diff --git a/blogs/2022/2022-11-19_future_of_the_subcon_server.md b/blogs/2022/2022-11-19_future_of_the_subcon_server.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7197749 --- /dev/null +++ b/blogs/2022/2022-11-19_future_of_the_subcon_server.md @@ -0,0 +1,133 @@ +# Future of the Subcon Server + +*Written on November 19th, 2022* + +--- + +Howdy reader! Today I wanted to talk a bit about my home server and its +immediate coming future, now that I've finally gotten a little roadmap +established and new plans made. It has been a while since I wanted to +decommission the current server hardware, as it's slowly showing its age +now, both in terms of hardware incompatibility and power efficiency. + + +## The current system + +Currently the server is a fairly typical desktop computer. It's nothing +special or enterprisy, just a regular joe desktop PC, rocking an old +Intel Haswell board with an i3-4170 CPU and some 16GB of terribly +mismatched RAM. Since my server has never seen heavy traffic, this has +worked quite well, despite it obviously not being very suitable for more +advanced things like virtualization. Truth be told, that has simply never +been my end goal. + +![The current Subcon server, tucked away under my desk.](/img/20221119/Haswell.jpg) +*The current server, together with the UPS powering it.* + +When I first built this iteration of my home server, it was a +substantial upgrade to its predecessor. It provided much more stability +and steady processing power, and still came in at using about 35 Watt +while idling. This, including multiple big wonky hard disk drives, so I +was satisfied for the time. And all this has served me ridiculously well +for how simple and budget tier it was. + +However, with time I have dropped a number of the heavier services on my +server (such as the Minecraft and Garry'sMod servers), leaving my setup +quite overpowered still for its remaining tasks. With the current plans +to dedicate the server to become a more limited pubnix system, I can +downsize it to a much more low-power system to save on the energy bill. + + +## The next generation + +I've been seaching for a while for hardware solutions that +would fit the bill. Given the desire for a low-power system, I had placed +my bets on a Single-Board-Computer (SBC), such as a raspberry pi or +an x86 board with integrated Intel Pentium or Celeron processor. It had +to be simple. + +Coupled with this I'd figure I pair it with a set of two NVMe SSDs. +Unfortunately, I went ahead and bought a couple of such expensive +(though still for a good price) SSDs, before checking if my current +hardware plans could even support such a thing. Turns out many +low power computers can barely run a single NVMe SSD, and that is if +they supported it at all. So to run two of them? Not gonna happen. + +It was at that point that I decided to make the most of what I had and +find a system that could at least run one of the two sticks I had bought. +After some searching, I finally managed to find a system that almost +perfectly fit my needs: the *Odroid H3*. + +![The Odroid H3.](/img/20221119/H3B.jpg) + +The H3 is a small x86 board with a reasonably new Celeron CPU that can +boost to a whopping 2.9GHz clockspeed if needed, but runs at a more +comfortable 2GHz when not under stress. Besides that, it will run one of +my NVMe drives, as well as two more SATA drives so I can still expand the +storage capacity to more than I will ever need for now. Lastly, it can +deal with more RAM than could possibly be healthy for a small board like +this. All of this in a very power efficient package that isn't even +particularly expensive. It was here that I decided to make the H3 my +plan for the future. + + +## The roadmap + +Before I can actually start running an H3 as my new server, a lot of +migration will have to be done from the older server. As such it won't +be a quick job. Certain things will have to be taken into account, such +as what to do with my huge personal media library, how to deal with +backups, and certain other things need some figuring out: most +importantly, how do I wish to set up and organize the file system? As it +stands on my current server, the file system is a mess and not very +friendly or secure. + +As such, the roadmap for migrating will look a bit like this: + +1. Plan out the new filesystem. This will tell me if I need to look into + setting up LVM partitions, in case I need my partitions to be dynamically + resizable at a moment's notice. Such a thing is easy with LVM, not so + with regular partitions. + +2. Plan out how to migrate existing data. Besides the obvious things like + databases, this also includes thinking about where to move my software + installations and if this requires more than a simple copying of a + directory. + +3. Backups. How will I make them? If I figure this one out beforehand, I + could potentially already make some backups the new way. + +4. The other backup, a backup battery. As it stands, my current UPS is + extremely overpowered already, even more so for the Odroid. This may + take another long search, as low-power UPS systems are rare and expensive, + and as of writing there is no custom solution for an H3. + +5. Actually purchase the H3 and other parts. These won't be available + here until December, so I'll have to wait at least until then. Given + how much storage space I'll initially need, I might have a think about + buying one or two SATA SSDs. + +6. Finally, migration time. This just comes down to doing it, moving + files and reinstalling everything. For this I will likely need a few + days off from work so I can take my time to do everything properly. + +I estimate that it will all take at least until the end of the year to +complete, so some changes in the plan might still pop up. However, I +think the above roadmap sums up quite well what needs doing. + + +## The future of Subcon + +After all is well and done, I think this will mark another period of +stability where the system will not change, not unless something breaks. +My current server has been doing its job for quite a number of years now, +and I hope the H3 will serve me as well for just as many years. + +This means I can focus on building the pubnix community, perhaps adding a +few new bits of software, but most importantly, just use the damn thing +on a daily basis without having to worry about anything else. Once it is +done, I hope I can welcome some of you as new users! + +Until then, and happy computering! + +![Cute Kosuzu!](/img/20221119/51c20c1fb71fd4ff26ed7288fe074183.jpg) \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/img/20221119/51c20c1fb71fd4ff26ed7288fe074183.jpg b/img/20221119/51c20c1fb71fd4ff26ed7288fe074183.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..591b624 Binary files /dev/null and b/img/20221119/51c20c1fb71fd4ff26ed7288fe074183.jpg differ diff --git a/img/20221119/H3B.jpg b/img/20221119/H3B.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9432021 Binary files /dev/null and b/img/20221119/H3B.jpg differ diff --git a/img/20221119/Haswell.jpg b/img/20221119/Haswell.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c2e5f8d Binary files /dev/null and b/img/20221119/Haswell.jpg differ diff --git a/index.html b/index.html index e021e87..eb360cf 100644 --- a/index.html +++ b/index.html @@ -6,9 +6,9 @@ Comfitu.re - + - + @@ -78,6 +78,11 @@

2022

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Changelog

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19 Nov"Future of the Subcon server".md
07 Oct "Fresh Blog!"