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$4.50/Month SheevaPlug Dedicated Server ($140 Setup)

lowendbox.com

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Re: $4.50/Month SheevaPlug Dedicated Server ($140 Setup)

#11

Post by lzw »

I'm still reading up on this, but I'm very curious as to the tradeoffs between this and a Linode or Slicehost or other VPS system. Seems this would have the advantage of a lot more capacity, and while I'm not sure of the performance of the CPU it should be essentially guaranteed. If you just keep it for a year, and consider the $140 for the plug a total write off, this comes to about $16 a month.

Is this a good deal compared to VPS offerings? It seems like it would have to be, unless the CPU is very slow.

Amazon micro instances are close, but you can't run a web service from them since they can lose their CPU for seconds at a time (as I understand it.)

Re: $4.50/Month SheevaPlug Dedicated Server ($140 Setup)

#13

Post by stcredzero »

pyre wrote: post #7
stcredzero wrote: post #3

A lot of enterprises could store all of their non-image/multimedia data on a single 160GB server. This could be particularly true of illegal enterprises. A bunch of SheevaPlugs connected to 2G or 3G wireless could be used to host a distributed low bandwidth "darknet" against the wishes of a local government. A simple peripheral with a mercury switch and a very limited UPS capacity could hold a symmetric encryption ke…

Issues with that: * 2G or 3G wireless would be attached to someone's account (i.e. associated with a person). * The authorities could just access the contents of the drive to see what is on it. (though this would obviously mean infiltrating the darknet) It would probably be easier to setup something like this hooked into the internet at some private business. Stick it under a desk or above the ceiling tiles and just…

2G or 3G wireless would be attached to someone's account (i.e. associated with a person).

Easily solvable with shills or shell corporations. Think about the options of the authorities in the US. Police would have to get a search warrant. Which address are they going to get a search warrant for? The shill/shell company might have nothing to do with the whole thing other than maintaining the 3G accounts.

The authorities could just access the contents of the drive to see what is on it. (though this would obviously mean infiltrating the darknet)

This might also mean infiltrating the organization to get access to the darknet. This would seem to indicate that the level of physical security I'm suggesting is commensurate to the task.

It would probably be easier to setup something like this hooked into the internet at some private business. Stick it under a desk or above the ceiling tiles and just plug it directly into the local network.

That's exactly what I'm thinking of! That would be another viable option for hosting such a device.

Re: $4.50/Month SheevaPlug Dedicated Server ($140 Setup)

#14

Post by pieter »

ShabbyDoo wrote: post #6

What are the use cases for this device which are not covered by either (1) an EC2 "micro" instance ($82 up front + $0.007/hour * 3 years * 365 days * 24 hours/day == $7.38/month) or (2) a small form factor server in my home? If we ignore the toy/coolness factor of having such a small form factor device, are there any compelling use cases? I can't think of any.

The EC2 option doesn't include bandwidth or storage. Depending on how you use it, this thing might have faster I/O.

Re: $4.50/Month SheevaPlug Dedicated Server ($140 Setup)

#15

Post by ShabbyDoo »

pieter wrote: post #14
ShabbyDoo wrote: post #6

What are the use cases for this device which are not covered by either (1) an EC2 "micro" instance ($82 up front + $0.007/hour * 3 years * 365 days * 24 hours/day == $7.38/month) or (2) a small form factor server in my home? If we ignore the toy/coolness factor of having such a small form factor device, are there any compelling use cases? I can't think of any.

The EC2 option doesn't include bandwidth or storage. Depending on how you use it, this thing might have faster I/O.

A point well taken that EC2 could be much more expensive for transfer/storage-intensive use cases.

Re: $4.50/Month SheevaPlug Dedicated Server ($140 Setup)

#17

Post by ShabbyDoo »

pyre wrote: post #8
ShabbyDoo wrote: post #6

What are the use cases for this device which are not covered by either (1) an EC2 "micro" instance ($82 up front + $0.007/hour * 3 years * 365 days * 24 hours/day == $7.38/month) or (2) a small form factor server in my home? If we ignore the toy/coolness factor of having such a small form factor device, are there any compelling use cases? I can't think of any.

Well, the advantage being that your home connection probably isn't the same, plus you don't have support people whose job it is to keep your home server up and running. e.g. Say you're away from home, need something off the server, and it goes down. With this, you can call support and probably have it up and running again.

I get the need for a local server if you need low latency/high bandwidth and/or lots of storage. However, for what percentage of those use cases would the user not be happier spending a bit more for something beefier? Why is the form factor so appealing? Even those in a NYC studio could find somewhere to stash a larger server. If the device is being used to serve media, it will have a bunch of external drives dangling from it anyway.

The managed vs. unmanaged question seems important but mostly orthogonal to locality and form factor. And, Dropbox has proven that the local/remote Hybrid is valuable (along with management). Although the form factor is novel, I don't think it's significant for those who only care about the benefits of a piece of technology.

Maybe the world needs more managed services for the individual/household? I posted a "Tell HN" a few months ago about my desire for a managed router, so I guess I've already made this claim:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1160585

Re: $4.50/Month SheevaPlug Dedicated Server ($140 Setup)

#18

Post by iamjustlooking »

ShabbyDoo wrote: post #6

What are the use cases for this device which are not covered by either (1) an EC2 "micro" instance ($82 up front + $0.007/hour * 3 years * 365 days * 24 hours/day == $7.38/month) or (2) a small form factor server in my home? If we ignore the toy/coolness factor of having such a small form factor device, are there any compelling use cases? I can't think of any.

500GB bandwidth included.

Re: $4.50/Month SheevaPlug Dedicated Server ($140 Setup)

#19

Post by seltzered »

ShabbyDoo wrote: post #6

What are the use cases for this device which are not covered by either (1) an EC2 "micro" instance ($82 up front + $0.007/hour * 3 years * 365 days * 24 hours/day == $7.38/month) or (2) a small form factor server in my home? If we ignore the toy/coolness factor of having such a small form factor device, are there any compelling use cases? I can't think of any.

Possible use case: If I can put a bigger hard drive inside this, it would be a nice personal mini "mozy" backup service for me. No, it wouldn't be terabytes of stuff, but the dedicated connection would be worth it.
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