FJ Brodie

Trying to decide whether to get a #RaspberryPi or a budget mini pc as a home backup server, AdGuard DNS and home network firewall.

Some Pi setups are as expensive as budget mini PCs and all I'd have to do would be replace Windows with Linux on those.

I've run out of broken and old computers at home for this purpose as my last old laptop's screen broke and now has hard drive failure😁.

Ideas/Input?

Thanks.

#repost #technology #homenetworking

Feb 11 at 5:02pmWeb
Show threadCrankyOldBugger Feb 11
@FibroJedi I'm pro-raspi, but right now the prices are crazy.
Show threadFJ BrodieFeb 11
@crankyoldbugger so it seems. Any idea why?
Show threadCrankyOldBugger Feb 12
@FibroJedi They have to follow the RAM prices, unfortunately. The Raspberry Pi people are trying to keep their prices down, but there's only so much they can do. Blame the A.I. people.
Show threadFJ BrodieFeb 12
@crankyoldbugger I was going to ask if so-called "AI" was a factor, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions... 😇
Show threadDavid Page 🇪🇺Feb 11
@FibroJedi . I run 3x Pi5s+SSD HATs. All run 24/7 via 12v to 5V buck/boost regulators from a 12Volt ex Alarm panel + battery. Standing load from 3xPis, router and fibre modem is less than 32W. Wireless is disabled and they run headless on a wired lan. Pi 1 is a normal apache2 webserver, Pi 2 runs home assistant + media server and Pi 3 runs nextcloud reverse proxied behind Pi 1. All run adblock and wireguard VPNs. The active cooling fans hardly ever run.
Nextcloud is slow even on a Pi5+SSD
Show threadFJ BrodieFeb 11

@Jethrotombs that's a lot of Pi. How much did each one of the Pi+SSD set you back?

(If that's too personal, feel free not to answer).

Show threadDavid Page 🇪🇺Feb 12
@FibroJedi Hi, it all came from the PiHut https://thepihut.com/
The Ultimate Raspberry Pi & Maker Store

The #1 Raspberry Pi & Maker superstore. Official Raspberry Pi reseller. The largest range of maker products with all your favourite brands under one roof. Next Day delivery available.

The Pi Hut
Show threadFJ BrodieFeb 12
@Jethrotombs Thanks, I'll take a look :)
Show threadIrgndSonDeppFeb 11
@FibroJedi a Raspi is probably enough, but insanely expensive right now. A mini PC will serve you well and will then have some capacity left for when you inevitably put other stuff on it. 😅
Show threadFJ BrodieFeb 11
@irgndsondepp "inevitability" is strangely accurate 😁
Show threadKiernianFeb 11

@FibroJedi if you're going to be using it for anything with any amount of disk write, go PC or use external disk storage.

Every single person I know who has used a raspi for pihole/firewall stuff burns through flash storage like crazy with those application types. The microsd cards/USB sticks/etc have a relatively short lifespan when used for something that writes to disk that frequently.

Show threadFJ BrodieFeb 11
@Kiernian ah, I didn't know that about the SD cards, as I've never really dealt with them. And yes, there will be frequent writes, even with rsync there could be many files to update.
Show threadScopiqueFeb 11
@FibroJedi I was JUST thinking the same thing, though I have 2 Pi right now and am considering getting a small form PC. I'm running into cases where the ARM processor isn't cutting it for certain applications.
Show threadKevin BrillFeb 11

@scopique @FibroJedi Before the great AI suckage on prices, I would buy Dell Latitude refurbs for around $250 USD and are excellent all-purpose machines for doing this. For the cost of kitting out a new Pi, it may be worthwhile to get one of the mini-pcs and use those instead.

Regardless, I can't recommend enough setting up AdGuard Home as your primary DNS server. It is so nice having aggressive ad-blocking for any device, and not just in a browser.

Show threadFJ BrodieFeb 11
@kevinbrill @scopique yeah, we had Adguard on the previous former-laptop server/DNS. Or was lovely and I want to get that back!
Show thread73 million secondsFeb 11
@FibroJedi love the Pis and would even suggest using CM5s for that extra modularity but with them upping the price so much recently I imagine you're going to find a much better deal by looking at mini PCs.
Show threadFJ BrodieFeb 11

@73ms the prices did seem higher than I was anticipating. Is it was just one to tinker around with, the price isn't so bad, but as I know what I want it to do, as a non-hardware person, the price is daft, if I can buy something else that might actually serve me better.

I'd thought a Pi would save money, but the world of Mini PCs is challenging that.