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Gadget Wisdom

Category: Homelab

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Building My New Network Attached Storage(NAS): A Change of Plans, Keeping Up With The Jonsbo

Despite the fact that my ODroid H4+ had an issue, I still remained committed to the course of action of building a NAS to replace my commercial one. So, even as I pursue the Odroid H4+, I decided to explore the other option I’d explored. My original plan was build a mini-ITX NAS. And so, feeling nervous about the ODroid future, I decided to revisit that plan.

I really wanted a low power, small NAS, but while I liked the simplicity of the Odroid 4 drive case, the experience of assembling the case made me a bit concerned about how running a case that is supported entirely by the drives might work out. I decided, since I need to have a secondary location to store the backup for the NAS, I would use this for that, and I’d go more conventional for the primary location. That is a bit more than I’d budgeted for, so this is going to have to last me a while.

On reading a lot of commentary on Mini-ITX NAS cases, I had decided on the Jonsbo line of NAS cases. There’s the Jonsbo N2, which supports five hard drives, or the slightly larger Jonsbo N3, which supports eight hard drives. While I opted for the N2, I can understand some wanting the extra space for future expansion.

The budget board I opted to try is also a N100, the same line I’d been advocating for. There are a variety of variations of this board sold. For example, by CWWK. Or HKUXZR. Or Dytebeply. With minor variations, these boards contain 6 SATA ports…5 of which are via an expansion chip, which may cause throughput issues. They also have 4 2.5 gigabit ethernet ports and 2 M.2 ports on the board. Reading a lot of reviews of these boards, it takes a long time to post, may have limited RAM options, but a lot of people are using these boards, it seems. I’ll be talking a bit more about how I might set up the options I’ve chosen.

If I only wanted a 2 drive NAS, the Aoostar mini PC would be tempting.

The next challenge is how I am going to configure this. There are a lot of decisions, even once I have the hardware.

Published on May 27, 2024
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Odroid H4 Update: Things Take a NASty Turn- My SATA Dream Deferred

When things go wrong, I admit to a certain amount of anxiety about whether or not things will turn out well. I was so excited about settling on the ODroid H4 as my NAS system. It was small, flexible, had the processor type I wanted…When it showed up last week, I was disappointed that a work trip meant I couldn’t assemble it immediately.

Tonight, I got out the YouTube video from Hardkernel, and started constructing. I took my 4 hard drives and used them to assemble the frame of the case, then put the plastic spacers on the board as shown in the video, then attached the SATA cables and power cable, as shown, which I bought with it. I have SATA cables, but I didn’t have anything like the power cables, and they came as a set. According to the video, it should be 2 200mm cables, and 2 250mm cables for the drives further apart.

I put the top on, and put it in the slot, and tried to attach the cables, but quickly realized that the first one was too short to go to the bottom. I realized I’d gotten 4 identical cables. So I unhooked the top and went to take off the cables. I thought I would try a longer one I already had, although I was worried that would still create a problem with the power cable. I’ve built many computers over the years. To remove a SATA cable,, there is a locking connector you gently push in on, then release. 3 came out, the 4th, when I pushed the release and gently removed the cable, and the connector came up with it. I didn’t pull or yank on it. I tried to reseat it, but I didn’t think that would work. My assumption is, as to other ones seemed secure, that it was not secure initially. I wasn’t optimistic about getting the connector to work again, and I need 4 drives, so this rendered the item useless to me.

So, now comes the anxiety. Will Ameridroid claim human error? I don’t think it was, but the fact that they write in their return policy that if an item is deemed to not be defective by them, they will charge a 25% restocking fee makes me nervous. This is not because I had any bad experiences with Ameridroid, but because I now have to wait nervously to know if I’m going to be out the money.

It also makes me a bit nervous about ODroid and their manufacturer, Hardkernel. Maybe I shouldn’t have bought a product that was just released? Maybe I should have gone for something from a more established provider? Does the manufacturer stand behind their product? I have limited experience with them, but people seem to generally like them.

They say don’t sweat the small stuff, but I hate sometimes how one bump in the wrong can make me question a less conventional route. It’s hard to pick your hardware and assemble it. I’m already regretting my last upgrade for not leaving enough room for future proofing. Is this going to go the same way? What advice do you have for me?

Published on May 15, 2024
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The Intel N-Series Chips: A Perfect Balance of Performance and Power Consumption

The Intel i3 N Series launched in 2023, consisting of the 4 core N-100 and N-200, as well as the 8 core N-300, and N-305.

For years, Intel’s low power CPUs were items I used because I needed something low power and was willing to suffer the slow speeds. But technology has caught up. The series is perfectly fast for the majority of my needs, be it a server, or even a web browsing system. It isn’t a gaming powerhouse, but can handle media playback admirably, and has the power to handle transcoding for a Plex server, if you wanted it to be one, and all at low power. I’ve acquired 3 N-100 powered items to replace older systems…to power my NAS, a backup/portable desktop for various uses, and as a dedicated computer for a scanner project.

It seems, with this line, Intel has finally gotten to a place of reasonable performance and power usage. So, I wanted to show some examples of what reasonable little systems you can buy. Of course, I usually wipe Windows and switch to my preferred Linux desktop or server OS, but…to each their own.

For example, you can try something like this CWWK N-100, which has 4 2.5GBE ports, and looks perfect for a router. It does not come with drive or RAM for a little over $200.

This Beelink S12 Pro offers 16GB RAM and 500GB of RAM for $169. It does lack a USB-C port, which I do like to have, but Beelink has a good reputation for inexpensive devices.

Even smaller is this GMKtec Mini PC with 8GB of RAM/256GB SSD, at $135. It looks to be 4 inches square from the image.

Minisforum also gets good reviews, and this one, the UN300, has that USB-C port I was looking for, although not a 2.5GBE port, if that’s important to you.

So, this isn’t just about me showing off little toys I wouldn’t mind buying. It is the cornerstone of my refresh plan for old technology. It’s inexpensive and I can deploy it to replace 5-10 year old systems, and it will last another 5-10 years, if not more…which is why I’m already thinking about 2.5GBE ports… My systems are all wired with gigabit ethernet. 2.5GBE is 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet…and is becoming more mainstream. There are 5 and 10GBE, but as gigabit ethernet was once expensive, 2.5 gigabit capable equipment is rapidly more affordable and being included in hobbyist level equipment.

 

Published on May 6, 2024
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Building My New Network Attached Storage(NAS): Introducing the ODroid H4 Series

I’ve been back and forth between a commercial Network Attached Storage(NAS) product and a homebuilt NAS product. But for the last iteration, I had given up on something I built and moved to a commercial product. But I’m finally ready to go back to homebuilt. Except this time, I’m going to try TrueNAS, because my barrier is always how much time I spent tinkering with it.

I debated a variety of different system configurations and decided I wasn’t going to have my NAS also handle other server duties. It’s primary job would be to run applications. I have a server for that. I just want to run functionality related to file serving, and TrueNAS offers most of that out of the box…although there are more decisions to be made. It isn’t a pure drop in replacement.

So, I settled on the N100 series of CPU processors. Generally available, reasonably priced, and more than enough power for what I wanted. Looking around, that meant I needed to pick a case, a motherboard, etc. While looking, I stumbled across a product just launching, from Hardkernel, who makes the Odroid line of products, which are single board computers. I’d rejected single board, wanting a x86 compatible processor, but the newly launched H4 series is just that.

There are three models, the H4, H4+, and H4 Ultra. The H4 and H4+ use the N97 processor, and the Ultra ups that to an i3 N305. The basic difference between the H4 and the H4+ for me is that is offers 4 SATA ports. The power profile of this thing is perfect for a headless server. They offer a mini-ITX conversion kit, but they also offer 4 different designs of metal cases you can buy, and DC adapters to power them. Case Type 4 allows for 4 SATA hard drives, a fan, and the board. It is essentially 4 cut pieces of metal you can assemble, as well as screws and a fan. The picture in this post is courtesy of their site.

It doesn’t look like a normal NAS, or a computer…it looks like an appliance, which is what I want. I sourced the equipment through Ameridroid, who is the O-droid provider in the US and who I have dealt with minimally before. This included ordering the type 4 case, the board, and the power adapter. That ran me a little over $200.

It also limits me. If I install the operating system on an NVME SSD, plus the 4 SATA drives, I can’t grow the system with additional drives. Any changes become a drive replacement, or a system replacement. But I’ve stuck with only 4 drives up until now in my commercial unit, and even in the home built ones I’ve had in the past. It allows me to have a good mix of redundancy and performance.

Redundancy in the same system is not the same as a backup though. I will be talking more about that as I learn about the options TrueNAS offers, and will talk a little about my backup strategy in future.

We’ll see what happens when the board comes and if I made the right decision.

 

Published on April 28, 2024
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