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On 18/05/18 20:22, mr meowski wrote: > Whilst I'm at it, I've been meaning to ask this here for ages. > > Anyone got a solid suggestion for a >RPi3 single board ARM computer > suitable for a DIY NAS/multipurpose system? I've spent ages looking over > the RPi, BananaPI, Pine64, Helios4 and countless other similar offerings > trying to find the sweet spot for power/performance/size/capabilities. > I've bought (and sold) a lot of RPi based gadgets over the last few > years - they make fantastic single use devices for VPN endpoints, 1 or 2 > disk low-traffic NAS/backup machines, pihole adblockers, DIY Apple > TimeCapsules, HTPCs, admin sandboxes, you name it. Where the RPis fall > over is trying to push them a little bit further unsurprisingly - even > my newest model 3 type B+ units are still fatally compromised for > ethernet+external disk throughput once you lean on them a little bit. > > So I have a lengthy wish list for the 'perfect' (-ish) ARM board to > start housing bigger and more capable systems: primarily multi-disk NAS > but ideally they'd serve multiple simultaneous duties. If you're > thinking it looks like I'm trying to spec a build to create a DIY NAS > that outperforms but undercuts on price a commercial low end QNAP or > Synology type NAS unit then congratulations, you've seen right through > me. That's _exactly_ what I'm aiming to do. Out with the overpriced, > underpowered and crappy proprietary OS driven rubbish on the NAS market > and in with the ARM board, a bunch of COTS disks and a regular Linux OS: > I'll do all the rest of the config magic myself. I'm even ok to hack up > the power delivery and 3D print a case if necessary. > > For example, one of the best I've seen so far is the Helios4 but that > was a crowd-funded thing that has sold out already, has zero > availability and an entirely uncertain future: also a bit expensive for > my liking. > > https://www.open-electronics.org/helios4-the-1st-diy-arm-board-computer-designed-for-nas/ > https://shop.kobol.io/ > > Typical usage case will be to act as a drop-in single-box solution for > an entire OU: SOHO basically. I'd expect larger commercial entities or > super heavy users like myself to shell out for 'proper' gear that can > take the punishment. Small businesses would drop it in their network > cabinet/cupboard and home users would probably tuck it in to their home > entertainment stack by the TV. My > "not-unreasonable-but-aiming-high-considering-it's-2018" wishlist also > includes: > > 1: ARM64, obviously > 2: *must* run standard ARM Linux distros - Arch preferred, but also > Debian. No custom-only hacked up board specific distros > 3: Ideally, would also run BSD depending on my mood and the situation > 4: at least 4 SATA ports, preferably more > 5: at least 1 gigabit ethernet port, preferably more > 6: multiple USB ports, preferably at least v3 > 7: USB > serial out would be nice > 8: HDMI out, preferably at least v2.x for 4K capability > 9: wifi (I'd settle for a wifi USB adaptor though) > 10: enough power to run additional containerized services via > docker/chroot/jails > 11: ECC RAM (the Helios4 has/had it after all) > 12: Bluetooth (again, I'd settle for a wifi USB adaptor though) > 13: eMMC storage would be nice > 14: separate audio out > 15: low power! must be better than equivalent x86/64 solutions > 16: low price! must beat out second hand commercial NASs or low end DIY > x86/64 competition (otherwise what's the point?) > 17: durable - must be "set and forget" in terms of hardware. tuck it in > a corner and ignore it for 2 or 3 years > 18: quiet, if not completely silent (not including disk noise, that's > another issue) > 19: tough - has to withstand idiot users accidentally unplugging it > without corrupting entire array for example > 20: I could go on... > > Now that admittedly looks like quite a shopping list, until you think > that any old piece of crap 10 year old x64 motherboard + CPU found in > the back of your cupboard can do all of that without breaking a sweat, > and then some. But it will also be massive, ugly, noisy and will suck > power from the wall 24/7. A cheap Ebay QNAP or Synology can do most of > it but they're awful proprietary crap and are automatically out. A HP > Microserver isn't that bad a fit, and I've even made several > multi-purpose boxes on that platform but again: size, power > requirements, price... and I hate HP Microservers. There are many > specific low power SoC SKUs from Intel and AMD that target this exact > market (e.g., Atom C3000) but the prices are crazy and availability > poor. I can actually do almost everything with a trusty RPi, even an > older model - base Arch install with docker containers for OpenVPN, > DNS+DHCP+firewall, Kodi HTPC, home automation, backup server, NAS, > TimeCapsule, etc, etc. It only falls apart when you want more disk + > network. > > From extensive research online I know I am far from the only person > desperate for a multi-talented ARM SoC to step in to pick up the slack. > So, apologies for the lengthy post - anyone got any ideas? > > Cheers Intel x86_64 'celery' - don't bother with ARM. You should be able to locate a mini-ITX board for <Â50 and that rules out the majority of 'quality' ARM boards. Plus, power consumption is roughly equivalent and you get a hell of a lot more 'bang' for your 'buck' in the architecture. Just sayin' .. <my 2cents> BTW: meowski .. your messages are being connected to unrelated threads in my mail client .. could be a quirk my end, but could you take 5secs to see if its anything silly your end too?! TIA! :]
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