Here’s what I currently have:

  • Ryzen 1700 w/ 16GB RAM
  • GTX 750 ti
  • 1x SATA SSD - 120GB, currently use <50GB
  • 2x 8TB SATA HDD
  • runs openSUSE Leap, considering switch to microOS

And main services I run (total disk usage for OS+services - data is :

  • NextCloud - possibly switch to ownCloud infinite scale
  • Jellyfin - transcoding is nice to have, but not required
  • samba
  • various small services (Unifi Controller, vaultwarden, etc)

And services I plan to run:

  • CI/CD for Rust projects - infrequent builds
  • HomeAssistant
  • maybe speech to text? I’m looking to build an Alexa replacement
  • Minecraft server - small scale, only like 2-3 players, very few mods

HW wishlist:

  • 16GB RAM - 8GB may be a little low longer term
  • 4x SATA - may add 2 more HDDs
  • m.2 - replace my SATA SSD; ideally 2x for RAID, but I can do backups; performance isn’t the concern here (1x sata + PCIe would work)
  • dual NIC - not required, but would simplify router config for private network; could use USB to Eth dongle, this is just for security cameras and whatnot
  • very small - mini-ITX at the largest; I want to shove this under my bed
  • very quiet
  • very low power - my Ryzen 1700 is overkill, this is mostly for the “quiet” req, but also paying less is nice

I’ve heard good things about N100 devices, but I haven’t seen anything w/ 4x SATA or an accessible PCIe for a SATA adapter.

The closest I’ve seen is a ZimaBlade, but I’m worried about:

  • performance, especially as a CI server
  • power supply - why couldn’t they just do regular USB-C?
  • access to extra USB ports - its hidden in the case

I don’t need x86 for anything, ARM would be fine, but I’m having trouble finding anything with >8GB RAM and SATA/PCIe options are a bit… limited.

Anyway, thoughts?

  • Decronym@lemmy.decronym.xyzBEnglish
    1·
    3 months ago

    Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I’ve seen in this thread:

    Fewer Letters More Letters
    LXC Linux Containers
    NAS Network-Attached Storage
    NUC Next Unit of Computing brand of Intel small computers
    NVMe Non-Volatile Memory Express interface for mass storage
    PCIe Peripheral Component Interconnect Express
    SATA Serial AT Attachment interface for mass storage
    SBC Single-Board Computer
    SSD Solid State Drive mass storage

    8 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 15 acronyms.

    [Thread #895 for this sub, first seen 29th Jul 2024, 18:45] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]

  • Pax@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    I would suggest looking into TiniMiniMicro project.

    And considering ProxMox as a platform. It will save you your nerves so much. Spin up a VM/LXC in a few seconds, play with it, delete it. Make a snapshot before update, if something fails - revert back. I’ve tried so many new projects because of how easy it is to do it.

  • JASN_DE@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    Define “very quiet”? Because that’s going to be tricky with spinning rust, depending on your noise tolerance.

    • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
      0·
      3 months ago

      I’m thinking 25DB is a hard cap, ideally under 20DB.

      I think HDDs are typically around 5-10DB, and they should spin down at night. Quieter is better, but I don’t need to go completely fanless. So basically, those tiny pizza box server fans are completely off the table, but larger, slower fans should be fine.

      • JASN_DE@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        3 months ago

        I’m thinking 25DB is a hard cap, ideally under 20DB.

        I think HDDs are typically around 5-10DB,

        Um no. More like 20-25db at idle, up to 30 during heavy seek activity, depending on model.

        I run 3x 5400rpm drives in my NAS, and the drives are definitely the loudest parts in the whole build, and are definitely noticeable in the office room.

        • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
          0·
          3 months ago

          Really? I currently sit like 3’ from my current PC NAS, and while I can hear it, the fan noise seems louder (stock AMD heatsink and fan). This YouTube looks at very similar drives to what I have (my drives are WD 8TB NAS Plus 5400RPM, video is 8TB NAS Pro 7200), and the measurement is something like 10-15DB per drive. Mine should be quieter than the video, so I think it’ll be fine.

          I’ll probably need to replace my drives soon since I got them 5 years ago (though they were off 80% of the time), so I may consider SSDs if the pricing looks reasonable (I’m only using 2-4TB right now, but I expect that to double or triple in the next couple years).

          Anyway, this is a somewhat temporary situation. Quiet gives me options. If it’s too loud, I can keep it on my desktop. I’m more looking for lower power (currently use 50W-ish idle for whole system) and smaller form factor (current one is a massive ATX tower).

          • vividspecter@lemm.eeEnglish
            1·
            3 months ago

            and the measurement is something like 10-15DB per drive

            It seems to be a relative measurement, and so the values look to be 10-15dB above ambient, not the absolute dB of the drives. You can see he subtracts the background dB from the spl meter calibration early in the video.