Fattening up a Thin Client: silent cheap home server
Do you have a server at home running 24/7? Having permanent access to your home network can be very useful at times, as is sharing media and printers, or managing your downloads. My last server was actually a downgrade from my previous box in computing terms. It was no powerhouse, but being a fanless Epia with minimal power consumption and very low noise was a huge upgrade for me. I just connected the printer, some external USB drives, installed Debian and it has been sitting in a corner for ages, working flawlessly.
A while ago I was looking for a similar noiseless solution for my brother in law and a friend, and the itch started all over again. I decided it was a good moment to upgrade my system. The low power consumption and being fanless were a must, but I also wanted it to have integrated gigabit ethernet. So I though using a Thin Client would be a good solution. These are normally fanless and have very little power needs, and some even have decent processors and Gigabit Ethernet. After looking for a while, I settled for a Fujitsu-Siemens Futro S400 that I found dirt cheap in Ebay.
It has GbE, and an AMD Geode NX 1500 processor that is actually an embedded Athlon clocked at 1GHz that runs on 6W: not bad, given it was introduced on 2004. The S400 boots from a 256MB CF and even has a spare IDE connector on-board. It lacks an internal power connector though, so I had to resort to using external media. One could get the 5V/12V from the motherboard, especially since the PCI port is not being used at the moment, but the system already gets hot enough as it is. I don’t want to add another heat source for now. However, unlike last time, I wanted to keep the OS on the compact flash. Sometimes the external media might not be available to boot, and besides… CF are fast for these things. I just swapped it for an 8GB/x133 I had laying around, and that’s much more than I need.
Installing on flash memory, however, requires certain considerations to prevent the installed OS from degrading due to a CF failure. These devices usually have a limited number of write cycles, so the set up must minimize the write-operations as much as possible. Once it is done, you can use most thin clients exactly as any other computer.
Basically:
- Create a minimal installation on local machine
- Customize it to your needs and add any other required packages
- Make it possible for the root FS to run being mounted read-only
- Dump the installation to the CF and make it bootable
- Profit!
It’s not rocket science, but I’ll be writing something about it for those who could find it useful. Check out the home server tag if you are interested, and good luck!
UPDATE: Here is a photo of the AC adapter, in case you want to Google it
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Have you try the IDE hard disk? How size?
As a matter of fact, I have :-)
Just last week I tried an internal 250GB 2.5″ HD and it works perfectly. I just had to buy this adapter, took out the cables from the molex connector and hooked them to the white 2-pin connector located by the PCI slot. It gives you the needed 5V. I just had to chop off a little bit of the pins on the cable, and being hollow I didn’t even have to weld them to the motherboard.
You’ll probably have to update the BIOS to the latest release (I’ve got the Q revision). I you want a 3.5″ HDD you’ll also have to get 12V from the power supply somehow. Another friend has done that with his S400, although the disk didn’t fit in the casing and he left it on the surface.
hi,
i have a question about the power supply connector. it looks like a 4-pin connector. is it possible to tell me how it is wired?
It was very helpfull express you so much in return sharing. I inclination allowance it with my friends. Thanks
Hi,
could you measure the power consumption of your system?!
I’m using a NSU2 as (very) small home server. It needs incl. a 2,5″ USB-HDD approx. 15 watts in idle.
FSC says that S400 also need 15 watts in idle and 27 watts at peak.
Is this true?
Thanks for your interessting article and information!
Regards
Michael
Hi Michael,
sorry, but I have no equipement to do so. I can tell you this: it has been running non-stop since I added the internal 2.5″HDD.
It gets uncomfortably hot on Summer, but that’s about it. I’m pretty sure it is caused by the HDD. Working perfectly ever since :)
Hi, thanks for your informations. I will try to do the same. But I was wondering – will it be possible to take out the CF-card, and then swap in a 1.8 HDD. Will it fit here?
AFAIK, it will fit. I’m not so sure about the power requirements, though.
Thanks.
The adaptor you used for the 2.5″ HDD, can you quide me on that – the link is dead so I cant see it.
If I understood, this adaptor fitted in the CF-slot and to the HDD, and then you took power from the two-pin connector by the PCI slot?
Nope, it isn’t a 1.8″ to 2.5″.
I used a 3.5″ to 2.5″ converter and hooked it to the IDE port. I bought mine on eBay for 1€ or so.
The power is from the white connector located at x110,y175 of the motherboard image linked in the post. Once you cut the tip of the pins from the converter you don’t even have to solder them to the board (they’re hollow and you can connect them directly to the white two-pin connector)
Just ask if you need any more details :)
Personally I have replaced the compact flash card from mine by a Microdrive, which is just a 1.2″HDD.
Nowadays Microdrives are relatively easy (and cheap) to find on internet auction sites as by-products from old revisions of iPods and other MP3 players.
Pros:
-”Plug and play” with no adaptors required since they are the same size as the compact flash card.
-Usage will not wear them off as a it happens flash cards.
Cons:
-They do not really come in big sizes (8GB maximum I believe), meaning you will most likely use it to hold the OS only and then you’ll require an additional HDD for additional storage. Not a big deal though, simply hook the additional external HDD via USB and you’re done. I personally prefer 2.5″ HDD as these do not require of an external power supply.
-Relatively slow compared to regular sized HDDs or even fash cards. Not a big deal either, since one is going to use it as a home server only.
Notes:
Most Microdrive brands should work (Hitachi or Seagate), but run away from those GS Magic ones as far as you can.
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Thanks WaKuRu
It seems like the solution I would like to use. So I need a microdrive – and not the 1.8″ drive which I thought would fit in the CF-card connector.
I don’t understand your statement on the 2,5″ drive not needing extra power – whereas Taher Shihadeh describes that he took power from the motherboard.
@Steen: He is talking about USB-HDDs :)
I was just browsing for relevant blog posts for my project research and I happened to stumble upon yours. Thanks for the useful information!
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Hi,
I am using a Futro S400 as a linux server too.
Everything is ok the only limitation is the 512Mb of Ram.
Anybody as successfully updated this machine to 1Gb ?
Regards
Albert
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