What Hardware Should I Use? Internet-in-a-Box (IIAB) Is Free And Open Source Software That Runs On Many GNU/Linux Platforms: The Raspberry Pi 4 ($35+), Raspberry Pi 5 ($50+) And Raspberry Pi 400 ($70 Computer-in-keyboard) Are Best For Classrooms, In Almost All Cases! Their Internal Wi-Fi Hotspot Supports Up To 32 Student WiFi Client Devices (but See #823 For The Very Latest Wi-Fi Firmware Info!) RECOMMENDATION: Buy Any Raspberry Pi With At Least 2 GB RAM, Especially If Your Internet-in-a-Box Will Include Kolibri, Moodle Or Nextcloud. T

he Older Raspberry Pi 3 And 3 B+ ($35+) Are Also Possible, Despite Their 1GB RAM Limitation. Finally The Raspberry Pi Zero W ($10) And Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W ($15) Work Great As Learning Kiosks, Despite Their Meager 512MB RAM (Internet-in-a-Box Is Used In Rural Medical Clinics, And By Families In Their Homes). NOTE That Your MicroSD Card Should Be Prepared With IIAB Software And Provisioned With Content In A More Powerful Raspberry Pi — Then Later Insert The MicroSD Into Your Zero (2) W. (It Continues To Astonish Us How Powerful These Tiny Computers Really Are, The Size Of A Cigarette Lighter Yet Able To Serve 32 Students Simultaneously, With Their Powerful Built-in Wi-Fi!) Refurbished "PC" Laptops & Thin Clients: When Recycled / Upcycled Conscientiously, Quality Donated Laptops And PC's Can Work Extremely Well As Your Internet-in-a-Box, Becoming A "Learning Hotspot" Or Server For An Entire Developing World Classroom Or Small School. 

If The Laptop's Internal Wi-Fi Works As An Access Point, This Allows For A Hassle-free Self-contained Unit, As Is Greatly Preferred By Most Developing World Schools (to Control Operational Costs, Spaghetti Wiring, Theft Of Router, Etc). Conversely If The Laptop's Internal Wi-Fi Cannot Be Used As An Access Point, An External Wi-Fi Router Can Be Made To Work If Truly Necessary. In Any Case, Make Sure The Laptop Has A Reasonably New Battery, Acting As A De Facto UPS (critically Important In Developing World Schools Where Electricity Comes And Goes). 

Naturally: Laptops With Large Hard Disks And Multiple GB Of Memory Are Preferred — Definitely Check That The Laptop Runs 64-bit Linux Well, Preferably With A BIOS That Permits It To Run While The Screen Is Closed. Mini PC's Like The ASUS NUC (acquired From Intel In 2023): Avoid Classic/desktop PCs Whenever Possible, As They Consume Far Too Much Electricity. However: Tough, Well-rounded, Low-power Mini PCs (such As The NUC) World Extremely Well, And Have Proven Very Effective As School Servers In The Developing World Since 2014. We Prefer Mini PC's Models That Accept 2.5-inch SATA Drives (HDD Or SSD) And Work With DC Voltages Up To 19V. WARNINGS: The Internal Wi-Fi In Most NUC Computers Is Regrettably Blocked From Connecting To More Than 12 Wi-Fi Client Devices. Compare This To The Raspberry Pi's Mentioned Above — Whose Internal Wi-Fi Can Support 32 Simultaneous Wi-Fi Client Devices! Low-end NUC Models Only Work Right Near 12V, And So Are Not Reliable Using Lead-acid Batteries That You Find In Most Solar Installations. Read The Spec Carefully, For The Exact Model You're Considering!

 Finally: The NUC Is Not A Fan-less Device, But Nevertheless Has Proved Very Reliable Across Diverse Climates. Other Mini PC Competitors: MSI Units Have Proven Very Solid, And Zotac Perhaps Less So. Consider Also Beelink's NUC Clones, And Gigabyte BRIX (e.g. GB-BSI3H-6100) Which Likewise Is Almost An Exact Clone Of The NUC. 

The BRIX Allows Internal Wi-Fi To Scale Beyond The NUC's Annoying Limitation Of 12 Connections Maximum, If You Insert An Appropriate Atheros Wi-Fi Module (typically < $10) Into The BRIX. George Hunt Can Answer Questions Around Which Atheros Wi-Fi Modules Have Been Tested To Work, As Of February 2017. Recap: Scaling Up Internal Wi-Fi Is Sadly Not Possible With NUCs Since 2015 (5th Generation NUCs And Onwards) As The NUC's Wi-Fi Module Is Unfortunately Soldered In. ARM Mini PCs: CPUs Like TrimSlice / Utilite CompuLab And Cubox By SolidRun Might One Day Catch Up, Providing Much-needed Community Momentum And Packaging. 

To Date However We Have Been Disappointed With Their Firmware, And The Lack Of Availability Of Linux Kernels/drivers Working With Internal SATA / Internal Wi-Fi (e.g. AP Mode), To Truly Make Teachers' Lives Easier. But Check Back As Many More Global Deployments' Experiences Accumulate, And Rugged Low-end Hardware Increasingly Emerges, On OrangePi Or Similar?