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Raspberry Pi Forum Raspberry Pi Server - Other Alternatives.
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Related

Raspberry Pi Server - Other Alternatives.

Former Member
Former Member over 10 years ago

Hi All,

 

I was just wondering if there are any other single board computers like the Raspberry Pi which would allow me to create a Storage/Cloud server by connecting a external hard drive. I am kind of new to this and would like to work with simple boards to help get me started. Has anyone has come across tutorials that would help me or done a similiar sort of project and if this is actaully do able.

 

I was thinking of using the Intel Galileo Gen 2 or the Arduino Uno

 

Any feedback and recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

 

Many Thanks in Advance.

 

Omar.

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  • eugenenine
    0 eugenenine over 10 years ago

    I have a Pi B and Pi2 B.  The Pi B ran into performance issues with Owncloud but the 2 runs it well.  I run Owncloud on the 2 with a dynamic DNS client and web exposed and we have 4 phones, two tablets and 6 computers syncing with it.  The Pi runs my internal server with a 1TB drive.  It holds all our other documents, pictures, music, etc that's not on Owncloud.  It's the older stuff that I don't keep synced.  It's also the backup server for the Owncloud pi2.  The internal shares all its data via samba for the windows clients and NFS for the Linux clients and minidlna allows standalone devices like a blueray player to access the media as well.

    The orange Pi, period, beaglebone, or small x86 systems such as miniityx boards are all alternatives but the Pi2 works well.

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  • balearicdynamics
    0 balearicdynamics over 10 years ago in reply to eugenenine
    I have a Pi B and Pi2 B.  The Pi B ran into performance issues with Owncloud but the 2 runs it well.


    This is just the point. To make a project is more than acceptable to choose the better performances / prices hardware; but if the project should really work for a long time, maybe the worth to invest few more $ and buy a more reliable than super-cheap device anyway.

    To make a server IMHO it is different, especially when the server should serve image This is the reason that in cases like this I wait until there is not the right budget (or I induce a client) and make the better choice respect the absolute cheaper.


    Enrico

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  • eugenenine
    0 eugenenine over 10 years ago in reply to shabaz

    Can you share a NAS over http and/or sync with your phones and tablets?  What about calendar and contacts?  One of my reasons for using owncloud was so I didn't have to sync all those to different places.

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  • shabaz
    0 shabaz over 10 years ago in reply to eugenenine

    Hi Eugene,

     

    Yes, there is an Android app (probably one for iphone too).

    I don't sync calendars (mine is Outlook based and auto-syncs) but calendar server and sync to CalDAV clients is supported.

    There are other NASs which are probably equally good (don't want to claim Synology is the greatest thing since sliced bread)  it is just a minor data-point in case anyone wants to

    know of some ideas for off-the-shelf options that could be cost-effective given the life of the thing and the rich features/good performance.

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  • balearicdynamics
    0 balearicdynamics over 10 years ago in reply to shabaz

    What kind of NAS are you using ?

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  • shabaz
    0 shabaz over 10 years ago in reply to balearicdynamics

    Hi Enrico,

     

    I have DS110+ but there are probably newer replacement models now.

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  • balearicdynamics
    0 balearicdynamics over 10 years ago in reply to shabaz

    Thank you it seems a bit expansive but it is already on the market. It sounds a good machine.

     

    me and my wife have bought a WD EX4 personal cloud with 16 TB and it works fine by about 1.5 years. We saw this in action in Jan 2014 at CES Las Vegas then as it was available on Amazon we bought one. It is perfect also with NAT and its own (sort of) Dynamics DNS so we can reach it from any mobile.

     

    Enrico

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  • shabaz
    0 shabaz over 10 years ago in reply to balearicdynamics

    Yeah, sometimes 'known working' is more convenient that build-your-own.

    Features like GigEth was more expensive when I got mine.

    Yours has higher specs like the dual GigEth.

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  • balearicdynamics
    0 balearicdynamics over 10 years ago in reply to shabaz

    Here we have a huge amount of data, as books, video productions (with digital masters that consume giga that you have no idea) and more. Then, making tons of new stuff almost daily, the need is to work with a reliable and affordable infrastructure.

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  • Problemchild
    0 Problemchild over 10 years ago in reply to balearicdynamics

    I'm pumping 4K video all over my network I've channel bonded 4 x Gig E for that purpose.

    Waiting for a cheap 10 G card and Switch

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  • Problemchild
    0 Problemchild over 10 years ago in reply to balearicdynamics

    Are you using this in a business environment  then Enrico?

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  • Problemchild
    0 Problemchild over 10 years ago in reply to shabaz

    If you need to run several disks you may as well use a minit itx or a normal board and have all the advantages also a big cheap case and PSU

     

    There is no advantage of using the  RPI or the little stuff PCs are so cheap and easy

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  • Problemchild
    0 Problemchild over 10 years ago in reply to shabaz

    If you need to run several disks you may as well use a minit itx or a normal board and have all the advantages also a big cheap case and PSU

     

    There is no advantage of using the  RPI or the little stuff PCs are so cheap and easy

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  • eugenenine
    0 eugenenine over 10 years ago in reply to Problemchild

    Well the Pi advantage is cost.  a MiniITX board is what $50, then some ram, power supply, case, etc.  $100-150 for a minimal system compared to $50 for the Pi.  I have an old mini-itx board I used before my last server and had maybe $200 in it.  I was looking at them before the RP2 was released.  and it was just the more $ and bigger.

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  • Problemchild
    0 Problemchild over 10 years ago in reply to eugenenine

    yeah stick a few drives into it then all of a sudden the drives are the primary cost also the ITX was probably a lot faster and could have more RAM faster interfaces easier to upgrade...blah blah

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