[solved] HomeServers, Network Disk with OpenWRT

[sapsa]

Hey,
Recently I found alot of "fun" devices that you plug hdd into, set torrent on it and its downloading torrents w/o needed your PC.
The Best part is that some of those devices support OpenWRT.
But the worst part is that those "supported" devices are old (like they support max 10gb hdd or something)
And I dont realy want to buy new Router so i can flash it with OpenWRT and plug hdd into USB
Im looking for similar devices that support OpenWRT or have something better than 4 torrents at same time and after downloading they dont seed them any more

I read that alot of you got HomeServers, are those you old PC or some dedicated devices?
My main gole is to make a Seed Device with low Power Supply cost. My current PC eats 260W per Hour, so its a bit crazy for my thanks to bills ;/
And the Dedicated Devices like the one that i wrote on begining are like 30-40W :O

I know theres alot of NAS but price of those are to much right now for me

Edit: Im thinking about making a dedicated "PC" using the new mobo with Atom CPU I heard they use 10-20W only, so that would workd nice but if thers any dedicated device that any post here, I will be happy
Any advices ? Thank for replays

~ Peace

[Xiong Chiamiov]

There are many plug computers that are for that sort of thing; the storage on them is limited, though, so you may want to have a separate data-storage machine.

The advantage of using a full-on computer is that of flexibility, as you can repurpose it when you change your mind.  If you go for something more powerful (and don't like your modularization), you can have one machine do your storage/bittorrent/media center.

[rl9009]

The advantage of using a full-on computer is that of flexibility, as you can repurpose it when you change your mind.  If you go for something more powerful (and don't like your modularization), you can have one machine do your storage/bittorrent/media center.

Hell, as xiong_chiamov pointed out, you can even use your NAS as a hypervisor host too!

Currently I am doing that, having all the routing, storage, user authentication, bittorrent handled by my "NAS" server running Server 2008...

[sapsa]

There are many plug computers that are for that sort of thing;

They aren't avaible in my country ;P cuz they too fresh ;P - but i will check them for sure, but i dont think they are cheaper than mobo with atom cpu and dc power supply ( and thanks for info about them, I didnt know something like that is made )

edit: like i thought, no sellers in my country ;P - but im impressed ;p - plug computer lol

The advantage of using a full-on computer is that of flexibility, as you can repurpose it when you change your mind

True, but IDEA for making this is to cut power bills ;P so normal PC = high bills ;p

[kureshii]

You can just buy a modern PC. Last I checked, the AMD Regor dual-cores and Intel's Celeron Dual-Core series easily idle at 40+W (assuming integrated graphics and a single hard disk), and you can maybe go even lower with some undervolting and/or with a single-core processor. Or if you prefer something with much lower power consumption, you could follow your advice from your first post and take a look at the Intel Atom-based Pinetrail systems that were revealed at CES 2010 (and probably stocking on shelves as we speak).

You don't even need to look into specialist devices, unless 2-3W makes a big difference to you. Commodity PCs should easily run specialist Linux distros like FreeNAS (for a NAS-like device) and Smoothwall/monowall (firewalling/routing). See Wikipedia for a more extensive list.

[sapsa]

You can just buy a modern PC. Last I checked, the AMD Regor dual-cores and Intel's Celeron Dual-Core series easily idle at 40+W (assuming integrated graphics and a single hard disk)...
Or if you prefer something with much lower power consumption, you could follow your advice from your first post and take a look at the Intel Atom-based Pinetrail systems that were revealed at CES 2010 (and probably stocking on shelves as we speak).

You don't even need to look into specialist devices, unless 2-3W makes a big difference to you. Commodity PCs should easily run specialist Linux distros like FreeNAS (for a NAS-like device) and Smoothwall/monowall (firewalling/routing). See Wikipedia for a more extensive list.

Modern PC is out of question - I dont need another pc here ;p
Old PC - i got few but they use old High V cpu - so its less Mhz more V
Atom-base mobo its good option, but like i told its aint cheap - but I will wait a bit and see who price will drop
Commodity is unknown word for me but i think i undestand the idea

The cheapest option is to get some on ASUS Router, flash it with openWrt and plug via usb hdd, but from my experiense something (hdd etc) that is pluged into usb for long time likes to burn usb connector ;p and I had few friends that use hdd via usb and pooff, hdd stop working (500gb lost)

Thanks for replays

[kureshii]

I'm not quite sure why you don't want another PC; I'm not saying you have to use it like a normal PC, it's just another platform for you to customise for the purpose. PCs have come a long way, they now come in all shapes and sizes (from almost as small as a big router to as large as a medium server rack), and in prices that should fit all budgets (as low as $200+ to $5000+). If you know your stuff you can even run it 'headless' (i.e. without a screen display) and just manage it remotely (via a web interface or remote shell) — is that 'non-PC' enough for you?

If you prefer something cheaper, many commercial NAS run on ARM/Freescale hardware, and you can easy throw a Linux distro such as Busybox on them through the firmware upgrade option (needless to say, you have to know what you're doing and do your own reading before going this route). However, I should warn that it is really basic hardware, and you will likely be disappointed if running many torrents on them or attempting faster file transfers. There are pricier NAS with better hardware available, but for that price I would just recommend buying a PC, which would probably be cheaper and easier to configure.

If hacking around stuff doesn't sound like your cup of tea, and you'd still like to avoid xiong's idea of a plug PC, the next best alternative is a lower-end device such as D-Link's DNS-323 Network storage enclosure, with Bittorrent-capable firmware. It doesn't have routing capabilities though; for that, you'd have to get something like a D-Link DIR-685, a storage router. But again, at that kind of price I still think a small-form-factor PC is much more feasible and configurable.

[disclaimer]I'm not a spokesperson for D-Link, I'm just a bit more familiar with their product line than I am with those of other manufacturers, and I'm lazy to do much googling for what I feel are inferior alternatives to a cheap PC[/disclaimer]

[sapsa]

I'm not quite sure why you don't want another PC ... and in prices that should fit all budgets (as low as $200+ to $5000+).

[disclaimer]I'm lazy to do much googling for what I feel are inferior alternatives to a cheap PC[/disclaimer]

First, Thank you, you help'd me more than anyone could ;P same gose to Xiong Chiamiov

Second, you dont need to google for me your post are information function for me and i can get information, i just sometimes need "key words"

Third, i dont want a PC cuz its to much POWER CONSUME. My avg PC take 200W its 0,2kWh per Hour, and its on for 24/7 so its making my bill for electricity hurt alot. 200$ aint small here its 1/3 of avg salary O_o, and another thing that im studing right now so no work for me.

Finaly: Right now im thinking about buying linksys router, flash it with linux firmware, plug hdd via usb (awww) and it will cost about ~60$ (buying new router). This is the cheapest way - and i will have torrent client, print server, linux terminal, QoS etc - and its 10-12.5W so its x20 less power than normal PC.
The not cheap idea is Atom mobo, with DC adapter, but with RAM and case it will cost ~ 160-200$. it will consume 20-30W (its still x10 less power) and it will have same function as router (but wont be router - no QoS etc) and later it can be a HTPC (?hope im using this right) but only for not bigger movies than 720p (awww)
And the modern PC - I dont need to buy new one cuz like I said, im using one for this (HTPC, downloding) and the power sonsume is 200W+ (its like htpc cuz my only tv is 26" Samsung tv connected via hdmi ;P)

PS. And you are 10000% right about dedicated devices that i will be dissapoited with them - and from what I see they avg price are aroud price of clean atom mobo ~ 100$-150$

I think i know what to do: pass my todays exam from cisco academy ;P, pass my exams in this and next 2 weeks, get some savings - and look for prices then

~ Peace

[kureshii]

The not cheap idea is Atom mobo, with DC adapter, but with RAM and case it will cost ~ 160-200$. it will consume 20-30W (its still x10 less power) and it will have same function as router (but wont be router - no QoS etc) and later it can be a HTPC (?hope im using this right) but only for not bigger movies than 720p (awww)

You can save a lot of money by not buying a ready-made case. If you know anyone who's familiar with furniture-building or don't mind a bit of DIY yourself, you can make your own case out of medium-density wood, acrylic, aluminium etc. Borrow some tools from a neighbour, and save the money.

The older 945GC-based Atom boards are going as low as $60, they consume somewhat more power than the Pinetrail-based boards but still much less than your desktop. Add 512MB RAM, which is more than sufficient for what you want it for, unless you intend to install a fully-featured OS+GUI.

Low-end power supplies go as cheap as $20-$30, it is difficult to pick a reliable one among the multitude of generic ones, but if you know a hardware dealer who can advise or manage to find one that many people recommend, just go with it.

Prices above are in USD, you will probably need to adjust these prices since they're different where you live. It will end up costing more than a cheap router, but it will be capable of doing more things, running more torrents etc.

[sapsa]

The not cheap idea is Atom mobo, with DC adapter, but with RAM and case it will cost ~ 160-200$. it will consume 20-30W (its still x10 less power) and it will have same function as router (but wont be router - no QoS etc) and later it can be a HTPC (?hope im using this right) but only for not bigger movies than 720p (awww)

...DIY yourself, you can make your own case out of medium-density wood, acrylic, aluminium etc. Borrow some tools from a neighbour, and save the money.

Its my dream to make on
And I see you got big potencial for me I like when someone that "KNOW" replay my posts no just "i google it out"
I will try to find some tutorial
The problem with tools it that i live in a tenement (used translator for that ;p) with alot of old people that been on WorldWar II and they dont use any tools that i could get to use on case ;P - but i will check that topic as soon as i pass exames
Making my own case *sparkling eyes* - it cool to say, but i know life, in reality i will pay half or same price of case for tools to make one case myself but in worst scenario, I can just put naked mobo on table i dont mind ;p

Edit:

PS: omg ;p you got bad influence on me ;P I need to study - 3h till Cisco Modul 10, 11 and Final to pass today and im looking for tuts:
Wooden Case <-- pretty Nice ;p
Plexi <-- nothing special, just a cube O_o

Oh if i realy needed case i got old one - MiddiTower case from 10years old pc
and one MiniTower from 7years old Server;p

[kureshii]

Oh, right, in my haste I forgot that you can simply re-use an old case -_-;

I should add that the Atom boards are based on the mini-ITX form factor (17x17cm) though. Most normal-sized cases are meant for micro-ATX boards or larger, so you will likely have to drill some additional mounting holes to mount a mini-ITX board in there. But that's certainly far less work than making your own case, haha.

[sapsa]

True, but the old case is more universal then 99% of cases maded in modern time
Once again, thanks for alot of tips and usefull information

I think Mod can close this topic now

kureshii, Your the Best!

[Xiong Chiamiov]

True, but the old case is more universal then 99% of cases maded in modern time

I'd be inclined to say that the opposite is true, particularly if your case is from a mass-market PC manufacturer.  Unless you get a case that's designed for system builders, it is unlikely that it follows any sort of standard, and the holes on your new mobo won't match up with it.