MSI Cubi 5


My home server's fourth iteration. This time build around the MSI Cubi 5, a nice, modern, power efficient tiny computer. The small box on top of the stack in the middle.
The two cases below are external USB 3.5" HDD cases. The uppder one actually contains a HDD, the lower one an Arduino Nano, several Relays, temperature sensor and a 433Mhz transceiver. The leftmost Box is a cable modem (router, actually, but i use it only as a modem). The rightmost box is my geriatric NAS, the one on top of it (barely visible) is an ATA. Mounted to the upper board is a slightly stupid smart switch. And then in the upper shelf is my Amp: a cobbled together plywood case, the power stage from a broken Braun Audio 408 and some eBay specials (input selector, preamp/tone control).
As a small home server, its a nice machine. Small, pretty quiet and power efficient. Its pretty expensive, though.

System

  • MSI Cubi 5 10M-048DE
    • power consumption 5W or 12W # primary, depending on connection of ethernet ?
  • Intel H81
  • Intel Core i5-10210U (4 Cores, 1.6GHz, 15W TDP)
    • cpufreq # via pstates
  • 2 DDR4 slots, 1 8GB 2666 module
  • Intel UHD Graphics
  • 2 M.2 Slots
    • PCI Express
    • SATA ?
    • USB
  • Intel I219-V Gigabit Ethernet
  • WDC PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-256G-1032 , WDS100T2B0B
  • 3 USB 3.2 Type A Ports, 1 USB 3.2 Type C Port
    • Toshiba Canvio Basics 2TB
  • 2 USB 2.0 Type A Ports
  • DP 1.2 ? / HDMI 1.4
  • Intel Wireless AX201
    • Managed Mode 2.4GHz / 5Ghz X
    • Bluetooth
  • ALC887-VD audio codec
    • Headset connector
  • Devuan Linux Chimera

Audio


Its a bit weird, and i'm not sure if its just software related. Anyway, aplay -l only lists one card, which combines Analogue and HDMI devices. Switching is no problem and everything works fine, though. I kind of need (or rather want) two audio devices, one ist HDMI for Video playback, the other is analogue for audio playback. Though technically don't need those simultaneously, i want that to be possible.
Well, i use a USB-Audio device anyway. Better sound. Or rather, less noise from internal switchery stuff or whatever. You know that? Move the mouse and hear some glitches? That kinda stuff. Does not (or less) happen with certain USB devices. I use a cheap one which is quiet for my ears all the time. And sounds good enough for me.

Power Consumption


Even weirder: when just idling, monitor, keyboard and mouse connected, the system measures 5W primary side (using a cheap wattmeter). Just plugging in ethernet raises the consumption to 12W. Even if connected to nothing than a switch. No traffic, interface even down. I have no clue whats going one.

Home server does everything setup


It does everything: router, firewall, AP, NAS, FTP, Gopher, NFS, SMB, web services, DNLA, MPD, bluetooth audio sink, backup host, syncthing, video player and what not. Thus its called "albert", like a classic british butler who also does everything.
It runs Devuan, a fork of Debian which is still fully supporting many init systems.
* iptables, hostapd, dnsmasqd
* kernel-space smb and nfs
* lighttpd, vsftpd

appliances

  • Server albert IV (cubi 5)
    • Managed Switch Netgear GS108T
      • NAS Buffalo TeraStation PRO TS-HTGL/R5 $file more
      • ATA Linksys SPA1001
      • Switch TP-Link TL-SG1005D
      • PLC 2 Allnet ALL168205
        • Switch ¯\_(:/)_/¯ ES3105CH2
          • AP TP-Link TL-WA830RE
      • Freifunk TP-Link TL-WR841N
      • Switch ¯\_(:/)_/¯ Nway Switch

stupid home


Many people nowadays dabble in what is called "smart home". I do not want my home to be smart.
  • Server albert IV (cubi 5)
    • Micro controller Arduino Nano
      • Temperature sensor DS18B20
      • 433MHz Transceiver ???
        • 3 433MHz switches
      • 5 Relays

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