This Topton-brand mini-ITX motherboard on AliExpress seems like a pretty decent choice for an Opnsense/Pfsense-based home router setup. It has four Intel 2.5gbe ports, an integrated 10W TDP CPU, and way more storage options than necessary for my use case.
However, I’m leery of just about everything from AliExpress. In this case, I assume security is probably a distant consideration after function and price point.
Am I being overly paranoid? Are products like this riddled with back doors and other exploitable components? Has anyone else out there built a router using this board?
I definitely don’t need the SATA ports. I have a vision of putting this board in a 1u chassis. I’m sure AliExpress also has a 1u version of this hardware…