Remote Access & VPN Server?

[linuxguy]

I'm currently considering a Pogoplug Mobile or a POGO-V4-A3-01. I have no experience with these devices but have gobs of Linux experience. I'm having trouble finding technical details on what I want to do. Most of what I find is rather dated (2009-2010) and so I don't know if its current information.

My requirements are rather simple. Simply need an installation of a Linux ARM distro which stays current with SSH, SSL, OpenVPN and/or PPTP security issues. Down the road, apache or ngix might be an option but certainly not a requrement. Of course, a well maintained kernel is assumed; with 2.6 minimum and 3.x preferred.

Need to support multiple users, so a gutted Linux distro which assumes all access is as root doesn't work for me.

Optional support for NFS (client and server) would be great.

Support for ext4 is preferred but not required. Use of ext2 and/or squashfs for /boot is acceptible.

Optional support for iptables and general routing/filtering.

And so the question becomes, is this a good, simple, reliable platform which will support my requirements?

if you care, this device will sit behind a firewall against a T1, so I don't really have CPU throughput concerns. I doubt I will add external storage, but if I do, I imagine it will be a simple USB thumb drive.

Oh ya, of the two devices above, which would you prefer and why? This sound like a good fit for this class of device? BTW, which ARM series are the CPUs in those devices?

Lastly, is there a resource which speaks to which distributions are available? Which package management tools they use? Which CPU variants are supported? Which ones are well maintained and active?

If this sounds like a good match, links to conversion/installation howtos would be great.

Thanks.

[WarheadsSE]

My requirements are rather simple. Simply need an installation of a Linux ARM distro which stays current with SSH, SSL, OpenVPN and/or PPTP security issues. Down the road, apache or ngix might be an option but certainly not a requrement. Of course, a well maintained kernel is assumed; with 2.6 minimum and 3.x preferred.

done. 3.1.10-9 at the moment. Be sure to used cryptodev & openssl-cryptodev for best performance.

Need to support multiple users, so a gutted Linux distro which assumes all access is as root doesn't work for me.

Make users

Optional support for NFS (client and server) would be great.

Support for ext4 is preferred but not required. Use of ext2 and/or squashfs for /boot is acceptible.

Optional support for iptables and general routing/filtering.

done, done, done.

Oh ya, of the two devices above, which would you prefer and why? This sound like a good fit for this class of device? BTW, which ARM series are the CPUs in those devices?

They are both armv5te, kirkwood-platform, sheeva-core based SoC. I'd got for the V4 because of the SATA dock. Period.

Lastly, is there a resource which speaks to which distributions are available? Which package management tools they use? Which CPU variants are supported? Which ones are well maintained and active?

If this sounds like a good match, links to conversion/installation howtos would be great.

We don't handle any other distribution. Our installation pages are directly on the front page.

[linuxguy]

Informative reply.

Based on pogo v4 install, as I read that, I would need the pogo v4 and a USB flash drive? Something in the 8GB range for a usb flash drive plenty? After that, simply do the install, per the directions, from there I'm adding users and configuring packages?

Thank you.

[WarheadsSE]

A few things to keep in mind:
- 4GB+ is good, although spinning rust is far more reliable.
- Never put swap on flash drives.

[TheWalt]

If you have a spare SATA 3.5" hard drive you can get a Goflex Home base on ebay for $20 and $10 for the hard drive shell. Ends up less than half the price of a V4 and you get to run a system from "spinning rust" as so elegantly stated, assuming you don't need the USB ports of the V4.

[linuxguy]

Thanks guys. You have given some good information and lots to think about.

[pilotguide]

I have had the Pogoplug mobile for a few months now. It's running a PPTP server so I can access some services from my home network remotely. As it sits right now the mobile has been running flawlessly for more than 80 days without a restart. System load is very low. Arch Linux Arm has made my VPN a really reliable service.

[karamazov1]

Do you guys know if there is a vpn setup guide floating around? Didn't see one under the official nor community guides.

Thanks

[unmesh]

If you have a spare SATA 3.5" hard drive you can get a Goflex Home base on ebay for $20 and $10 for the hard drive shell. Ends up less than half the price of a V4 and you get to run a system from "spinning rust" as so elegantly stated, assuming you don't need the USB ports of the V4.

By hard drive shell, do you mean the real Seagate GoFlex kind or a 3rd party one?

[unmesh]

The real Seagate GoFlex kind. My suspicion is that the seller is buying external drives and taking out the drive for use internally since there are times when this is the cheapest way to get a large capacity internal 3.5" drive.