what have YOU used your *plug device for....

Just thought i would start a topic to see what people on the forum use there plug for and what they have built with it,,,,,

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Breaking stuff since 1994 :-)
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A high quality learning experience in Linux; especially dealing with a headless computer and what that means. This little $18 box is more important to me than other pieces I won't talk about. It's a semi-divine puzzle, half perfect efficiency and the other half requiring DIY and certain interaction with other humans :-)

So I'm going with Arch Linux running Webmin and Samba. Those alone, with nothing else, make me happy and I can't thank anyone other than you guys.

Logitech media server, Shairport client, Squeezelite client, Samba file server, Asterisk device and printer server. Nothing fancy but utilitarian and dependable. And I can do all of these either on Kirkwood or Oxnas thanks to bodhi's hard work.

This makes me think of my vision for the "perfect" Pogoplug which will never happen now that it appears Cloud Engines has left the hardware manufacturing business. Kirkwood based 1.6Ghz, 512MB ram, 4GB nand, 2 USB 3.0 ports, 1 USB 2.0 port, 1 esata port with sata port multiplier compatibility, built-in AC wifi and BT 4.0 and in the same form factor as it is now. And all for less than $100.00. I would buy that....and it will never happen :(



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2015 08:47PM by LeggoMyEggo.

I currently have three ARM-based PCs running 24/7 here: Two are PogoPlug E02s and the third is a SheevaPlug.

The SheevaPlug runs an ancient version of Ubuntu and is dedicated to spooling over-the-air TV programming to a hard drive for later viewing. Before my last major power failure, it had been up and running around 550 days without a reboot.

The two PogoPlugs run Debian Wheezy and are identically provisioned. They serve to provide my local mail server, an asterisk server, the DNS for my local network, a Samba server (mainly to move files between PCs), and an NFS server which mainly serves as a NAS server for my Linux boxes. In addition, the Pogos run a few specialized apps such as my home x-10 controller, and a kludged-together answering machine (using a voice modem) for my landline. The services are currently split between the Plugs, but each can be rapidly reconfigured to assume the full load should the other fail. The two mail directories are synced hourly and the NAS files are synced daily.

I have a third PogoPlug on the workbench that has been opened up and has a console connection attached for testing and debugging.

That's the situation here. Marvelous little machines -- they run rings around my old Sparc 5 server, which is what I was using to perform these functions a decade ago, while only sipping at the power cord.

BTW, I don't have a need for any more ARM-based computers at the moment, but if I did, I'd take a close look at the $35 Raspberry Pi.

restamp Wrote:
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> kludged-together answering machine (using a voice
> modem) for my landline.

It would be interesting to hear how you did that. Is it acting as a quasi FXO device?

> BTW, I don't have a need for any more ARM-based
> computers at the moment, but if I did, I'd take a
> close look at the $35 Raspberry Pi.

I like the Odroid C1 for it's broad support base. I really like the OLinuXino-LIME for it's sata port and form factor. But if money was not an object, I would go for the upcoming Beagleboard X15.

Then again, at a price above $80 and if you aren't using a board for true "development" i.e. GPIO, then you might be better off getting an i386 compatible mini-atx board.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2015 09:33PM by LeggoMyEggo.

restamp,

> BTW, I don't have a need for any more ARM-based
> computers at the moment, but if I did, I'd take a
> close look at the $35 Raspberry Pi.

The rPi is good in that it is cheap, powerful for the price, and has large community supports. However, the drawback is it lacks true Gbit Ethernet (everything goes through the USB bus). So if Gigabit NAS is important, then other boxes are better (such as ODROID C1).

BTW, I've been considering the CuBox, but its previous incarnation also did not have true Gbit ethernet. Also from what I've heard there is a heat problem with the CuBoxes so I stayed away from it (unless I'm willing to drill holes on the case).

And I might add: I like the Wanboard the best. But it is still expensive (> US$ 100) and the case is too ugly (I plan double duty for the new board as a home HTPC in the middle of on the living room and using it as a NAS), so I'm still looking for a nicer Wanboard case.

-bodhi
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Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2015 11:55PM by bodhi.

LeggoMyEggo Wrote:
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> restamp Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> > kludged-together answering machine (using a
> >voice modem) for my landline.
>
> It would be interesting to hear how you did that.
> Is it acting as a quasi FXO device?

This may turn into a long story. Somewhere in the late 1980s, I acquired an AT&T Unix PC, which was the first PC I owned that I felt actually earned its keep as something other than a toy. You could get a voice power card for this beast which would credibly perform all the functions of a voice-mail system. I did, and I wrote a C program to control it and turn it into an answering machine. And, I loved it -- it was the best answering "machine" I ever owned.

Fast forward 10 years: By that point, the Unix PC with its 10Mhz 68010 processor was getting rather long in the tooth, so I regretfully retired it in favor of a (then) fast and snappy Sparc 2. But, I missed my answering machine. At the time there was a German, Gert Doering, who was developing a universal modem program called mgetty which would interface to the new wave of fax and voice modems which were appearing and not only perform the normal modem getty functions, but automagically handle faxes and voice calls, too. The fax modem protocols were pretty well wrung out by that point, but voice handling was still not well established, and there was really no viable control program. So, I acquired a voice modem and wrote a backend to mgetty to control it. It was no where as slick as the voice-mail system on the Unix PC, but it did a credible job. The backend was actually written in shellscript and if you're interested, you can find a copy of it here:

http://stampfli.us/ansmach-script

The Sparc 2 morphed into a Sparc 5 and eventually a PogoPlug, but mgetty continued to be supported, so I kept porting the answering machine to each new configuration. I had to employ a USB serial port on the Pogo to make it work, but it still does the job and is still in use answering the phone line.

I suspect I will be dropping my landline at some point in the near future and porting the number to VoIP. If I do, the VoIP provider will provide me with a much snazzier and free voice mail system and I suppose I will retire my little mgetty kludge for good. But, hey, it was a fun project while it lasted.

bodhi Wrote:
> The rPi is good in that it is cheap, powerful for
> the price, and has large community supports.
> However, the drawback is it lacks true Gbit
> Ethernet (everything goes through the USB bus). So
> if Gigabit NAS is important, then other boxes are
> better (such as ODROID C1).

Thanks, bodhi. Good to know. This probably wouldn't be a problem for me for my main servers, but it might pose a problem for the media server backend, where it could be spooling two HD programs to disk on the Pi while I'm watching a third at the same time.

I enjoy my PogoPlug as well but if I had to buy another one then it would be Odroid C1 or Banana PI / PI PRO which includes SATA port. I'm using my Pogoplug E02 for:

SickRage
CouchPotato
Mysql / Nginx / PHP
OpenVPN
dnsmasq (you can block all internet ads for your entire household)
reaver
fake free xfinitywifi ( just for fun so people can login and enter their credentials)
FTP server
Transmission
Samba

restamp,

> and I suppose I will retire my little mgetty
> kludge for good. But, hey, it was a fun project
> while it lasted.

It's awesome that you have written such useful utility for your personal use for so long. Lot of us developed some good stuff for corporation that we'll never see again :)

-bodhi
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I forgot to put my uses / currently live builds up!

Plug 1 : inline Firewall with ad blocking using privoxy and adblock lists
Plug 2 : Torrent / NAS / Streaming media unit
Plug 3 : Fiewalled TOR box with secure wifi access point
Plug 3 : "Router on a stick" located in an S.M.E.
Plug 4&5 : "Modern art" clustered plug NAS, in an infinity mirror setup, looks good!!

Plug 6&7 : Test boxes

EDIT : Spelling corrected



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/23/2015 05:14PM by Gravelrash.

Gravelrash,

> Plug 4&5 : "Modern art" clustered plug NAS in an
> infinity mirror setup, looks

Interesting! what does it look like?

-bodhi
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Im prevented from sharing an actual image of it, But..... if you look at teh attached image and mentally replace the coin with plug circuit boards, hdd and associated hardware. with the "interesting" circuits facing the obxerver you should get a reasonable mental idea.

The setup isnt silent, but thats not the point,

Almaz Wrote:
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> I enjoy my PogoPlug as well but if I had to buy
> another one then it would be Odroid C1 or Banana
> PI / PI PRO which includes SATA port. ...


An interesting spec I learned in my travels - in replying right now I thought it was about Banana Pi but it's about the Hummingboard i almost blew $100 on in January. My notes say

Quote

(*) Note that due to internal i.MX6 buses the 1000Mbps interface speed is limited to 470Mbps.

I wonder even if that wasn't a corporate decision on the new Raspberry Pi 2's, to have speed lower than Gigabit-port allowable? That would keep from stepping on some toes.

So that's a spec I'd be keeping an eye out for too. I agree with the member who has 3 pogoplugs. Hopefully I'll luck into at least one more of them.

Gravelrash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Im prevented from sharing an actual image of it,
> But..... if you look at teh attached image and
> mentally replace the coin with plug circuit
> boards, hdd and associated hardware. with the
> "interesting" circuits facing the obxerver you
> should get a reasonable mental idea.
>
> The setup isnt silent, but thats not the point,

Cool looking:) very unique!

-bodhi
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bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

I use some of my plugs for fun and some for more serious stuff.

- NAS (HPTC, rsync backup)
- Transmission
- Home cloud (as in personal).
- Build environment for kernel and u-boot.

- Real-time Linux (PREEMPT-RT)
- Research on distributed systems.

When I travel I bring either a Dockstar or a GoFlex Net as portable NAS.

-bodhi
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Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/2015 10:12PM by bodhi.

How did you set up the home cloud? What are you using for this? I am assuming, you are not using the original pogoplug? I am asking because I am thinking about setting up a home cloud myself.

You can try SeaFile, OwnCloud, Pydio.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2015 01:40AM by Almaz.

rkrug Wrote:
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> How did you set up the home cloud? What are you
> using for this? I am assuming, you are not using
> the original pogoplug? I am asking because I am
> thinking about setting up a home cloud myself.

Almaz's suggestion are all good candidates and easier to get it working. I build my own flavor to make it a litlle more secure, but it's more works.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

Thanks - I'll look at the suggestions.

Rainer

Almaz Wrote:
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> You can try SeaFile, OwnCloud, Pydio.


Do you have a favorite? I tried getting OwnCloud on Pogoplug/ALARM and it's probably so secure it kept me out. I don't know what went wrong but am still at the stage i need my hand held in Linux. SeaFile looks great, I tried the online demo and it seems speedy. Haven't tried Pydio.

Though i'm getting on my own nerves asking so many questions, I'll still ask if there's a "best" ownCloud-style storage and minimal app place. I'd LOVE to make some calenders with family history, not too much more than file sharing like pics, books, not even videos. I just can't see storing family jewels on Amazon or anything other than home.

I don't use them personally but all it takes to setup each one of them just 5 minutes. Make sure to setup your server properly with caching otherwise it'll tun very slow. Use Tuxlite LNMP script to setup your server. Use Git option to install it and enable swap memory before running the script. http://tuxlite.com/installation/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/2015 11:42PM by Almaz.