1      PC Hardware Selection

SecureOffice runs on standard x86_64 (64 bit only) Intel processors with standard PC architecture or Amlogic ARM aarch64 TV boxes (pre-installed only). It is untested (but theoretically possible) for SecureOffice to run on AMD (64 bit only) processors. Any user attempting this, please report results on the user forum.

In practice, any PC or HTPC (Home Theatre PC) computer meeting Windows7 WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Labs) requirements should be compatible with SecureOffice.

It is recommended that the PC chosen be able to automatically power up after a power failure. Lack of this feature means that SecureOffice must be manually powered up after every power failure, a hassle, requiring attended operation.

Since SecureOffice is intended to run 24/7. It is strongly recommended (but, not necessary) that low power, fanless PC hardware be chosen to host SecureOffice.

Be sure to read the requirements sections to determine your CPU, memory, storage, ethernet, USB and WiFi needs prior to purchasing any hardware.

1.1                Storage Devices

SecureOffice requires a minimum of 16GB of storage for the operating system and applications, plus whatever data storage is required for shared files, virtual machines, etc. A total of 32GB storage is adequate for SecureOffice and one minimal virtual machine, with room for minimal user shared files. It is recommended to have a minimum total of 64GB of storage, double that if using multiple virtual machines or docker containers, to allow some room for growth.

It is recommended that SecureOffice operating system be installed on a mSATA SSD and, if the mSATA size is inadequate for required data storage that the mSATA SSD be replaced with a larger one or an additional SATA hard disk or SSD be added. Choosing a SATA SSD as opposed to hard disk consumes less power.

If mSATA is not available, SecureOffice can be installed on a SATA disk or SSD.

Another feature worth considering is I/O and physical space for an additional SATA hard disk, to allow additional storage or RAID for high reliability requirements. This means the PC enclosure must have room for at least one SATA disk and the motherboard must have at least one SATA port. If mSATA is not available, at least two SATA disks will be required for RAID.

In dual disk configurations, it is recommended that the first three partitions (1 = boot, 2 = rootfs, 3 = swap) be identical on both disks to allow booting from the secondary disk for recovery reasons. Copying partitions 1 to 3 from primary to secondary disk can be done by the (custom packages) RAID script for RAID installations, otherwise, a HowTo is available under HowTo->Storage.

SecureOffice can be booted from any media supported by your hardware.

Table 1: Storage Options

1.2                Memory Requirements

If virtual machine or docker support is NOT required, a minimum 2GB of memory is required. A minimum of 4G memory is recommended, to allow room for growth.

If virtual machine support is required, a minimum 4GB of memory is required. If intending to create a video security system using ZoneMinder (IP Camera monitoring), or running multiple virtual machines, 8GB or more memory is highly recommended.

There is no maximum requirement for memory, apart from PC motherboard limitations. Generally, the more memory available, the less memory caching, increasing performance.

1.3                Ethernet Ports

For performance reasons, it is recommended that Ethernet ports be Gigabit (1000M) capable.

For WAN Topology (SecureOffice also functions as router / gateway), two Ethernet ports are required. PC's / motherboards with two Ethernet ports are rarer and slightly more expensive than PC's with one Ethernet port. Cost can be slightly reduced at the expense of network performance if a USB Ethernet dongle is used as the WAN (internet port), as opposed to a PC with two Ethernet ports. Any USB Ethernet dongle supported by Linux should work (with a little internet research to determine which driver to install). For users lacking technical expertise, it is recommended to procure a PC with two Ethernet ports.

For LAN Topology (Using existing router, SecureOffice is a LAN peripheral), only one Ethernet port is required. A USB ethernet port can be added later at a slight performance cost.

1.4                Video Interface

SecureOffice has been proven (tested) for support of Intel HD Graphics Display (HDMI / 1080P, VGA / 1600 x 1200) subsystem. Choosing hardware with a different video subsystem may require installation of additional drivers (technical expertise). Users who do this are encouraged to share their results (drivers installed, configuration) in the forum, to be incorporated into future HowTo's.

A VGA or HDMI port with a graphics system (part of PC) supporting at least full HD, 1080p (1920x1080) is required. Any PC compatible with Windows 7 WHQL should have this.

Video is required for the following reasons:

• Initial SecureOffice configuration requires video for shell command line (console) access. Further, if password recovery becomes necessary, connecting a keyboard and monitor to the display port will allow recovery (console does not require login).
• VmWare Workstation and other premium applications uses the Xorg (Linux) graphics system for the user interface. Even though virtual machines can be run headless (no display), a display is still required for virtual machine configuration.
• The SecureOffice feature roadmap (future applications) contains Home Theatre applications such as Kodi and Netflix which display network content (movies, etc.) to televisions.
• Viewing IP cameras on native display (as opposed to browser) for security camera applications.

1.5                Audio Interface

An Audio interface is required for compatibility with future Home Theatre applications such as Kodi and Netflix. Depending on user requirements, PC's must have at least one of the following audio connections:

• Legacy line in / line out analog interfaces
• HDMI port supporting digital audio
• Digital audio in / out port

SecureOffice has been proven (tested) for support of the following audio subsystems (PCI Vendor:Device):

• (8086:27d8) Intel N10/ICH 7 Family High Definition Audio
• (8086:1e20) Intel 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller
• (10de:0ac0) Nvidia MPC79 High Definition Audio

Choosing hardware with a different audio subsystem may require installation of additional drivers (technical expertise). Users who do this are encouraged to share their results (drivers installed, configuration) in the forum, to be incorporated into future HowTo's.

Any PC compatible with Windows 7 WHQL should have an audio subsystem compatible with SecureOffice.

1.6                USB Ports

It is strongly recommended that at least one USB3 port be available, especially if you intend to use USB storage or a Gigabit USB Ethernet adapter. The number of USB ports depends on user requirements.

1.7                WiFi Interface

If wired only network is desired, or WiFi is provided by your existing router, WiFi is optional, a user choice. If intending to run WiFi VPN hotspots., WiFi is mandatory.

Currently, SecureOffice supports 2.4GHZ, 802.11/bgn and 5.8GHZ 802.11ac WiFi, dependent upon hardware capabilities of the WiFi card. Note that simultaneous 2.4 and 5GHZ operation requires WiFi cards with two transmitters, very rare and expensive. If looking for dual band WiFi, the cheapest option is to bridge an inexpensive dual band router with SecureOffice LAN and omit SecureOffice WiFi.

SecureOffice has been proven (tested) for support of the following WIFI devices (Vendor:Device):

• (PCI 168c:002a) Atheros Communications Inc. AR928X Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express)
• (PCI 168c: 001c) Atheros Communications Inc. AR242x / AR542x Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express)
• (PCI: 168c:0030) Qualcomm Atheros AR93xx Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express)
• (PCI 10ec:8176) Realtek RTL8188CE 802.11b/g/n WiFi Adapter (PCI-Express)
• (USB 13d3:3273) IMC Networks 802.11 n/g/b Wireless LAN USB Mini-Card (USB)
• (USB: 168c:002a) Qualcomm Atheros AR928X Wireless Network Adapter (USB)

When selecting a WiFi card, it is important to select one that is capable of multi SSID's (Station Set IDentifier), the network name you see when browsing WiFi networks. This is important for providing separate WiFi networks for various purposes such as separate WiFi VPN hotspot and IOT networks.

Choosing hardware with a different WiFi card may require installation of additional drivers (technical expertise). Users who do this are encouraged to share their results (drivers installed, configuration) on the forum, to be incorporated into future HowTo's.

1.8                CPU Requirements

Table 2: Processor Requirements

1.9                CPUs that are Known to Work

It is expected that this list will dramatically increase in size, as users report success. Thus far, these are the CPU's that have been developer tested.

Table 3: Processors that are Known to Work

1.10            CPUs that Should Work

In general, SecureOffice is compatible with any modern Intel CPU meeting the requirements in Section 1.8.

Table 4: Processors that Should Work

2      PC Selection / Qualification

Determine basic requirements such as processor, memory, storage, number of ethernet ports and support for extra SATA disk.

If intending to re-purpose an old PC / laptop, or going to a physical computer store to test hardware, after determining basic requirements such as processor, memory, storage and support for extra SATA disk are met for SecureOffice, the easiest qualification method is to create a free SecureOffice USB boot disk and try it.

If SecureOffice boots and the following console commands return no fatal errors or missing drivers:

• Console: "dmesg | grep -i err"
• Console: "logread | grep -i err"
• Console: "ping yahoo.com" (verify network works)
• Connect to WiFi using another device (SSID: SecureOffice, PW: SecureOffice)

If shopping for a new PC for SecureOffice, try the following vendors and search terms:

• www.amazon.com "HTPC intel dual ethernet"
• www.ebay.com "HTPC intel dual ethernet"
• www.abibaba.com "HTPC intel dual ethernet", then find vendor at www.aliexpress.com
• www.banggood.com "HTPC intel dual ethernet"
• https://partaker.aliexpress.com/store/800900 "HTPC intel dual ethernet"
• https://minipcxcy.aliexpress.com/store/4362012 "HTPC intel dual ethernet"
• www.newegg.com "HTPC intel dual ethernet"
• https://store.us.shuttle.com Check categories "Desktops->Fanless PC Series"

3      Various PCs Reviewed

The PC market is fast moving, with products rapidly being introduced and obsoleted. It is a full time job to keep current. The best that can be done is to take a market snapshot and select from what is currently available.

3.1                Tested PC Hardware

Examining the specifications of these PC's should aid you in selecting one that is not on the hardware lists.

Table 5: Verified PC Hardware

3.2                Dual Network Hardware that Should Work

Although untested (translation: no guarantee), these PC's and others with similar specifications should work with SecureOffice.

As users report success, corresponding PC's will be moved to the "verified" list.

Partaker has a very good selection of potentially compatible Mini PC / HTPC's, many of which exceed SecureOffice requirements (overkill), but some users will want the extra performance, at the expense of extra cost and power consumption.

Shuttle has a very good selection of potentially compatible Mini PC / HTPC's, many of which exceed SecureOffice requirements (overkill), but some users will want the extra performance, at the expense of extra cost and power consumption.

The following dual (or more) ethernet models appear to be a good price / performance / features match:

Table 6: Dual Network PCs that Should Work

3.3                Single Network Hardware that Should Work

Although untested (translation: no guarantee), these PC's and others with similar specifications should work with SecureOffice.

As users report success, corresponding PC's will be moved to the "verified" list.

Partaker has a very good selection of potentially compatible Mini PC / HTPC's, many of which exceed SecureOffice requirements (overkill), but some users will want the extra performance, at the expense of extra cost and power consumption.

Shuttle has a very good selection of potentially compatible Mini PC / HTPC's, many of which exceed SecureOffice requirements (overkill), but some users will want the extra performance, at the expense of extra cost and power consumption.

The following Single Ethernet models appear to be a good price / performance / features match

Table 7: Single Network PCs that Should Work