My Setup
So I am reaching the point where finally I am content with my home network and development setup.
I'll detail the finer points of it in subsequent posts but for now the nuts of it is a Windows box running Freenas in a virtual machine to provide networked assisted storage (NAS) and handle torrent downloads/uploads etc.
The NAS solution is a consequence of running only Freenas for many months and it's filesystem of choice (UFS) is largely incompatible with other OS's when it comes to writing (reads were ok on Ubuntu server from what I could work out). That and the fact it is working makes me loathe to try a data migration to some other filesystem and server.
Normally I would refrain from using Windows machines but the best way I have found to watching UK television is using Identity Cloaker to get you onto a UK server and as far as I know it is only available for Windows. This is likely the only thing other than webhosting and hardware that I have actually had to invest money in (Windows PC came courtesy of my good lady).
The final piece of the puzzle is of course how to access the media on Freenas. In the past (before I wanted to use Identity Cloaker) I would use UPnP direct to the PS3. Not a bad solution but it is reasonably intolerant of many media filetypes and UPnP was also unstable (could be a Freenas issue). With the Vista box running I tried windows media center but frankly that is pish. So to xbmc I turned. What a revelation! With xbmc I have next to no problems with any media types, it's way more stable than the PS3 UPnP solution and likewise Windows Media Center. Who would have thought something born out of the xbox would be so useful and free!
The icing on the cake is xbmc remote for android phones. With that installed on my Xperia I can control xbmc with ease, a seamless solution to home networking and media.
My laptop btw runs OpenSUSE Linux which performs admirably with no hardware issues now that broadcom have opened up their wireless cards to Linux...in the past it was a real ball ache to get running which forced Windows to be used. This of course led to the death of the laptop as it crumbled under the weight of windows updates and crappy system management. Thankfully it now speeds along happily through all tasks once again.
Beyond the firewall I am using Dreamhost to serve up xtracold, one day I might host it myself but there seems to be little real value in that endeavour. I also have SVN configured on Dreamhost to allow more control over Wordpress theme development. In due course i'll write some more on all that, including what I intend to do with bug tracking etc.
So there you have it, a largely free home networking solution that is stable and easy to use.
network.pngfile not in this archive
I'll detail the finer points of it in subsequent posts but for now the nuts of it is a Windows box running Freenas in a virtual machine to provide networked assisted storage (NAS) and handle torrent downloads/uploads etc.
The NAS solution is a consequence of running only Freenas for many months and it's filesystem of choice (UFS) is largely incompatible with other OS's when it comes to writing (reads were ok on Ubuntu server from what I could work out). That and the fact it is working makes me loathe to try a data migration to some other filesystem and server.
Normally I would refrain from using Windows machines but the best way I have found to watching UK television is using Identity Cloaker to get you onto a UK server and as far as I know it is only available for Windows. This is likely the only thing other than webhosting and hardware that I have actually had to invest money in (Windows PC came courtesy of my good lady).
The final piece of the puzzle is of course how to access the media on Freenas. In the past (before I wanted to use Identity Cloaker) I would use UPnP direct to the PS3. Not a bad solution but it is reasonably intolerant of many media filetypes and UPnP was also unstable (could be a Freenas issue). With the Vista box running I tried windows media center but frankly that is pish. So to xbmc I turned. What a revelation! With xbmc I have next to no problems with any media types, it's way more stable than the PS3 UPnP solution and likewise Windows Media Center. Who would have thought something born out of the xbox would be so useful and free!
The icing on the cake is xbmc remote for android phones. With that installed on my Xperia I can control xbmc with ease, a seamless solution to home networking and media.
My laptop btw runs OpenSUSE Linux which performs admirably with no hardware issues now that broadcom have opened up their wireless cards to Linux...in the past it was a real ball ache to get running which forced Windows to be used. This of course led to the death of the laptop as it crumbled under the weight of windows updates and crappy system management. Thankfully it now speeds along happily through all tasks once again.
Beyond the firewall I am using Dreamhost to serve up xtracold, one day I might host it myself but there seems to be little real value in that endeavour. I also have SVN configured on Dreamhost to allow more control over Wordpress theme development. In due course i'll write some more on all that, including what I intend to do with bug tracking etc.
So there you have it, a largely free home networking solution that is stable and easy to use.
Library files
network.pngfile not in this archive