Re: [PLUG] silent, small form factor, linux

"George A. Theall" <theall@tifaware.com> · Fri, 11 May 2007 19:54:59 -0400

On Fri, May 11, 2007 at 02:44:46PM -0400, Jeff Abrahamson wrote:

> Anyone have any experience with small (e.g., fanless like some of the
> new Macs), small form factor (e.g., Shuttle, Mac Mini, etc.) boxes
> that run linux?

I have a system based on a Via Epia MII (not fanless) as a personal web
/ mail server.  It's a Mini-ITX system, draws about 25 watts except when
powering up, and hasn't given me any problems in ~2 years of continual
use. 

I also have a Kuro Box (a PowerPC-based NAS device from Buffalo Tech)
that's a little bigger than a USB drive enclosure.  I use it for
automated backups -- definitely not a speed demon, but it gets the job
done.  It has a small fan and draws very little power (I can't remember
exactly, but probably < 20 watts in normal use). 

Both systems run Gentoo, although there's no reason you couldn't run
Debian or whatever distro strikes your fancy.  Along with some other
equipment, they're mounted on a "rack" in my basement
(http://www.tifaware.com/~theall/rackmount.jpg, on either side of the
UPS if you're curious).  Next up will probably be some sort of similar
box for running Asterisk. 

George
-- 
theall@tifaware.com