]

any electronic item plugged in even when turned off still uses a bit of power because of the PSU and the motherboard. That power use depends on the type of psu and the type of system but for embedded is below 2W while for desktops it can go up to 20W. You need to turn it off at the plug.

Tiny switching based DC adapters use very little power in the range of milliwatts when left plugged in.

Maybe for very, very old computers. All computers I've measured power consumption on in the last decade have used less than 2 watts when off. Generally about 2-5 watts in S3 with WOL enabled. Now for appliance, it can vary heavily. I've measured some TVs that have used 20-30 watts while "off" and some TVs and other "appliances" that have been less than 1 watt. Appliances are where I find the greatest variability in how much power they actually use while off.

Computers are generally pretty good, but non zero. Wall warts and that sort of thing will often measure 0, but are typically using from a few dozen to a couple of hundred miliwatts (most wall plug power meters like the Kill-a-watt don't effectively measure power consumption below 1 watt). Which can add up when you are talking leaving half a dozen or a dozen chargers plugged in all the time for a variety of devices.

 

[System Error Message]

Maybe for very, very old computers. All computers I've measured power consumption on in the last decade have used less than 2 watts when off. Generally about 2-5 watts in S3 with WOL enabled. Now for appliance, it can vary heavily. I've measured some TVs that have used 20-30 watts while "off" and some TVs and other "appliances" that have been less than 1 watt. Appliances are where I find the greatest variability in how much power they actually use while off.

Computers are generally pretty good, but non zero. Wall warts and that sort of thing will often measure 0, but are typically using from a few dozen to a couple of hundred miliwatts (most wall plug power meters like the Kill-a-watt don't effectively measure power consumption below 1 watt). Which can add up when you are talking leaving half a dozen or a dozen chargers plugged in all the time for a variety of devices.

It depends on the PSU. Some higher end PSU uses more watts when plugged in since they use active components.

 

[AdvHomeServer]

That is great for people that make it to retirement age. But I've seen many friends, family and read about many others that never get there and thinking that the pile of money in their bank account (or their parent's) was a sad and lost opportunity of the life they could have had.

Not saying to spend what you have foolishly. But having money in the bank only has some possible meaning if every other area of your life is lived with balance too.

The way I see it, saving money (excessively) is another way to be wasteful. Really. It is not doing anyone any good except for the bankers if it is only being stockpiled and never used. The joy and freedom it can bring (especially when it isn't used just for 'us', but rather, for others too) is far more beneficial than the false sense of security it provides otherwise.

Again, balance is the key. But if I see a need (not extravagance) for any savings I've created (for myself or immediate others); the money is used and spent. With any luck, in the near future I'll be able to save up once again and do it all over. But what I don't want is to die with more than $5* to my name (that would be the ultimate waste, for me) when all is said and done. Inheritance you ask (for my family)? I think that is the worst thing I could wish for anyone. Especially anyone I loved. Just look how lotto winners lives become wreaked, as an example.


*Pick any amount you feel is 'enough' here.

Off topic ... yes. Hope you enjoy the extravagant lifestyle Social Security offers you. Of course, your data processing skills will always remain current and last forever and people will always want what you offer. Maybe you'll live fast, die young, and have a beautiful corpse. Or be grateful for the opportunity to greet people at the big box store 20 hours a week.