BTTW / Gateway Machine - Printable Version +- The Internet Foundation (https://bb.theinternetfoundation.org) +-- Forum: My Category (https://bb.theinternetfoundation.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=1) +--- Forum: My Forum (https://bb.theinternetfoundation.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=2) +--- Thread: BTTW / Gateway Machine (/showthread.php?tid=1)

BTTW / Gateway Machine - BenjaminCollins - 04-30-2021 A little bit on meta. I set up a forum on the internet foundation dot org. In terms of communication a forum is a pretty primitive but effective tool. There are definitely other ways to communicate like Discord, Slack, or Facebook. But the problem with platforms like those, is that it's good for instantaneous information. But it makes it really hard to keep track of anything. And that's where forums come is in. Because it makes it really to set different topics and allow for other people to read through them. And you can edit the first post with a summary of everything that has been discussed in the thread, it serves as a quick abstract for people to pick up and read just the important bits. This thread is about the Balls-To-The-Way or Gateway machine. Or in general to discuss how to make effective use of computer resources on a home network. I'll start by writing my own ideal set up, and maybe use that as a spring board to try and give Richard (Dad) suggestions or for comparison. Ben's Machine 1. Screen : 32 inch 4k Monitor (probably 3 of them side-by-side) 2. Ryzen Barebones PC And then a keyboard and a mouse. In terms of a desktop computer I don't need a super powerful computer. I basically need screen space and then a computer that is capable of running the monitors and general tasks without hiccups. And then everything else will happen on the gateway machine. Gateway Machine In terms of the gateway machine, the main focus is storage. The PC it's self doesn't need to be very fast. And while it will be hosting some resources, they won't be used anywhere near enough to strain the device. And the gateway computer can be broken up into several smaller device. With a central device acting as a DNS, DCHP, Samba Share and Reverse proxy. With different smaller computers, such as a Raspberry Pi actually running the services, or acting as development machines. So the main focus here is going to be a small mini-itx computer and case that can hold a lot of storage. In terms of mini-itx, most of them will have 2x nvme slots and a bunch of SATA ports. Which means the main focus will probably shift the focus towards which case best lends itself towards being a NAS. - Node 202 - InWin Chopin - Silver Stone SG13 - Cooler Master NC100 - ASRock X300 These are just a few options in terms of cases. And then it kind of depends on what the best strategy is in terms of storage. A simple and easy approach would probably be use to use the NVME drive to host the OS, and then use multiple 2.5 inch SSD Sata drives in raid, and mounted on /var to act as the network share. I'm not sure what the best balance between price, availability and dependability is, as 3.5 inch HDD are relatively cheap. I wonder if it would be easier to get a case that can mount a drive internally, or just be lazy and extend the storage with a USB 3.1 external drive. Or otherwise, I wonder if it would be a better idea to go straight for a server-rack solution. And just have a dedicated hot-swap-able drive array. And then a bunch of slots for Raspberry Pi's, all in a server rack. Edit: For the Gateway machine, it looks like Sliverstone has a case specifically for Network Attached Storage, for a mini-itx case with 8 hot-swap-able drive bays and 4 non-swpable 2.5" bays. That means you could probably make a mini-itx computer with a small NVME SSD for the base OS, and then make certain drives their own shares, or pool a bunch of drives into a raid for a share. I think this seems like the right approach for the gateway computer. RE: BTTW / Gateway Machine - BenjaminCollins - 05-01-2021 Suggestions for Richard (Dad) Assuming we split up the computing resources in the same way. Then the specs for the gateway computer should stay the same. And we can first focus on the screen and thin-client. Screen 43 Inch 4k Monitor Note on Screens. Computer Barebones Prebuilt Note on computer.