If you want: A simple household starting point
Relay Home
Best first appliance-class target for ordinary households and small trusted groups.
Hardware comparison
Which RelayHub node is right for you?
RelayHub is not one universal device. Different hardware classes have different ceilings, roles, risks, and recovery expectations. This page helps households, communities, field teams, and operators choose the right starting point.
Quick recommendations
Start with the job, then choose the node.
RelayHub hardware should be selected by purpose, not by raw specs. A stronger machine is not automatically the right machine.
If you want: More comfort and performance at home
Strong Home Node
Better headroom for richer local UI, larger queues where validated, and more active household use.
If you want: A field radio relay
Relay Radio
Radio transport and field relay class where lawful, validated, policy-enabled, and region-configured.
If you want: A tiny lightweight relay
Nano Linux Node
Useful for small relay tasks, but not a full household appliance unless separately validated.
If you want: Community infrastructure
Relay Infrastructure
Intended for bridge, gateway, DTN, observability, and community service roles where validated.
If you want: Maximum capability and operator control
Mini PC Node
Best fit for full infrastructure roles, larger storage, heavier workloads, and community operators.
Core rule
Hardware capability is not the same as active capability.
RelayHub separates what hardware can theoretically do from what the product is allowed, validated, configured, trusted, and legally permitted to do.
Hardware class → capability ceiling → policy evaluation → role enablement → operational mode → runtime activation.
More RAM does not automatically enable more roles.
A radio chip does not automatically mean radio transmit is enabled.
Ethernet access does not automatically make a node a gateway.
Reticulum running does not automatically mean peers are reachable.
A device that boots is not automatically product-supported.
Hardware capability, policy permission, legal permission, trust, runtime availability, and user enablement are separate gates.
Node classes
Each class has a different ceiling.
These classes describe practical roles, not status levels. A Radio Micro Node is not a failed Mini PC. It has a different job.
Relay Radio
Radio Micro Node
Example: LilyGo T-Beam Supreme, T3S3
Best for: LoRa/radio transport, field relay experiments, mobile field work, and low-power radio-assisted links.
Not for: A complete household appliance, full local web UI, marketplace hosting, large DTN queues, or general community server duties.
Nano relay class
Nano Linux Node
Example: Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W
Best for: Small Linux relay tasks, lightweight local routing, lab testing, and constrained deployments.
Not for: A polished household product experience, infrastructure gateways, large queues, heavy services, or non-technical users without support.
Relay Home
Home Node v1
Example: Raspberry Pi 4 2GB class
Best for: Household appliance target, QR onboarding, local web UI, simple status, basic paired users, recovery, and local-first operation.
Not for: Bridge by default, gateway by default, radio transmit by default, full infrastructure operation, or large community workloads.
Enhanced Relay Home
Strong Home Node
Example: Pi 4 4GB / Pi 5 4GB class
Best for: A stronger household node with more comfort, better UI headroom, larger validated queues, and more simultaneous household activity.
Not for: Automatically becoming infrastructure, bridge, gateway, federation host, or large operator node without validation and policy approval.
Relay Infrastructure
Infrastructure Node
Example: Pi 5 8GB class
Best for: Community infrastructure, bridge/gateway roles, larger DTN, operator dashboard, observability, staged updates, and managed services.
Not for: Unattended consumer use without an operator, unclear recovery, unvalidated gateway behaviour, or casual plug-and-forget deployment.
Full infrastructure class
Mini PC Node
Example: N100/N150-class mini PC
Best for: Maximum capability, larger storage, operator workloads, federation services, observability, local services, and community infrastructure.
Not for: Low-power field use, simple radio relay, or households wanting the smallest simplest appliance.
Capability comparison
Compare roles before choosing hardware.
This is a guide, not a promise. A capability only becomes available when hardware, software, policy, trust, legal requirements, validation, and runtime conditions all allow it.
| Capability | Radio Micro | Nano Linux | Home | Strong Home | Infrastructure | Mini PC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Household onboarding | Limited | Limited | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Local web dashboard | No / limited | Limited | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Simple non-technical UX | No | Limited | Primary target | Strong | Operator-led | Operator-led |
| Reticulum transport | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Radio transport | Primary role | No / external | Variant only | Variant only | Possible variant | External / variant |
| Bridge role | No | Limited | Disabled by default | Not automatic | Supported where validated | Supported where validated |
| Gateway role | No | No / limited | Disabled by default | Not automatic | Supported where validated | Supported where validated |
| DTN queues | Tiny | Small | Small | Small / medium | Medium / large | Large |
| Relay Library | No | Limited | Limited | Better | Good | Best |
| Relay Market | No | Limited | Limited | Better | Good | Best |
| Federation services | No | Limited | Limited | Limited | Good | Best |
| Operator workloads | No | No | No | Limited | Yes | Yes |
Growth path
A community can start small and grow deliberately.
The safest path is not to buy the biggest device first. The safest path is to validate the smallest useful system, prove recovery, and then expand capability as the community matures.
Start
Relay Home
Begin with a household-class node and validate onboarding, local operation, recovery, and basic communication.
Strengthen
Strong Home Node
Move to stronger household hardware when local UI, queue pressure, storage, or household activity needs more headroom.
Coordinate
Relay Infrastructure
Add an operator-managed infrastructure node for community services, gateway/bridge roles, DTN, and observability.
Expand
Mini PC Node
Use mini PC hardware when the community needs serious infrastructure, larger storage, and heavier operator workloads.
Validation status
Do not confuse experimental hardware with supported hardware.
RelayHub hardware must move through validation before it should be treated as product-supported. Booting is only one step.
Candidate
Hardware looks promising, but is not yet validated.
Boots
The device starts, but that does not mean it is product-ready.
Reticulum Works
Reticulum operation is demonstrated, but product UX may still be incomplete.
Stable
Basic operation appears reliable under repeated testing.
Product-Supported
The hardware has passed required validation, recovery, documentation, and release gates.
Unsupported
The hardware must not be presented as a supported RelayHub node.
Common questions
Practical buying and building guidance.
I just want one simple household device. What should I choose?
Start with Relay Home / Home Node v1 once the target hardware and build are product-supported.
Should I skip straight to a Mini PC?
Only if you are comfortable operating infrastructure. Mini PC Nodes are powerful, but power does not replace recovery, validation, documentation, or operator discipline.
Can a Home Node become a gateway?
Not by default. Gateway behaviour requires hardware capability, policy permission, validation, role enablement, and runtime activation.
Is Relay Radio the same as a full RelayHub node?
No. Radio Micro Nodes are radio transport or field relay class. They are not a full household appliance unless paired with other validated infrastructure.
Recommended starting point
Most people should start with Relay Home.
For ordinary households and small trusted groups, the right first goal is not infrastructure complexity. The right first goal is a working, understandable, recoverable local-first appliance.
Then grow only when validated.
Add stronger hardware, radio relays, infrastructure nodes, or Mini PC nodes when there is a real community need, an operator, documentation, recovery procedures, support expectations, and validation evidence.