Patent ID: 7596715

Claim:
A network-configured computing device for providing services to one or more other computing devices, said network-configured computing device comprising: a housing; a circuit board positioned within the housing, said circuit board including a plurality of interfaces for coupling one or more devices therewith; one or more processing units mounted on the circuit board for providing services to the network-configured computing devices; a memory device connected to the circuit board and accessible by at least one of the processing units; a primary power source coupled to the processing units for supplying power thereto; an air-conditioning cooling device positioned within the housing for reducing heat generated during operation of the computing device; a modular network interface connection device positioned within the housing and operatively connected to at least one of the processing units via a first one of the circuit board interfaces, wherein said modular network interface connection device establishes a network connection from a network service provider; a modular network router device positioned within the housing and operatively connected to at least one of the processing units via said modular network interface connection device; a modular network hub device positioned within the housing and operatively connected to the modular network router device, said modular network hub device further provides one or more connection ports to connect to the one or more other computing devices, wherein said hardware modular network hub connects to the one or more other computing devices without connecting to the modular network interface connection device, wherein the one or more processing units transfer data packets among the modular network interface connection device, the modular network router device, and the modular network hub device so that the one or more other computing devices can access the established network connection from the network service provider via the modular network hub device; a power extension cord coupled to the primary power source for supplying power to the modular network router device; and a back-up power source coupled to the primary power source for providing power to the processing units in response to a failure of the primary power source.