Network-attached file server. I wanted to build it as much for fun as for the functional value it’d have after it’s finished. It stores 250gb (expandable to 1tb) of movies and music. My plan is to put my entire music collection in one place and have it constantly accessible, as opposed to mostly on backup DVD-R’s as it is now. Some auxiliary features like a torrent manager or web host would be nice, also. I wanted to build it as cheaply as possible, less than $100 not including hard drives. It sits in my kitchen on top of the fan enclosure over the stove, with a blinking red hard disk access light blinking furiously.
I used to spend so much time at work fixing and troubleshooting servers and workstations; I never do stuff like that anymore. The only exposure I get to playing with technology now is in my home, which puts a new light on tinkering with electronics. DJ’ing almost took the opposite route over the last year. Whereas IT was my job and DJ’ing was my hobby, the two seemed to have flipped.
I made use of my old domain for the new server, and there’s a torrent manager frontend as well. Through this I can add and manage torrent downloads from anywhere outside of my home. Hopefully this’ll expand to other services, so I can have better control of things while I’m gone. I’ll hook up a webcam with a live feed on the server before I leave for America as a super geek security feature. This’ll also be my first exposure to freeBSD, which will be beneficial in my developing understanding of managing a non-Windows server.
Here’s a photo I just took of it in my kitchen, staring down at me. Check out all the scuffs on it. I’ll probably paint the white side and top panels black before too long.