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#1
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Homebrew Snap Server / Netdisk ?
Does anyone [yet] sell a SnapServer-like kit, where you provide your
own drive(s)? I'm hoping for a network-attached, not firewire/usb device, in a very small package, so it can go on the road, that allows drives to appear as multiple 32g FAT32 partitions, so I can still access them from Windows 95 systems. Thanks for any pointers. Jeff. |
#2
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In article , Jeff Sutter ruminated:
Does anyone [yet] sell a SnapServer-like kit, where you provide your own drive(s)? I'm hoping for a network-attached, not firewire/usb device, in a very small package, so it can go on the road, that allows drives to appear as multiple 32g FAT32 partitions, so I can still access them from Windows 95 systems. The main problem with a "kit" is getting the OS onto the drive from a CDROM. SnapServer type kits run a Linux, BSD, or proprietary OS that is typically loaded off of CDROM onto the hard drive. NAS vendors handle this problem by attaching a CDROM onto their development system, install the OS, install their own custom software (usually a GUI of some sort for setting up the thing), then once everything is as they want it, using a hard drive duplicator to duplicate the hard drive to the hard drives that are going to actually be installed in the customer NAS units. That allows them to not have CDROM drives in the actual customer units, thus saving them $$$ (the SnapServer market is a very low-margin market, where every penny counts). Some more capable systems, like the Cobalt, have a bootstrap built into their BIOS that will allow reloading the OS and software over a LAN. But they come with a hard drive installed that has the bootstrap code already on it. Without a hard drive already installed, what would be needed would be a flash memory chip with the bootstrap code, which would add $$ to the product. Your best bet is to buy one of the very-small-footprint systems, and install Linux or FreeBSD on it as your "NAS". -- Eric Lee Green Linux/Unix Software Engineer seeks employment see http://badtux.org for resume -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =----- http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! -----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =----- |
#3
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On 5 Sep 2003 09:41:58 -0500, Eric Lee Green wrote:
[ Snip ] Some more capable systems, like the Cobalt, have a bootstrap built into their BIOS that will allow reloading the OS and software over a LAN. But they come with a hard drive installed that has the bootstrap code already on it. Without a hard drive already installed, what would be needed would be a flash memory chip with the bootstrap code, which would add $$ to the product. Why "flash"? Why not ROM? As in part of the BIOS? Think protocols like, oh, BOOTP! Network bootable PC-class motherboards exist, and have existed for years and years. Malc. |
#4
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On 4 Sep 2003 19:57:01 -0700, (Jeff Sutter) wrote:
Does anyone [yet] sell a SnapServer-like kit, where you provide your own drive(s)? I'm hoping for a network-attached, not firewire/usb device, in a very small package, so it can go on the road, that allows drives to appear as multiple 32g FAT32 partitions, so I can still access them from Windows 95 systems. Thanks for any pointers. Jeff. How about Linux on one of those small cube-like shuttle barebones kits http://us.shuttle.com/ the totally brainless way is with some small form-factor PC and reByte; an IDE flash card with NAS software preprogrammed: http://www.rebyte.com/ on sale at that website and even on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tegory=44 994 Small form-factor PC's set up as a NAS device by Joe Blow in his garage somewhere in Nowheresville USA are on auction all the time for not very much on eBay. An example: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ategory=14 84 Unfortunately I have NO idea as to the quality of ANY of these items. I cannot seriously endorse any of them or these sellers. I wouldn't know where to look for something like what you describe in a retail store or OEM. If you plan to access the data on the NAS solely through the network it doesn't matter what file system you use. Fat32 would be necessary only if you are planning to physically remove the drive and plug it into your Win95 box. If it just needs to be portable and compatible, what's wrong with a USB HDD? Through the OS of the computer you connect to you can easily share it on the network. |
#6
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won't break. Win95 vintage stuff doesn't support USB well or firewire
at all; the laptops in question don't do Cardbus II, so no USB, and frankly, USB has always proven itself an unreliable fussbudget. On laptops, USB is very, very great. Maybe USB is one of the greatest ideas of the laptop computing. Without USB, you have nearly no ways of attaching hardware to laptop. Max |
#7
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In article ,
Maxim S. Shatskih wrote: Without USB, you have nearly no ways of attaching hardware to laptop. Apart from serial, parallel, SCSI, IRDA/IRCOMM, ethernet, PS/2, ... -- I've seen things you people can't imagine. Chimneysweeps on fire over the roofs of London. I've watched kite-strings glitter in the sun at Hyde Park Gate. All these things will be lost in time, like chalk-paintings in the rain. `-_-' Time for your nap. | Peter da Silva | Har du kramat din varg, idag? 'U` |
#8
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On Sun, 7 Sep 2003 04:35:06 +0400, "Maxim S. Shatskih"
wrote: won't break. Win95 vintage stuff doesn't support USB well or firewire at all; the laptops in question don't do Cardbus II, so no USB, and frankly, USB has always proven itself an unreliable fussbudget. On laptops, USB is very, very great. Maybe USB is one of the greatest ideas of the laptop computing. Without USB, you have nearly no ways of attaching hardware to laptop. The PC-Card (PCMCIA) and Cardbus interfaces were intended to be for this, in exactly the same way that the ISA and PCI busses are the mechanisms for attaching harware to a desktop. Max Malc. |
#9
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On laptops, USB is very, very great. Maybe USB is one of the greatest ideas
of the laptop computing. Without USB, you have nearly no ways of attaching hardware to laptop. The PC-Card (PCMCIA) and Cardbus interfaces were intended to be for this, in exactly the same way that the ISA and PCI busses are the mechanisms for attaching harware to a desktop. Without USB, you will need: - PS/2 hole for keyboard - serial port for serial-attached hardware or serial mouse - PS/2 hole for mouse - parallel port for printer - custom PCMCIA card for scanner and so on. With USB, all you need is a hub, and only if you have more then 2 devices to attach to the laptop. Max |
#10
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On 6 Sep 2003 16:24:42 -0700, (Jeff Sutter) wrote:
(idunno) wrote in message om... On 4 Sep 2003 19:57:01 -0700, (Jeff Sutter) wrote: How about Linux on one of those small cube-like shuttle barebones kits http://us.shuttle.com/ ... Excellent pointers to good resources, but all are way too big. I'm looking for something the size of a 1/2 height 5" portable CDROM enclosure or smaller, such that it can be tossed into a [nicely padded] briefcase for transit. Rebyte looks like a great unit, if it actually works as stated. Cute model, too. I had considered building a unit in a cdrom enclosure using a mini-itx motherboard, as some others have, but that would limit me to a 2.5" HD, which immediately puts you back in the SnapServer price range without the performance. I think what you want is a snap appliance. Certainly I think you have to look at something bigger or more expensive than you were hoping. What you are looking for sounds like a great product but I don't think it's here yet. If you could make it and bring it to market - I'd buy it! If you plan to access the data on the NAS solely through the network it doesn't matter what file system you use. Fat32 would be necessary only if you are planning to physically remove the drive and plug it into your Win95 box. If it just needs to be portable and compatible, what's wrong with a USB HDD? Through the OS of the computer you connect to you can easily share it on the network. Most of my reliable hardware, in a variety of locations, is Win95 vintage. Newer systems have come and gone, but the proven hardware won't break. Win95 vintage stuff doesn't support USB well or firewire at all; the laptops in question don't do Cardbus II, so no USB, and frankly, USB has always proven itself an unreliable fussbudget. But all of the systems in question support ethernet NICs just fine, so it would seem to be the interface of choice. Newer hardware seems to handle USB better than those days (which I agree was horrible). USB did flounder very badly for a few years. The parallel port - IDE cases work like champs. H45 Quickdrives served me well. AFAIK all parallel - IDE units used the same shuttle chip which works great in Linux, dos, win9x, and NT 4 & higher (the only problem is that you can't run a SMART polling program with it connected - I believe shuttle was dissolved before SMART was widespread so a fix will never happen). The boxes are so old that they are very hard to find - but I did see one last year factory new sealed for around $20. I don't know the largest drive geometry it supports. They do support multi-gig drives and can be hotswapped and I think even daisey-chained. Performance is reasonable but not exactly fast. Sorry I confused network disks with FAT32 - Win95 acts funny when using Windows Networking, access volumes 32G, or with very large directory trees. I presume an NAS box could be configured to appear as multiple network drives of 32G, yes? Thanks. Jeff. Win9x acts funny and gets confused in all kinds of scenarios and has lots of limitations. Networking in general can be very screwy and often takes some finessing to kinda work right or get it running again. I just have no patience for it or the machines of that era. I was not aware of that limitation esp bc I dumped it long before 32G drives were ever made. At a certain point eventhough a machine still "runs" it still can become more trouble than it is worth. |
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