Raspberry Pi 4 Deployment Scenarios

This guide presents real-world deployment patterns for the Raspberry Pi 4 running Pimeleon. Each scenario specifies requirements, recommended hardware configuration, and expected performance.

Scenario 1: Small Home Network

Environment Profile

• Internet Connection: 100-300 Mbps broadband (cable, fiber, or DSL)
• Concurrent Devices: 20-50 (phones, laptops, smart home)
• Bandwidth Utilization: 50-100 Mbps average
• Advanced Features: Basic filtering, guest network

Technical Requirements

Network Throughput:

• WAN bandwidth: 100-300 Mbps
• LAN bandwidth: 400-500 Mbps
• Required routing performance: 300+ Mbps

Device Support:

• Typical device count: 20-50
• Concurrent connections: 200-500
• DHCP address pool: /24 (256 addresses)

Memory Requirements:

• Base system: 230 MB
• DHCP/DNS: 50 MB
• Connection tracking: 50 MB
• Overhead: 100 MB
• Total needed: 500 MB minimum

Storage Requirements:

• Boot/OS: 8 GB
• Logs: 500 MB (rotate daily)
• No advanced analytics needed

Recommended Hardware

Platform: Raspberry Pi 4 2GB

Configuration:

memory: 2GB LPDDR4
storage: 64GB microSD (Class 10)
cooling: Passive heatsink + 30mm fan (PWM)
power: Official 5V 3A adapter
case: Standard ventilated case
networking: Builtin gigabit Ethernet
additional: None required

Cooling Setup:

• Heat sink on CPU
• 30mm PWM fan (temperature-controlled)
• Typical temperature: 50-60°C
• No active cooling at idle

Expected Performance

• WAN/LAN Routing: 600-700 Mbps
• Gigabit Support: Not needed (ISP limited)
• Concurrent Connections: 5,000+
• DNS Queries/Second: 5,000+
• VPN Clients: 3-5 simultaneous
• CPU Usage: 15-25% typical

Feature Set

Enabled Features:

• ✅ Gigabit Ethernet
• ✅ DHCP server
• ✅ DNS service
• ✅ Basic firewall
• ✅ Guest network (via VLAN)
• ✅ Port forwarding

Disabled/Limited:

• ⚠️ VPN (optional, 1-2 clients max)
• ⚠️ DNS filtering (basic only)
• ❌ Advanced QoS
• ❌ Multi-VLAN
• ❌ Traffic analytics

Cost Analysis

Typical Use Cases

• Home Wi-Fi mesh system gateway
• Smart home network gateway
• Basic content filtering for family
• Simple guest network management
• Home automation hub

Scenario 2: Advanced Home Network

Environment Profile

• Internet Connection: 300 Mbps - 1 Gbps fiber
• Concurrent Devices: 50-150 (phones, laptops, tablets, IoT, gaming, streaming)
• Bandwidth Utilization: 100-500 Mbps peaks
• Advanced Features: QoS, VPN server, traffic analysis, multi-VLAN

Technical Requirements

Network Throughput:

• WAN bandwidth: 500+ Mbps
• LAN bandwidth: 800+ Mbps
• Required routing performance: 900+ Mbps
• VPN capability: 100+ Mbps concurrent clients

Device Support:

• Typical device count: 50-150
• Concurrent connections: 5,000-10,000
• DHCP pool: /23 (512 addresses)

Memory Requirements:

• Base system: 230 MB
• DHCP/DNS: 100 MB
• DNS cache: 200 MB (500,000 records)
• Connection tracking: 200 MB
• QoS tables: 100 MB
• Overhead: 100 MB
• Total needed: 1.5 GB minimum

Storage Requirements:

• Boot/OS: 16 GB
• Logs: 2-5 GB (30-day retention)
• Traffic snapshots: 2 GB (weekly)

Recommended Hardware

Platform: Raspberry Pi 4 4GB

Configuration:

memory: 4GB LPDDR4
storage: 128GB microSD (Class 10 A2 rated)
cooling: Active cooler (40mm fan or case-integrated)
power: Official 5V 3A adapter
case: Case with integrated fan (Argon ONE M.2)
networking: Builtin gigabit + USB 3.0 for M.2 SSD
additional:
  - 128GB M.2 SSD USB 3.0 enclosure (for logs/analytics)
  - UPS backup power (optional, 10,000 mAh minimum)

Cooling Setup:

• Case with integrated 40mm+ fan
• PWM temperature control
• Typical temperature: 45-55°C under load
• M.2 SSD improves storage and analytics

Expected Performance

• WAN/LAN Routing: 900+ Mbps
• DNS Query Rate: 15,000+ QPS
• Concurrent Connections: 25,000+
• VPN Server: 100+ Mbps aggregate
• CPU Usage: 40-60% with all features

Feature Set

Enabled Features:

• ✅ Gigabit routing (full speed)
• ✅ Advanced DNS filtering
• ✅ VLAN support (3-4 networks)
• ✅ Per-device QoS
• ✅ VPN server (20-50 clients)
• ✅ Traffic analysis (basic)
• ✅ Guest network isolation
• ✅ Intrusion detection (basic rules)

Disabled:

• ❌ Multi-tenant features
• ❌ Container hosting
• ❌ Enterprise monitoring

Cost Analysis

Typical Use Cases

• Home fiber network with 1 Gbps internet
• Multi-device household (4+ people)
• Advanced QoS for gaming + streaming
• Home VPN server for remote access
• IoT-heavy smart home deployment
• Network performance monitoring

Scenario 3: Small Business Network

Environment Profile

• Internet Connection: Business-class 500 Mbps - 1 Gbps
• Concurrent Users: 30-100 employees
• Concurrent Devices: 50-200 (PCs, laptops, phones, printers)
• Required Features: Site-to-site VPN, compliance logging, backup

Technical Requirements

Network Throughput:

• WAN bandwidth: 500 Mbps - 1 Gbps
• LAN bandwidth: 1+ Gbps (multiple switches)
• Required routing performance: 900+ Mbps
• VPN capability: 100+ Mbps for 10+ concurrent tunnels

Device Support:

• Typical device count: 100-200
• Concurrent connections: 10,000-20,000
• DHCP pool: /22 (1024 addresses)
• DNS resolution: 10,000+ QPS

Memory Requirements:

• Base system: 230 MB
• DHCP/DNS: 150 MB
• DNS cache: 300-500 MB (1,000,000+ records)
• Connection tracking: 300 MB
• VPN state: 100 MB
• Analytics buffers: 200 MB
• Overhead: 150 MB
• Total needed: 2.5 GB minimum

Storage Requirements:

• Boot/OS: 16 GB
• Logs: 10 GB (90-day compliance retention)
• Flow data: 10 GB (30-day analysis)
• Configuration backup: 2 GB (versioned)

Recommended Hardware

Platform: Raspberry Pi 4 4GB or 8GB (8GB for large deployments)

Configuration:

memory: 4GB LPDDR4 (upgrade to 8GB for 200+ devices)
storage:
  boot: 128GB industrial microSD
  logs: 256GB M.2 SSD via USB 3.0
cooling: Professional active cooler (dual fan or integrated)
power: Industrial 5V 3A+ PSU with redundancy
case: Professional ventilated case with dust filters
networking:
  wan: Builtin gigabit Ethernet
  lan: Builtin gigabit Ethernet
  additional: USB 3.0 managed switch for VLANs
monitoring: GPIO temperature sensor + UPS
additional:
  - UPS backup power (30-60 min runtime)
  - GPS time sync (optional, for logging)
  - Spare microSD for boot backup

Cooling Setup:

• Argon ONE M.2 or equivalent
• Dual 40mm fans in high-availability mode
• Temperature monitoring and alerts
• Typical temperature: 40-50°C sustained

Expected Performance

• WAN/LAN Routing: 900+ Mbps sustained
• VPN Throughput: 100+ Mbps aggregate (10+ tunnels)
• DNS Query Rate: 20,000+ QPS
• Concurrent Connections: 30,000+
• Active Monitoring: 24/7 with 90-day retention

Feature Set

Enabled Features:

• ✅ Gigabit routing (full duplex)
• ✅ Site-to-site VPN (10+ tunnels)
• ✅ Remote access VPN (50+ clients)
• ✅ Multi-VLAN (10+ networks)
• ✅ Advanced QoS per user/department
• ✅ DNS filtering for compliance
• ✅ Intrusion detection/prevention
• ✅ Traffic analysis (detailed)
• ✅ Compliance logging
• ✅ Backup and restore
• ✅ SNMP monitoring

Disabled:

• ❌ Multi-tenant/MSP features
• ❌ Container hosting

Cost Analysis

Cost Comparison:

• Commercial enterprise routers: Enterprise-grade pricing with vendor lock-in
• RPi 4 Solution: Budget-friendly hardware with open-source software
• Advantage: Significantly lower total cost of ownership

Typical Use Cases

• Office network gateway
• Multi-location business with VPN
• Managed MSP edge router
• Corporate guest network
• Branch office router
• Backup/failover gateway

Scenario 4: Commercial Edge Router

Environment Profile

• Internet Connection: Enterprise-class 1 Gbps+ dual-carrier
• Concurrent Users: 200-1000+ employees/clients
• Concurrent Devices: 500-2000+
• Required Features: Redundancy, advanced monitoring, container hosting

Technical Requirements

Network Throughput:

• WAN bandwidth: 1 Gbps+ (possibly dual gigabit)
• LAN bandwidth: Multi-gigabit fabric
• Required routing performance: 900+ Mbps sustained
• Multi-path VPN: 500+ Mbps aggregate

Device Support:

• Typical device count: 500-2000+
• Concurrent connections: 50,000+
• DHCP pool: /20 (4096 addresses) minimum
• DNS resolution: 25,000+ QPS

Memory Requirements:

• Base system: 230 MB
• DHCP/DNS: 300 MB
• DNS cache: 2000 MB (10,000,000 records)
• Connection tracking: 1000 MB
• Multi-tenant databases: 500 MB
• Analytics buffers: 500 MB
• Overhead: 200 MB
• Total needed: 6+ GB minimum

Storage Requirements:

• Boot/OS: 16 GB
• Logs: 50 GB (365-day archive)
• Flow analytics: 50 GB
• Multi-tenant data: 100 GB
• Configuration management: 5 GB

Recommended Hardware

Platform: Raspberry Pi 4 8GB (mandatory)

Configuration:

memory: 8GB LPDDR4
storage:
  boot: 256GB industrial microSD (mirrored if possible)
  analytics: 512GB M.2 SSD via USB 3.0
  backup: 1TB external SSD for daily backups
cooling: Redundant professional cooling
  primary: Integrated case cooler
  secondary: Additional tower fan as backup
power:
  primary: Industrial 5V 4A PSU
  backup: Redundant dual PSU with automatic failover
case: Industrial 19" rack mount (custom)
networking:
  wan: Builtin gigabit Ethernet + secondary USB 3.0 adapter
  lan: Builtin gigabit Ethernet + switch fabric
  additional: Multiple USB 3.0 network adapters for scaling
monitoring:
  temperature: Multiple sensors
  power: ILO/IPMI equivalent via GPIO
  network: SNMP monitoring
  alerts: Automated escalation

additional:
  - UPS backup power (2-4 hour runtime)
  - Environmental monitoring (temp, humidity)
  - Disk redundancy/RAID via external enclosure
  - Management console (serial or network)
  - Redundant time sync (NTP + GPS)

Cooling Setup:

• Case-integrated primary cooling
• Secondary tower fan for redundancy
• Targeted airflow analysis
• Sustained operation: <50°C
• Emergency shutdown: >85°C with automatic alert

Expected Performance

• WAN/LAN Routing: 900+ Mbps sustained
• Total Throughput: 1+ Gbps with multi-path
• VPN Tunnels: 50+ simultaneous
• DNS Query Rate: 25,000+ QPS
• Concurrent Connections: 50,000+
• Multi-tenant Isolation: 100+ virtual routers
• Container Instances: 20-50 simultaneous
• Uptime: 99.5%+ with proper redundancy

Feature Set

Enabled Features:

• ✅ Multi-tenant isolation (100+ customers)
• ✅ Per-tenant analytics and billing
• ✅ Advanced threat detection
• ✅ Container orchestration
• ✅ Automated failover
• ✅ Enterprise SNMP monitoring
• ✅ Central management API
• ✅ White-label user portals
• ✅ SLA enforcement per tenant
• ✅ Predictive analytics

Cost Analysis

ROI Analysis:

• Commercial enterprise routers: High-end carrier-grade pricing
• RPi 4 Enterprise Setup: ~$1,840 total
• Advantage: Significantly lower capital expenditure
• MSP revenue potential: Competitive managed service pricing
• Payback period: Rapid ROI with managed service model

Typical Use Cases

• ISP edge router
• Data center access router
• Multi-tenant hosting gateway
• Cloud edge compute
• Managed service provider platform
• Enterprise redundancy/failover
• Disaster recovery router

Performance Comparison Matrix

Routing Throughput by Scenario

Memory Requirements by Scenario

Storage Requirements by Scenario

Selecting Your Scenario

Decision Matrix

Answer these questions:

1. Internet Speed:
   • <300 Mbps → Home Small
   • 300-500 Mbps → Home Advanced
   • 500+ Mbps → Small Business or Enterprise
2. Device Count:
   • <50 → Home Small
   • 50-150 → Home Advanced
   • 150-200 → Small Business
   • 200+ → Enterprise
3. Required Features:
   • Basic routing only → Home Small
   • Filtering + QoS → Home Advanced
   • VPN + logging → Small Business
   • Multi-tenant + monitoring → Enterprise
4. Budget:
   • $100-150 → Home Small (RPi 2GB)
   • $150-200 → Home Advanced (RPi 4GB)
   • $500-700 → Small Business (RPi 4-8GB + UPS)
   • $1500-2500 → Enterprise (RPi 8GB + redundancy)

Migration and Upgrades

Upgrade Paths

Home Small → Home Advanced:

• Replace 2GB with 4GB unit (~$5 additional cost)
• Add SSD for logs
• Install better cooling
• Minimal downtime (backup config first)

Home Advanced → Small Business:

• Consider new 4GB or 8GB unit
• Implement UPS backup
• Add monitoring
• Maintain old unit as backup

Small Business → Enterprise:

• Upgrade to 8GB model
• Implement redundant cooling and power
• Add storage for analytics
• Consider clustering for HA

Related Documentation

• RPi 4 Capabilities - Platform feature details
• RPi 4 Specifications - Technical specifications
• Installation Guide - Setup instructions