DNS and DHCP should be optional, for real

[hakke]

This is the one and only reason why I haven't given up my trusty WHSv1 and installed amahi. I have a big family, lots of data to store and I need a "powerhouse" to fill all the needs that my server has to do. That "powerhouse" is not the most energy efficient so it needs quite a lot of juice. I typically run the server from 8am to 10pm and save a lot of money by not running the server 24/7.

I have devices like media players and such that update themselves during the night. If I were to run amahi as my server it would have to run 24/7 and thus it would use a huge amount of electricity. Why oh why have you given your server tasks that obviously belong to routers that everybody has???

[bigfoot65]

We understand the concern, however by not using the DHCP/DNS features of Amahi you limit its capability. See the FAQ for more info.

http://www.amahi.org/faq#is-dhcp-server-required

Another option is you could use the Amahi Energy Saver as a solution to minimize electricity use. See the link below for more details.

http://wiki.amahi.org/index.php/Amahi_Energy_Saver

Many users appreciate the fact that you can use the server for DHCP and DNS. Since it is a home server, the intent is for it to be on 24/7. But, we do understand that some would like to limit its role as a full time server.

Recommend you file a feature request to meet your needs. This can be done by filing a bug. See the wiki for the link.

[dpet]

Due to extremely high time-of-use electricity costs, I needed to be able to sleep the server during specific periods, but maintain access to the network. What I did was disable the DHCP server on AMAHI, but keep the DNS going. On my router I put the Amahi box as the primary DNS server, and my ISP DNS as secondary. That way when the Amahi box is off or sleeping, the ISP DNS is utilized. When the HDA is powered up I access it as if everything is normal ... the only thing that doesn't work is accessing the box using hda:// you have to enter either the ip address, or the .home.com address (ie: transmission.home.com). Sometime you need to reset you client network settings once the server is back up (ipconfig /renew in windows). But other than that, it works fine. Hope this helps....

[DragonQ]

You can add "192.168.1.99 hda" into your "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts" file so that using "\\hda" will work.

This assumes your HDA's IP address is 192.168.1.99 of course.

[dpet]

You can add "192.168.1.99 hda" into your "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts" file so that using "\\hda" will work.

This assumes your HDA's IP address is 192.168.1.99 of course.

Ha! Yes true! Wow, can't believe I didn't even think of that! Cheers mate!

-D

[apastor]

How much are you hydro bills if you dont mine me asking. What do you pay per Kw/hour

I use to have 5 PC's running 24/7. In the last 10 months I now only have one (amahi box) that runs 24/7 and the 2 PC's in the house got into sleep mode after 10 minutes.

I really didnt notice much different in my hydro bill.

[dpet]

How much are you hydro bills if you dont mine me asking. What do you pay per Kw/hour

I use to have 5 PC's running 24/7. In the last 10 months I now only have one (amahi box) that runs 24/7 and the 2 PC's in the house got into sleep mode after 10 minutes.

I really didnt notice much different in my hydro bill.

I pay $.059 per kwh on off peak(12 hours), and $.107 per kwh on peak(6 hours) and $.089 per kwh mid peak (6 hours). On top of that about another $.07 per kwh for other charges such as distribution, line-loss, taxes, "debt-retirement" etc....

to run 1 PC 24/7 costs me betweent $20-30 per month with most of that being mid/high peak usage. My router/modem cost $10/m. Ontop of that I have a swimming pool, hot-tub, and electric baseboard heat. So, in winter my electric bills are about $600/m ...in summer they are about $120. It may not seem like much, but every little bit helps ....

[apastor]

Where I live we have cheap hydro (6.62 cents per Kw flat rate)

I just found some cool websites

http://www.citytrf.net/costs_calculator.htm
http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/Power

Using the calculators above, my server is about $13-$15 per month to run.

Only other option would be to get a NAS from QNAP or Netgear. They make lo powered NAS devices.

Only thing i can think of is getting low powered hardware, IE: Low powered CPU, green HDD's, use one stick of ram, and disconnect the Optical drive.

You would take a performance hit on your network, but it would probably can cut your wattage by half.