JJZolx Wrote: > I think I've said in the past that someone would do well selling turnkey > Slim Server machines. I think they still would, but it's a small market > and one which is obviously broken up into people who want different > things from their server. > > First off, you can run Slim Server with pretty good success on your > everyday desktop system. As Slim Server evolves, though, I think this > will be less and less true. This is going to make it increasingly > desirable for people to have a dedicated server. > > Some of the varying goals: > > > > - Cheap. Just something to get Slim Server off of the desktop > system. - Low power use. For the penny pinchers, environmentalists, and > those people unfortunate enough to live where electricity is very > expensive. - Low noise. For folks that insist on the server being located in > the listening room. Or those that can't tolerate system noise when > the server is located in an office or a bedroom. - High performance. Feeding many Squeezeboxes, or with several > users using the web interface, or desiring very fast library scans > of large music libraries. - Small size. Again, for those locating the server in the music > room, living in small apartments, or wanting something they can > stash in a nook somewhere. - Storage capacity. Able to house multiple hard drives for large > libraries and future expansion needs. - Robustness. RAID disk subsystems, redundant PSUs, and other > trappings of a 'real' 24x7 server. > > > > Some of the conflicts here should be obvious. A server with RAID5 > isn't likely to be cheap. If you want capacity and the ability > house, say, five hard drives, it isn't going to be small, nor is it > likely to be quiet due to cooling needs. > > I like your idea of a web management interface, but see some of this > as features that should eventually make it into Slim Server itself. > Particularly the ability to install and manage plugins from the web > UI.
You've hit the nail on the head with the first five bullets, and I think they're all compatible. But I think you're a little off the mark when it comes to storage requirements. Storage is evolving so quickly, and becoming increasingly cheaper as we go - I don't see that it should be integrated into the 'server' at all - the server should just have the appropriate interfaces. USB2 is doing a good job right now - how much longer until we have 100 GB of 'flash' memory (or whatever they come up with next) through an even faster interface? Redundant systems will be a simple matter of plugging into a bunch of USB slots and pressing the button! I'm glad you like the web management interface idea. As much as I'd like to become proficient in Linux (and perl for that matter), I just don't have the time, so it would be nice to have something that I can configure in a manner similar to the router without having to know all the Linux stuff that's making it happen! -- nicketynick Wireless SB3, Denon DRA-F101, Mission M31 loudspeakers WinXP SP2 Slimserver, SMC WBR14g router ------------------------------------------------------------------------ nicketynick's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=1511 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23496 _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
