Upgrading from PPPro, but to what?

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Upgrading from PPPro, but to what?

Postby slycat » Sat May 31, 2014 11:15 pm

I haven't ventured the Forums in a long while (ever since the PPPro was called obsolete :( very sad day...)
Anyway, I've had the pro set up with a 3TB 3.5" drive on the internal SATA port and have been running Transmission, Samba, miniDLNA, and Lighttpd (temporarily). While the device still gets things done I have always had an issue with streaming movies even while being connected directly to LAN. And today I've decided to dust off the ole forum login to search for an upgrade.

I've looked into so many devices and, as most people probably have done, been really interested in the RPi. I know it will get what I want done, but I am unsure of the miniDLNA streaming and the lack of SATA connectivity. Maybe I am spoiled but I'd like to keep my drive connected to SATA (though the enclosure handles usb 3.0 too). I don't plan on using the device for anything else besides what I am running and maybe CUPS once I get a new printer.

What should I be looking into if I want:
  • +2000 torrents
  • Streaming HD video and FLAC audio (no transcoding required of course)
  • CUPS capability via usb
  • Ethernet port (wifi hardly necessary)
  • SATA connectivity preferred, or possibly usb 3.0?
  • Light web hosting (I'm no web developer, just need to host some files)
  • no need for video port, I assume to use this as headless as the Pogoplugs were

I'm thinking CuBox?
Pogoplug Pro w/ Wireless User -> decomm.
Cubox-i4pro User
4TB eSATA HDD (8g/3700+ Sw/Storage)
Kodi / Transmission / Minidlna / Samba / Batch-audio-conversions / Lighttpd
------------------------------
Rollback Machine - Thanks to impatt
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Re: Upgrading from PPPro, but to what?

Postby WarheadsSE » Sat May 31, 2014 11:47 pm

The CuBox-i4Pro will probably handle anything you throw at it, based on your description.
- 2x the cores
- 8x the processor oomph (overall)
- 16x the ram
- All the ports you had before, and then some.
- Still in a nice clean case.
- Developer friendly

Downside: $130 USD
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Remember: Arch Linux ARM is entirely community donation supported!
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Re: Upgrading from PPPro, but to what?

Postby Geoff » Sun Jun 01, 2014 2:38 am

Funny, I just went through the same process. My PogoPro is still doing its job well (booting 3.12 on SATA), but on a whim I picked up a Cubox-i4pro for $120 (Memorial Day sale). As soon as I get my microSD card and adapter, I'll have it running Arch.
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Re: Upgrading from PPPro, but to what?

Postby slycat » Sun Jun 01, 2014 2:41 am

As always, thanks for the help WHSE

That isn't the worst downside, really. But yeah, I was interested in something sub $100, even if I have to shave off the esata.
Pogoplug Pro w/ Wireless User -> decomm.
Cubox-i4pro User
4TB eSATA HDD (8g/3700+ Sw/Storage)
Kodi / Transmission / Minidlna / Samba / Batch-audio-conversions / Lighttpd
------------------------------
Rollback Machine - Thanks to impatt
slycat
 
Posts: 169
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2011 3:07 am
Location: Miami, FL

Re: Upgrading from PPPro, but to what?

Postby Geoff » Sun Jun 01, 2014 2:49 am

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('slycat', 'T')hat isn't the worst downside, really. But yeah, I was interested in something sub $100, even if I have to shave off the esata.

There's a dual-core version (with 1GB instead of 2GB RAM) that also has eSATA, and it's $90.
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Re: Upgrading from PPPro, but to what?

Postby WarheadsSE » Sun Jun 01, 2014 2:52 am

And there is the whole ODROID line, etc. Advantage in this case is the SATA connectivity
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Remember: Arch Linux ARM is entirely community donation supported!
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Re: Upgrading from PPPro, but to what?

Postby slycat » Tue Jun 03, 2014 3:16 am

Think I might actually stick with the Cubox-i4Pro.. After some thought I figure getting something with more power than what I need currently can only mean I can expand to other things.
Saw about how some people are throwing XBMC on these, thought I could ditch my television subscription once and for all if I set this up directly to my TV
Pogoplug Pro w/ Wireless User -> decomm.
Cubox-i4pro User
4TB eSATA HDD (8g/3700+ Sw/Storage)
Kodi / Transmission / Minidlna / Samba / Batch-audio-conversions / Lighttpd
------------------------------
Rollback Machine - Thanks to impatt
slycat
 
Posts: 169
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2011 3:07 am
Location: Miami, FL

Re: Upgrading from PPPro, but to what?

Postby slycat » Fri Jun 20, 2014 10:56 pm

Got me a i4pro, arrived a couple days ago and am taking my first crack at it today after loading ALArm.

I completely forgot that arch is now using the whole systemctl thing versus the initscripts method like the oxnas did.. I feel like I am starting from complete scratch.

Got wifi up, video output with ldxe (haven't messed with xbmc yet). Switched to openntp. Gonna have to remember how to set up samba/transmission/minidlna.

Also, whats the equivilent of rc.local? or rc.conf? I wanna change my static ip, ssh port, device name, and have some startup scripts I'd like to keep from my old PPPro.
Pogoplug Pro w/ Wireless User -> decomm.
Cubox-i4pro User
4TB eSATA HDD (8g/3700+ Sw/Storage)
Kodi / Transmission / Minidlna / Samba / Batch-audio-conversions / Lighttpd
------------------------------
Rollback Machine - Thanks to impatt
slycat
 
Posts: 169
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2011 3:07 am
Location: Miami, FL

Re: Upgrading from PPPro, but to what?

Postby jmandawg » Sat Jun 28, 2014 2:11 pm

Do hardware acceleratted video work on the CuBox-i4Pro via vlc? I'm thinking about getting a chromebox for a little more. There seems to be too much propietery stuff in ARM that they are unwilling to share, at least that's the case with allwinner and rockchip.
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