[GLLUG] Low-power Home Server
Tom Schouten
tom at zwizwa.be
Sun Jul 29 10:02:38 EDT 2012
starting to run into trouble:
Jul 28 09:33:56 zuk kernel: [315727.084000] rsync invoked oom-killer:
gfp_mask=0x201da, order=0, oom_adj=0, oom_score_adj=0
Jul 28 12:33:09 zuk kernel: [326479.124000] openvpn invoked oom-killer:
gfp_mask=0x201da, order=0, oom_adj=0, oom_score_adj=0
On 07/25/2012 01:41 PM, Bryan Laur wrote:
> I had thought you might be slightly overextending the capabilities of
> that device.
>
> OpenWRT is optimized for the situation and as such, it's limitations
> are by design and aren't necessarily a flaw. (It's just a matter of
> using the right tool for the job.)
>
> I'm glad you got it working though!
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 10:31 AM, Tom Schouten <tom at zwizwa.be
> <mailto:tom at zwizwa.be>> wrote:
>
> It works and I'm happy with the setup.
>
> The main plus point is that Debian's asterisk works without
> trouble after some tuning. I can now switch off the PC without
> worrying about the desk phone. Next to pbx and normal router
> functions it has a USB backup drive attached to receive remote
> backups.
>
> It takes about 5W, so that goal is more than met. Also it's
> cheap. I used this to purchase a 2nd one for experimentation.
> Total price was $20 for the router, $12 for the 16GB mini USB
> flash drive and about $100 for the external USB backup disk.
> Prices where amazon/newegg deals so might be a bit higher now.
>
> Currently it starts standard OpenWRT config that serves as a
> backup configuration. From there it detects if the USB flash
> drive is present, and will proceed booting into Debian, killing
> the OpenWRT deamons and start the Debian ones. I do keep the
> OpenWRT dropbear daemon running to be able to log into the real
> root. Debian ssh daemon logs into the Debian chroot.
>
> The downsides:
>
> - Needs A LOT of work to tune for memory use and make robust. My
> approach just starts a couple of daemons from the Debian chroot to
> keep the memory usage low, so the rest of the Debian boot is done
> manually, i.e. I'm not running the main Debian init script.
>
> - I'd advice to install a hardware serial console from the start.
> The board already has the 4-prong header soldered on it. I broke
> it once after I switched it to be my main router, cutting myself
> out due to some network configuration error and a non-working
> (non-tested) failsafe. Of course this is just me not being careful.
>
> - Device is not supported in standard OpenWRT (yet). I'm not sure
> if this is just an organizational problem or if there are
> licencing issues. Compiling it is a pita.
>
> - The main disappointment is that ssh/rsync is very slow. I don't
> get over 2MB/sec and the limit here seems to be CPU, but for my
> purpose this is OK (receiving rate-limited incremental backups
> over the internet).
>
> - It seems to need swap to run some of the more resource-intensive
> Debian apps. Especially during "apt-get install" things can get
> out of hand. I have this swap on a USB flash drive which is not
> ideal.
>
> It was a nice learning experience, but I did not expect it to take
> so long to get going. In retrospect, what I have running as
> daemons can probably be done in pure OpenWRT, but it sure is handy
> to have the convenience of a Debian system even if somewhat slow
> and memory-constrained. OpenWRT is great for its intended
> purpose, but has its limitations.
>
>
>
> On 07/05/2012 05:42 PM, Bryan Laur wrote:
>> So, how is this working out?
>> Did this end up being a viable solution?
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Jun 22, 2012 at 1:57 PM, Tom Schouten <tom at zwizwa.be
>> <mailto:tom at zwizwa.be>> wrote:
>>
>> To run debian I had to recompile the image on this page
>> http://manojpi.blogspot.com/2012/05/openwrt-on-belkin-share-max-n300.html
>> and enable FPU emulation. Compilation didn't go without
>> problems so if anyone is interested in the .trx or the *.ipk,
>> drop me an email (strip the [GLLUG] tag in the subject line).
>>
>>
>>
>> On 06/21/2012 07:02 PM, Tom Schouten wrote:
>>
>> I bought the N300. Let's see if I can scale down
>> requirements a bit..
>>
>> Next is "debootstrap --foreign --arch mipsel squeeze
>> squeeze" on a USB 2.5"
>> Looking for more info I ran into this page:
>> http://wiki.debian.org/DebianWRT
>>
>> I used OpenWRT + chrooted Debian system a couple of years
>> ago on an old SimpleTech SimpleShare NAS. Worked well
>> only for very basic stuff since the disk was very slow
>> and the machine was a bit low on memory (32M). The
>> Belkin has 64M so should be a little better, but still
>> seems quite tight. I'm curious if it will run asterisk.
>>
>>
>> On 06/19/2012 12:38 AM, Charles Ulrich wrote:
>>
>> Not a bad price for a hackable router, even if the
>> stock firmware is a bit crap. I might grab one to be
>> a wifi bridge.
>>
>> Also, what OpenWRT class? :)
>>
>> Charles
>>
>> On 06/18/2012 11:56 PM, Tom Schouten wrote:
>>
>> Thanks a bunch for all the answers.
>>
>> In the OpenWRT class I ran into this one today,
>> currently $19.97 on amazon
>> Belkin Share Max N300
>> http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Share-N300-Wireless-Router/dp/B004B1Z6EE
>> There are patches for OpenWRT
>> http://manojpi.blogspot.com/2012/05/openwrt-on-belkin-share-max-n300.html
>>
>>
>> Cheers
>> Tom
>>
>>
>>
>> On 06/18/2012 08:23 AM, Tom Schouten wrote:
>>
>> Hi List,
>>
>> Recently I've been doing some math and found
>> out that running a 100W
>> machine 24/7 at my parent's back home cost me
>> about 150 Euros/year
>> (Belgian electricity is quite expensive,
>> about 20 Eurocents/kWh more
>> than double of what it is here). The 100W was
>> measured with power
>> meter over period of 24h so is probably quite
>> accurate. Includes PC,
>> GB ethernet switch + wireless router.
>>
>> Anyone have an idea of how to replace this
>> with something more
>> power-efficient?
>> I recently ran into [1] which seems like a
>> nice solution. Not sure
>> about the power though.
>> It probably can go lower still. This[2] might
>> be nice too.
>>
>> The main purpose for the server is backup,
>> VPN, asterisk, email with
>> spamassassin+clamav, apache and to serve as
>> print server and gateway
>> for the home network, maybe also PLEX but
>> that can also run on a
>> "real" PC if necessary.
>>
>> [1]
>> http://mocko.org.uk/b/2012/06/17/how-i-store-my-1s-and-0s-zfs-bargain-hp-microserver-joy/
>>
>>
>> [2]
>> http://www.androidauthority.com/via-android-pc-arm-49-dollars-88209/
>>
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