Home Server - the recap to date

So where am I at right now?

It turns out the Xbox Media Centre is a hit. I like it, it works simply, and has been pretty reliable.

All I need for it is a file share. That same file share works well as a backup drop spot. Right now I've got an old Celeron box running Ubuntu desktop with a couple of bigger drives and LVM to join them together. Simple and effective.

I've never been happy with using a file share on the same box as a firewall, and the sucky firewall built into my modem makes we want to keep a linux box doing that job along with DHCP and DNS for the local network. I'm using SME server for that, although I might revert to IPCop or something else. I'm missing a WEP network for the kids Nintendo DS's, and someone gave me a PCI wireless card that might just do the job without me adding more equipment to the house.

Central authentication is still on the wishlist I suppose, but doesn't seem to be too important right now.

Running my own mailserver just doesn't seem worth the effort. As long as Gmail's privacy issues aren't pushing my buttons too badly, it seems like the right solution.

So, all and all, it's working ok right now.

What's caught my attention lately is python. I'd like to try and learn at least a little bit... So, expect a couple posts on that topic and others (like CVS) in future.

Unending

Yep - another gratuitous Stargate reference.

And a change of direction.

If you haven't noticed - it's been pretty quiet around here lately. Truth is, I've been very busy, and when I'm not busy, I've been interested in other things.

Oddly enough, I've started using identi.ca, and twitter, and that's what got me interested in writing blog entries again. And while I've been kicking out some entries for a user group blog I write on, I've been wanting to express things that just don't belong there, or on my family website, and too long for twitter.

It's amusing, but my nickname 'furicle' actually is a pretty unique Google search, with identi.ca and twitter entries one and two, and this blog somewhere down the list a bit. The rest of the hits are all me too. So I'm not going to abandon this blog, just change it around a bit.

I know all the advise says if I want a successful blog to pick a narrow topic and beat it to death, but audience share isn't my definition of success anyway. This is more therapeutic than serving some desire for fame - an audience isn't really necessary. If I provide useful info from time to time that a google search picks up for future readers, that's great too.

The four rules still apply, just expect a lot more wandering around various FLOSS topics, not just home server stuff. And you still can't expect a schedule :-)

Up in a day or two is a recap of where I ended up with my home server to date.

XBox Media Centre Is Really Nice When It Doesn't Drop Network Connection

I did go ahead and set up the XBox Media Centre on my old XBox. The instructions aren't the greatest, but they got me there.

The media centre is much better than I expected. It's pretty, and useable, and looks like the perfect solution for our household. I've already moved my Freevo box into the basement (it's still the media server, even if it's not connected to the TV anymore.)

One thing that was confusing. There's some kind of script on that XBox that tells it if the network is up or not - and it was forever deciding my network was down, even when it was fine. Weird, since it would correctly show the cable as being connected, and the connection being a negotiated half-duplex 100 meg. (Yep - it's an old switch - remember Rule One?) It still read 'Network Down' below.

What fixed it (and don't ask me why) was to set the XBox to Fixed Manual IP instead of DHCP. It's been 'up' ever since. It must be something in the way the various 'dashboards' interact with each other and/or the eth card - but my weirdo solution works.