Difference between revisions of "Home Network"

From Eugene Eric Kim
(Updated network configuration)
(Synology)
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* <tt>slade</tt> ([[Media center]], my old [[Dell Inspiron 531]], once I build a [[Hackintosh]])
* <tt>slade</tt> ([[Media center]], my old [[Dell Inspiron 531]], once I build a [[Hackintosh]])
* <tt>jack</tt> ([[MacBook Pro]])
* <tt>jack</tt> ([[MacBook Pro]])
 
* <tt>cass</tt> ([[Synology DiskStation 211J]] at 192.168.0.110)
Justin highly recommends the [[Cisco WAP4410N]] wireless access point (no router).


== File Server ==
== File Server ==

Revision as of 01:05, 3 March 2013

This page needs serious updating

Network Map

File Server

I was originally using sugarboy as both my file and print server. It's plenty of power for what I need, but it doesn't support SATA and other modern protocols, so I couldn't load it up with disk space. By 2009, I was running seriously short of disk space. I tried adding a PCI SATA controller for about $25 + $20 for cables and adapters, but only the PCIe controllers support large drives.

The other alternatives were to:

  • Purchase a home NAS (about $250).
  • Purchase an external RAID enclosure (about $100). The downside of this was that, unless I invested in an eSATA card, it would been connected via USB 2.0, which is an order of magnitude slower than even old SATA controllers.
  • Justin Lin suggested that I virtualize my workstation (Dell Inspiron 531) and consolidate my file server there. It's a 64-bit Athlon, well-suited for virtualization. This has the added advantage of saving on power.

I decided to go with Justin's suggestion and virtualize my workstation. He had suggested using VMware, which costs $180 (Justin thought it was free). VMware ESXi is free, and it ideally is the better solution, because it runs barebones (no host operating system), which in theory frees up resources. However, because it's designed as an enterprise solution, it has poor hardware support.

After doing some additional research, I decided to go with VirtualBox for virtualization. I installed two Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB drives (which cost about $200 total). I upgraded the BIOS to 1.0.13, because the specs claim that my machine only supports 500GB drives. I discussed the issue with a guy at Central Computers in San Francisco, and he suggested the 500 GB "limit" was merely a stated limit back when those were the largest drives available. The drives seem to be working just fine. I'm also planning on upgrading the RAM to 4GB.

I installed the drives, turned WDTLER on, and installed Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) off the alternate installer, which allowed me to install and configure Linux Software RAID. Everything is working beautifully.

I experimented with running a virtual file server off of my workstation, first with OpenFiler (which I found to be overkill and also distasteful), then with Ubuntu Server. The setup was super cool, but realized that it was overkill, and it also affected disk performance. Since I'm running Linux as my host OS, I'm just using that as my file server as well.

Backups

I use SpiderOak for remote backups for my MacBook Pro and Ubuntu desktop. Doesn't work that well, and will probably switch off.

I considered doing local and remote backups (via Amazon S3).

A possibility is CrashPlan and GoodSync.

I keep my work directory synchronized with my MacBook Pro using Unison.

Investigate Amazon Glacier and duplicity.

Security

Use WPA-Enterprise (or WPA2-Enterprise) with 802.1X authentication instead of pre-shared key to avoid Firesheep attacks on your network.