Best device for a small NAS?

Hi

I am having two pogoplugs E02 where I use one for streaming music via logitech media server. I was using it also as a time capsule for backups of my Mac, but this as not to reliable (don't know why - every few weeks, the backups needed to be started from scratch...).

Now I am thinking about adding a new device as an NAS (backup of music from the pogoplug and as a time capsule, smb shares, afp shares (apple)).

I saw the Pogoplug Series 4 (POGO-V4-A3-01) at e.g. http://blog.qnology.com/p/difference-between-pogoplug-mobile-and.html and it looks tempting for the task, but I wantet to ask around first:

Is there any particular device more suitable than others? Which one should I look for? I don't want to spend to much money, rather spend it on hdds. The speed is not that important.

It will only be used in a local network, so no sophisticated security is ecessary.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Rainer

===========================
Blog: https://rmkrug.wordpress.com/

1 x Pogoplug E02 (pink): Logitech media server

1 x Pogoplug E02 (pink): FTP server only (throw away configuration - quick to rebuild)

1 x GoFlex Net: running OpenMediaVault

A Dreamplug is best bet if you want to stay with Marvell. No other Plug type non NAS device has 2 ethernet, esata w/port multiplication and built in SD card slot. It is completely supported in Debian mainline and you can even net install it. They are old enough now that you can find on eBay for less than $50 shipped frequently. Otherwise I would look to the Odroid X4 because it's the fastest SOC out there and has USB 3.

Hm - interesting (especially the Gigabit), but they seem to be difficult to find here in France / Europe.

Any experiences with the Pogoplug Series 4 (POGO-V4-A3-01) which has according to http://blog.qnology.com/p/difference-between-pogoplug-mobile-and.html the following specs:

Architecture: ARMv5te
Processor Marvell Kirkwood 800MHz
RAM: 128MB
NAND: 128MB
Ethernet: Gigabit
USB 2.0 (Top)
USB 3.0 x 2 (Back)
2.5 SATA/USM (Top)

And they are available at ebay in GB for about 40 Euro?

===========================
Blog: https://rmkrug.wordpress.com/

1 x Pogoplug E02 (pink): Logitech media server

1 x Pogoplug E02 (pink): FTP server only (throw away configuration - quick to rebuild)

1 x GoFlex Net: running OpenMediaVault

rkrug Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Any experiences with the Pogoplug Series 4
> (POGO-V4-A3-01) which has according to
> http://blog.qnology.com/p/difference-between-pogop
> lug-mobile-and.html the following specs:

I suppose the V4 could be used as a NAS as it has USB 3.0 and SATA with port multiplication (you need to siphon a SATA tap of off the top 22 pin connector) but it has an anemic processor and insufficient ram. You did mention however that speed is not your primary concern so it might just work for you but in the end you might be better off holding out for something a little more expensive and a little more powerful.

Good point - I'll keep my eyes open and see what I get from the options you outlined.

Processort power might be an issue, as afp sharing for Time Machine takes quite some processor power.

Thanks,

Rainer

===========================
Blog: https://rmkrug.wordpress.com/

1 x Pogoplug E02 (pink): Logitech media server

1 x Pogoplug E02 (pink): FTP server only (throw away configuration - quick to rebuild)

1 x GoFlex Net: running OpenMediaVault

Rainer,

If SATA is important to you then look for GoFlex Net or GoFlex Home. The GF Home can be found for less cost than the Pogo V4. The GF Net is better in that you have 2 slots for 2.5" HDD.

If SATA is not important, the use the Pogo E02, and plug in a USB HDD.

All these 3 above are less expensive than the Dreamplug (but Dreamplug is better, of course). And they all have 1.2GHz CPU.

All of the above should be adequate for a home NAS. I've been using GF Home and GF Net plugs for my home NAS. Performance is excelent.

-bodhi
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bodhi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Rainer,
> All of the above should be adequate for a home
> NAS. I've been using GF Home and GF Net plugs for
> my home NAS. Performance is excelent.

Do you use a Web based GUI for the GF NAS's or are they command line controlled? Just curious........

LeggoMyEggo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> bodhi Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Rainer,
> > All of the above should be adequate for a home
> > NAS. I've been using GF Home and GF Net plugs
> for
> > my home NAS. Performance is excelent.
>
> Do you use a Web based GUI for the GF NAS's or are
> they command line controlled? Just
> curious........

Use command line for myself. But I have xfce remote desktop set up so relatives can connect to the LAN with RDC and use the GUI. And they are not exposed to the net.

-bodhi
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/2015 03:11PM by bodhi.

SATA is not that important for me at the moment. But why I wanted to move away from the E02 is that I had to do new Time Machines from scratch and lost backup history every few months - not acceptable. But it might also be caused by my aggressive settings for USB hdd power management. Otherwise I was happy with the E02. As I should be able to unbrick one of my E02, I might try it again with less aggressive power management settings for the hdd.

But the GoFlex Net looks very interesting. Am I right, that I can put in (from the top) two sata hdd directly without plus one usb? And that I can use Debian on it? I just saw it on Amazon for 23Euro.

===========================
Blog: https://rmkrug.wordpress.com/

1 x Pogoplug E02 (pink): Logitech media server

1 x Pogoplug E02 (pink): FTP server only (throw away configuration - quick to rebuild)

1 x GoFlex Net: running OpenMediaVault

> But the GoFlex Net looks very interesting. Am I
> right, that I can put in (from the top) two sata
> hdd directly without plus one usb? And that I can
> use Debian on it? I just saw it on Amazon for
> 23Euro.

It's in the same family as the Dockstar and Pogo E02. Same SoC. So you can do all that. No USB needed if you use one 2.5" HDD as rootfs. 23 Euro for a new GFNet is not bad, consider that it is hard to find these days. But if price is close to Dreamplug then get the Dreamplug :)

-bodhi
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Thanks - I just compared the specs from http://archlinuxarm.org/platforms/armv5/seagate-goflex-net and http://archlinuxarm.org/platforms/armv5/pogoplug-v2-pinkgray and the only advantage of the GoFlex are the two sata ports - so for the moment I'll stick with the second Pogoplug when it is unbricked and look leasurely for a Dreamplug or an Odroid X4 maybe.

Thanks

Rainer

===========================
Blog: https://rmkrug.wordpress.com/

1 x Pogoplug E02 (pink): Logitech media server

1 x Pogoplug E02 (pink): FTP server only (throw away configuration - quick to rebuild)

1 x GoFlex Net: running OpenMediaVault

Rainer,

SATA really helps in the SAMBA or AFP and NFS. USB can not really compare to it. But again, it's depending on your needs for xfer speed.

If your goal is a good NAS, I would get the GoFlex Net, because you might never use all the extra peripherals that the Dreamplug provides. Those are good to have when you are implementing things that need 2 Ethernet ports, and you have a eSATA enclosure so you can use 3.5" HDD.

But if your goal is to prepare for future growth then Dreamplug or ODROID x4 is good.

-bodhi
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OK - the idea is to have one for NAS and Time Machine backups. I think you convinced me.

Thanks and I guess I will order it than,

Rainer

===========================
Blog: https://rmkrug.wordpress.com/

1 x Pogoplug E02 (pink): Logitech media server

1 x Pogoplug E02 (pink): FTP server only (throw away configuration - quick to rebuild)

1 x GoFlex Net: running OpenMediaVault

rkrug Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> OK - the idea is to have one for NAS and Time
> Machine backups. I think you convinced me.
>
> Thanks and I guess I will order it than,
>
> Rainer

Yes, a Pogoplug for every need. Like cat ladies, collecting them can become a little obsessive. At least they don't leave "presents" on the floor :)

> Yes, a Pogoplug for every need. Like cat ladies,
> collecting them can become a little obsessive. At
> least they don't leave "presents" on the floor :)

:)) I know. I have more than a dozen small plugs. Average price: $20 and they don't smell :)

-bodhi
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I only have two - so there is still room to grow...

===========================
Blog: https://rmkrug.wordpress.com/

1 x Pogoplug E02 (pink): Logitech media server

1 x Pogoplug E02 (pink): FTP server only (throw away configuration - quick to rebuild)

1 x GoFlex Net: running OpenMediaVault

@Leggo,

The xfce setup instruction is on this sticky thread: Debian on ARM Topics and Tutorials

-bodhi
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bodhi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @Leggo,
>
> The xfce setup instruction is on this sticky
> thread:
> Debi
> an on ARM Topics and Tutorials

Actually had asked the question about gui cause I am in search for a NAS gui front end other than OMV or Owncloud. Just wondering about alternatives....

You'd think there would be a lot of alternatives, seeing as how many people have tablets and would want to stream stuff out.
Wait a minute, didn't Qui have either DLNA or something inside the openWRT package? I can't look now or for a while.

Other than that, I have a G-Connect external hard drive and the GUI is fully beautiful and you know the internal hardware has the power of a mosquito. If I could ever get inside that I'd report back what they're using, unless they say so online... $50 last winter though. Lots of features and none at the same time :-D

=========
-= Cloud 9 =-



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/11/2015 08:00PM by JoeyPogoPlugE02.

Joey,

Quote

You'd think there would be a lot of alternatives, seeing as how many people have tablets and would want to stream stuff out.

It's minidlna. Just apt-get install it, and done.

If you want to stream better videos than what dlna usually provides, then use xbmc on the tablet and stream using SAMBA shares on the plugs.

-bodhi
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If you had a $50+ budget, perhaps this Orange Pi+ may not be a bad idea to invest. It has a built-in SATA port + SATA power. The drawback is no USB3.

habibie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If you had a $50+ budget, perhaps this
> [url=http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/NEW-o
> range-pi-plus-Allwinner-A31s-Dual-Core-1GB-RAM-Ope
> n-source-development-board/1553371_32248189300.htm
> l]Orange Pi+[/url] may not be a bad idea to
> invest. It has a built-in SATA port + SATA power.
> The drawback is no USB3.

Allwinner had some issues in the past with sharing certain aspects of their design and firmware code with the open source community. I had a Cubietruck with an AW A20 and liked it but sold it because at the time (1.5 years ago) it wasn't well supported. Perhaps things have changed but it made me have an aversion to their products.

@LeggoMyEggo: Thank you for pointing that out.

bodhi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Joey,
>
>

Quote

You'd think there would be a lot of
> alternatives, seeing as how many people have
> tablets and would want to stream stuff
> out.

>
> It's minidlna. Just apt-get install it, and done.
>
>
> If you want to stream better videos than what dlna
> usually provides, then use xbmc on the tablet and
> stream using SAMBA shares on the plugs.

Thanks bodhi, and I'm sad to say my guinea pig Mint XFCE running on a ThinClient (single-core 1.3ghz 2GB RAM VX900) couldn't install it, but I'll try to find a workaround. My repositories are probably screwed-up. This ThinClient runs everything well except low frames on MP4s. For media player MPlayer I think is the best 've tried - VLC and Banshee are terribly low frames.

*** Maybe now is a good time to ask about general settings, niceness and what not. Can we set say Mplayer or xbmc/Kobi to permanent niceness settings so it's always lower and therefore higher priority?

Okay I tried installing on Debian XFCE on the quadcore and it looks to have installed, but yeah I'm making a mistake in all my linux installations because apt-get update/upgrade almost always results in that E:/unable to find package error. Obviously my fault because it's on Mint and Debian.

In other worthy news, the Banana Pi M3 - BPI-M3 - Octacore A83T ARM Cortex-A7 2GB DDR RAM is here and $87.95 - for me it's too much and too little. At that price point I'd go higher and get a real motherboard so a ram failure doesn't take down everything. Also I haven't done business with tinyonestore.com but have kept my eye on them for a while, and they seem great in that they test each unit from China and usually add heatsinks and other goodies (complete OSs) before shipping it to you.

=========
-= Cloud 9 =-



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2015 11:23PM by JoeyPogoPlugE02.

JoeyPogoPlugE02 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> bodhi Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> In other worthy news, the
> [url=http://tinyonestore.com/products/banana-pi-m3
> -bpi-m3][b]Banana Pi M3 - BPI-M3 - Octacore A83T
> ARM Cortex-A7 2GB DDR RAM[/b] is here and
> $87.95[/url] - for me it's too much and too
> little. At that price point I'd go higher and get
> a real motherboard so a ram failure doesn't take
> down everything. Also I haven't done business with
> tinyonestore.com but have kept my eye on them for
> a while, and they seem great in that they test
> each unit from China and usually add heatsinks and
> other goodies (complete OSs) before shipping it to
> you.
>
I took a look at the Banana Pi M3 a few days ago. TBH, I am thrill and also disappointed. It looks like a nice hardware to have, but no USB3 support is really a turn off for me.

Be still my beating heart, wow is anyone else impressed by this 4-bay universal? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003X26VV4?psc=1

If some hard drive docks are called toasters, this I call an oven. Have one of the drives SATA III just for swap and stick a pogoplug-style board onto it, voila. I couldn't ask for more, at least for along time! Probably a month from now the prices ought to dip... Get one of those and a couple 2.5 adapters just to be on the safe side...

=========
-= Cloud 9 =-

JPP see the attached picture obtained from the PP design labs....This was to have been the next Pogoplug......Too bad the market changed, Id'ea been all over this one and might have even paid full retail :)

Add a sunny-side-up egg as a trackball? Alpha Bits keyboard?

Breakfast is served! Too cool.

=========
-= Cloud 9 =-



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/2016 03:39PM by JoeyPogoPlugE02.

JoeyPogoPlugE02 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Add a sunny-side-up egg as a trackball? Alpha Bits
> keyboard?
>
> Breakfast is served! Too cool.


Alas, no waffle option. Sigh :(