Hardware Specifications

TetherBox runs on Intel, AMD, and ARM-based Linux systems. Start by choosing hardware for the number of cameras you will record, then size its CPU, RAM, storage, and - if needed - AI acceleration using the guidance below.

Choose Hardware for Your Deployment

These capacities assume the recommended per-stream settings in camera configuration. See CPU recommendations for how different camera settings affect them.

TetherBox: Raspberry Pi

A Raspberry Pi 5 is a good fit for low-power, mobile, concealed, or space-constrained installations. It has a benchmark capacity of about 11 cameras; use it for up to 10 to leave headroom. A Raspberry Pi 4 handles up to 4 cameras.

Use a cooled enclosure, the official USB-C power supply, and a suitable USB SSD or M.2 drive. SD cards and USB memory sticks are not suitable for continuous recording. Choose an enclosure with passive or active cooling and enough clearance for an M.2 or AI HAT where required.

For complete Raspberry Pi setup guidance, including on-device AI analytics, see Raspberry Pi TetherBox.

TetherBox Pico: Mini PC

An Intel N100 or N150 mini PC is a practical choice for approximately 16 to 20 cameras. Choose a system with 8 GB RAM, reliable SSD storage, and enough USB or internal storage connectivity for the required retention. The Shuttle XPC DL30N, Gigabyte Mini PCs, and ASUS Mini PCs are suitable examples. Select the enclosure and storage configuration for the installation environment.

TetherBox Giga: Rackmount or Tower

For larger deployments, build or source a rackmount or tower system to the site's CPU, memory, storage, and resilience requirements. Standard motherboard and CPU components, configured rackmount systems, and corporate-vendor servers are all suitable.

The following configurations illustrate the required specification without tying the choice to a particular supplier:

Sizing at a Glance

Most TetherBox deployments need enough CPU for the camera count, enough RAM for analytics, and reliable storage for recordings. AI analytics may also require an accelerator or GPU.

CPU Requirements

CPU sizing determines how many cameras a TetherBox can handle. Use GeekBench 6 Multi-Core scores as the benchmark and divide by 150 to estimate 4K camera capacity under the recommended camera configuration.

Quick reference points:

• Intel N100 (2,840 pts) → about 19 cameras
• Raspberry Pi 5 (1,600 pts) → about 11 cameras
• Intel Xeon E-2336 (7,772 pts) → about 52 cameras
• Intel Core i5-14600K (16,065 pts) → about 107 cameras
• AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (21,440 pts) → about 143 cameras

See CPU Recommendations for the complete reference table, benchmark methodology, deployment-size picker, and the effect of camera configuration on capacity.

RAM Requirements

Formula: about 1.5 GB for the system, plus 1 GB per 10 cameras, rounded up to the next standard memory size, with 4 GB as the minimum. These figures come from memory use measured on TetherBoxes in service: 60-camera TetherBoxes with 16 GB use between 5 and 8 GB.

Storage Requirements

Storage depends on resolution, motion activity, and retention period. These estimates are per camera for 30 days of retention, including video recording and a 720p snapshot every five seconds, 24/7.

Recommended Storage Hardware

Continuous 24/7 recording requires drives with sustained-write endurance: NAS or surveillance-class HDDs (Seagate IronWolf/SkyHawk, WD Red/Purple, Toshiba N300/S300) or high-TBW SSDs (WD Red SN700, Samsung 990 Pro, Seagate IronWolf 525). Never use USB memory sticks, SD cards, or SMR drives - they fail rapidly under continuous writes. Connect external drives using USB 3.0 or better.

Above about 50 cameras, a single drive cannot reliably absorb the sustained write load. Use RAID5 or RAID6 across four or more similarly specified drives to spread the load and add redundancy. See Storage Hardware Recommendations#Drive Type by Camera Count.

For drive selection by camera count, endurance comparisons, USB enclosure guidance, and storage performance troubleshooting, see Storage Hardware Recommendations.

Graphics / GPU

Standard deployments do not need a dedicated GPU: TetherBox uses onboard graphics or the CPU for processing. It automatically uses available Nvidia, AMD, or Intel dedicated graphics for hardware acceleration.

Out of the box, TetherBox uses the analytics built into your Cameras or recorder. For on-device TetherX AI analytics, add one of the following accelerators:

Note: NVIDIA capacities assume AI analytics run at 5 megapixels. Hailo capacities assume AI analytics run at 1 megapixel, such as a 720p sub-stream. For custom requirements, contact TetherX Support.

Next Steps

• Build a TetherBox on Your Own Hardware for operating-system installation, partitioning, and configuration.
• TetherBox Recording Capacity for detailed retention planning.
• Cloud Backup for off-site protection against theft, damage, or local disasters.

References

• CPU Monkey (opens in a new tab) - compare CPU performance across generations
• Geekbench Browser (opens in a new tab) - search specific CPU benchmarks