Amahi Forums

Hello,

I ‘am thinking of installing Amahi but I’ am not sure if it can do certain things, and I wanted to be very sure.
Also I was not sure where to post this topic.

I wanted to create a NAS server which act almost as a personal cloud server, in which when I am away or friends and family can login to my server and stream video, pictures or music via their own web browser or even if they have access permission to download the file.

Also if it's also able to do some of the following:

1) RAID5 on 8 3TB HDD, as a software raid (and also is there concerns like hardware raid where server or enterprise HDD's must be used?) (no pooling) (need redundancy its a big must)(Also Email if RAID failure or HDD failure)
2) provide individual login's with certain restriction and grouping of restriction level's (like certain groups can access certain files)
3) Play MP3, FLAC, MKV, MKV HI10P, AVI, DVIX, XVID, MP4, AAC codecs
4) Work with Highpoint Raid Cards (they have drivers for Linux OS but not sure on how it would be installed)
5) Also for the future the possibility of installing 10Gbps or Fibre network (when it gets cheaper probably in the far future )
6) An IP log of which login accessed from which IP (or maybe country)
7) Something similar to Peerblock or Peerguardian and the ability to download IP block lists from URL and update them automatically.
8) I know about the VPN but would the openVPN Client on Amahi connect to a openVPN service like IAPS or Strongvpn?
9) Bandwidth Restriction over the internet (eg: if my mom want to download my birthday video, she will be restricted at 200Kbps download speed, so then I can still watch my video or listen to music)
10) Ability to run Multiple users to access and stream media over Ethernet and internet at the same time (eg I am streaming a video on my XBOX, parents watching another video on the DLNA on the TV, and three of my friends are watching videos over the internet via their browser (or software form the Amahi). (Also what computing power should I get would an atom processor, would that be powerful enough or would I have to go better, opinions needed)
11) Ability for multiple access or streaming of the same file (eg: same video being played at the same time by three other people)
12) Ability to work with APCs incase of power failures.

If all these can be accomplished. Then this will make this the perfect NAS server for me.

I hope to hear all your comments.

Thanks
Mo

Hello,

I ‘am thinking of installing Amahi but I’ am not sure if it can do certain things, and I wanted to be very sure.
Also I was not sure where to post this topic.

I wanted to create a NAS server which act almost as a personal cloud server, in which when I am away or friends and family can login to my server and stream video, pictures or music via their own web browser or even if they have access permission to download the file.

Amahi can provide access for file downloads via VPN or through some web apps, such as OpenVPN ALS (clientless VPN).

http://www.amahi.org/apps/openvpn-als

What you are asking for from Amahi is possible, but much of it would require you to manually install/configure to meet your requirements.

Also if it's also able to do some of the following:

1) RAID5 on 8 3TB HDD, as a software raid (and also is there concerns like hardware raid where server or enterprise HDD's must be used?) (no pooling) (need redundancy its a big must)(Also Email if RAID failure or HDD failure)

RAID is possible, but not needed with Greyhole. It provides storage pooling and file redundency if you choose to use it. You can disable it, however why would you want to mess with RAID with a simpler solution in my opinion. There are tutorials in the wiki that detail how to set up email for drive errors/failure.

2) provide individual login's with certain restriction and grouping of restriction level's (like certain groups can access certain files)

You can have individual login for users, however the restrictions are limited to whether they are an admin and read/write access of shares.

3) Play MP3, FLAC, MKV, MKV HI10P, AVI, DVIX, XVID, MP4, AAC codecs

There are web apps that allow you to stream music and video from the HDA. Some are web based and others use client devices. Apps such as DLNA, MediaTomb, Ampache, etc could potentially meet those needs.

4) Work with Highpoint Raid Cards (they have drivers for Linux OS but not sure on how it would be installed)

Don't know the answer. You would have to check Fedora 14 driver support.

5) Also for the future the possibility of installing 10Gbps or Fibre network (when it gets cheaper probably in the far future )

Don't see how this will affect the OS and Amahi. A connection is a connection in my opinion.

6) An IP log of which login accessed from which IP (or maybe country)

There are logs which will reflect activity on the HDA, to include IPs that access via VPN login.

7) Something similar to Peerblock or Peerguardian and the ability to download IP block lists from URL and update them automatically.

This is something that you would have to install manually and configure. Not sure of support for Fedora 14.

8) I know about the VPN but would the openVPN Client on Amahi connect to a openVPN service like IAPS or Strongvpn?

Not sure, but I would imagine it is possible. Most use software installed on their client.

9) Bandwidth Restriction over the internet (eg: if my mom want to download my birthday video, she will be restricted at 200Kbps download speed, so then I can still watch my video or listen to music)

Not possible unless you install and configure software to handle this requirement. Load balancing and bandwidth restriction is not part of Fedora 14 or Amahi by default.

10) Ability to run Multiple users to access and stream media over Ethernet and internet at the same time (eg I am streaming a video on my XBOX, parents watching another video on the DLNA on the TV, and three of my friends are watching videos over the internet via their browser (or software form the Amahi). (Also what computing power should I get would an atom processor, would that be powerful enough or would I have to go better, opinions needed)

I cannot honestly say one way or the other. I would think this is dependent on your hardware and network infrastructure. I know that users do multitask their HDA, but cannot comment to what extent or how it performs.

11) Ability for multiple access or streaming of the same file (eg: same video being played at the same time by three other people)

Have not tried it, so cannot confirm or deny if this will work.

12) Ability to work with APCs incase of power failures.

Yes Fedora 14 does support APC backups. We also have a two web apps in Amahi to provide status of the unit.

If all these can be accomplished. Then this will make this the perfect NAS server for me.

I hope to hear all your comments.

Thanks
Mo

As I stated early, most of your requirements can be easily accommodated I would think. However, many of them will require install and configuration on your part. Keep in mind that Amahi is designed to be a basic home server, therefore designed for the average home user. Many would not even understand load balancing or bandwidth restrictions let alone IP blocking and RAID.

Since much of how Amahi evolves is widely based on user community contributions, maybe you could assist by adding guidance to the wiki for solutions you adopt to achieve your perfect home server.

I hope this helps and we would be pleased if you chose Amahi.

I see thats great thank you for the reply:

Would running fedora 14 GUI to help with the installation effect greatly the the processing power of the NAS? if its like 5% more processing power used then that is OK for me.

I could live without load balancing, but would it be implemented in the future?
But I would go with RAID5 so I can get redundency and most available amount of space, I have no understanding of greyhole and to just dumb it down would it provide more space than RAID5 with all data having redundency?
Also with pooling if hardware fails and I transfer all HDDs to a new rig would it cause the pool to be lost and have to be rebuilt or would it work straight away?
Also would I have any problems in software RAID5 or Grayhole using commercial 3tb drives than those enterprice drive or would they fall out of the array?

may be the most worrying thing would be the codecs to run over browser (I mean the transcoding) because HI 10P is very new and I only know mplayer2 latest version runs it flawlessly on linux (VLC doesn't work with hi10p). I might have to ask a request for an app for video streaming which includes mplayer2 transcoding over browser or is there one available

Also you mentioned openVPN ALS, how many sessions can be opened (how many client can access) at the same time via internet and LAN?

I think once I have gathered all information on this thread I will then create a test rig on old hardware i got lying around and first on 500g HDDs on RAID5 or greyhole with only 4 HDDs in an array with a main HDD for OS running on an 32GB or 64GB SSD.
I think I will use my old AMD Athalon FX-60 i have gathering dust if not an old AMD Athalon64 x2. Depending on a flip of a coin or if I am concerned about the power comsumption during the build.
for the moment I run it as software RAID and I think will give it a test for the next couple of months with copy of data off one of my 1TB external HDD.
I it all goes well then start buying the highpoint and test it with the highpoint raid card and try it with 8 HDDs for a month.

During that time I will try to write up an installation step by step direction of my perfect setup.
Thanks

Mo

Would running fedora 14 GUI to help with the installation effect greatly the the processing power of the NAS? if its like 5% more processing power used then that is OK for me.

It is not necessary. You can install VNC app and use VNCViewer to access the HDA if a desktop GUI is needed.

I could live without load balancing, but would it be implemented in the future?

It is possible one day, but nothing that we will be looking at in the near future. This can be a complicated requirement to generalize for all possible network installations.

But I would go with RAID5 so I can get redundency and most available amount of space, I have no understanding of greyhole and to just dumb it down would it provide more space than RAID5 with all data having redundency? Also with pooling if hardware fails and I transfer all HDDs to a new rig would it cause the pool to be lost and have to be rebuilt or would it work straight away? Also would I have any problems in software RAID5 or Grayhole using commercial 3tb drives than those enterprice drive or would they fall out of the array?

Greyhole is quite powerful. Recommend you read what it can do on the author's web site.

http://www.greyhole.net/

I might have to ask a request for an app for video streaming which includes mplayer2 transcoding over browser or is there one available

Recommend you take a look at the apps we have now in Amahi. I believe some already do transcoding. If not and you can find a web app that meets the requirements, by all means please suggest it. We will add it to the list of apps and work it as time permits.

Also you mentioned openVPN ALS, how many sessions can be opened (how many client can access) at the same time via internet and LAN?

Don't know the specifics, recommend you check out the author's web site on this one too. To know what apps are capable of, it's always best to check their web sites.

Some of the features you require may be a bit more than Amahi can do, but it is a good viable home server solution. If there are features than can be manually installed and documented, we can potentially add them in the future.

Keep in mind we are a small all volunteer team, so we are have limited resources. We do our best to accommodate but it often takes time. We hope you will choose Amahi for your home server solution, but understand it may not meet your stringent requirements.

4) Work with Highpoint Raid Cards (they have drivers for Linux OS but not sure on how it would be installed)

My drives are in an external case, connected to a Highpoint card with Infiniband Cables. In most cases, you are going to have to build your driver against the current kernel, they do not maintain drivers to stay current. In general, it is a trivial operation.

My drives are in an external case, connected to a Highpoint card with Infiniband Cables. In most cases, you are going to have to build your driver against the current kernel, they do not maintain drivers to stay current. In general, it is a trivial operation.[/quote]


Thats good to hear.

Then I had a look into the apps store and tried the demo of AjaXplorer I liked the File management style and on the left corner you can play the video on the side, my question would would I be able to install extra codecs, reading thier forums
A lot of people are having problems with AVI, DIVX and MKV streaming problems.

Has anyone got another app or software which works similar like AjaXplorer which is a file manager and can stream video or automatically redirects the user for that file to a streaming software and streams the video they have chossen.

Mo