fanless + SATA + 2GB RAM?

[broodwich82]

Hey folks, I'm looking to build a little portable server to hold a local mirror of my cloud drive and run a light-duty testing server for medium-weight web apps (Django, big PHP blobs, etc). 2GB RAM, SATA support, and fanless are critical, USB 3.0 and GPIO ready to go with no soldering a big plus. I'm planning to get a 500GB SSD and use an Alfa AWUS036ACH 802.11ac USB dongle. Box will run headless except for configuration.

 

I was looking at the EspressoBin but kernel support appears to still be incomplete and there isn't that big of a userbase. I also don't need two of the Ethernet ports on that board. I've looked around and it seems the combo of >1GB RAM + SATA support (even 2.0 is okay) + fanless isn't common.

 

Of those criteria I'm willing to give up USB 3 first. I know my wifi dongle is USB 3 but I'm okay with putting it in a USB 2 port if need be, I care far more about the dongle's ability to transfer data in marginal conditions than I do about max throughput.

[chwe]

https://forum.armbian.com/forum/29-reviews/

https://forum.armbian.com/forum/10-general-chit-chat/ (e.g. those containing nanopi and a 4 in their name) 

(not 100% up to date)

 

and:

may help you.

 

5 hours ago, broodwich82 said:

Of those criteria I'm willing to give up USB 3 first. I know my wifi dongle is USB 3 but I'm okay with putting it in a USB 2 port if need be, I care far more about the dongle's ability to transfer data in marginal conditions than I do about max throughput.

storage can also be attached via USB3  so you might reconsider this opinion.. 

[NicoD]

8 hours ago, broodwich82 said:

Hey folks, I'm looking to build a little portable server to hold a local mirror of my cloud drive and run a light-duty testing server for medium-weight web apps (Django, big PHP blobs, etc). 2GB RAM, SATA support, and fanless are critical, USB 3.0 and GPIO ready to go with no soldering a big plus. I'm planning to get a 500GB SSD and use an Alfa AWUS036ACH 802.11ac USB dongle. Box will run headless except for configuration.

 

I was looking at the EspressoBin but kernel support appears to still be incomplete and there isn't that big of a userbase. I also don't need two of the Ethernet ports on that board. I've looked around and it seems the combo of >1GB RAM + SATA support (even 2.0 is okay) + fanless isn't common.

 

Of those criteria I'm willing to give up USB 3 first. I know my wifi dongle is USB 3 but I'm okay with putting it in a USB 2 port if need be, I care far more about the dongle's ability to transfer data in marginal conditions than I do about max throughput.

I would suggest a Rock3399 board. With a big enough heatsink it can be fanless. Also if you underclock it a bit...
There's the Orange Pi RK3399 with sata on-board, USB-3.0 type C, 2GB ram, ...
But the Orange Pi has got less software support than many other RK3399's.
http://www.orangepi.org/Orange Pi RK3399/

Otherwise I would suggest the NanoPi M4. This does not have SATA, but there's a 4xSATA hat comming for it. And it has USB3.
It's got an amazing heatsink. When running it at 1.8Ghz/1.4Ghz then it always stays under 70°C when constantly maxed out without a fan.
There's a 2GB and 4GB model. Gigabit ethernet. Great wifi 2.4Ghz/5Ghz + blue tooth. It's the most power efficient of the RK3399 boards.

If you want it cheaper and don't need a lot processing power you could go for Rock64. Again no SATA, but USB3, gigabit ethernet, 1/2/4GB models, ... With a big enough heatsink it can run fanless. Biggest disadvantage is it's a slow CPU.

One that has got everything you want is the Banana Pi W2. 2 SATA interfaces, USB3, 2GB DDR4, PCIe, 2Xgigabit ethernet, ...
It's a very different SBC than others, I don't know about the software support of this one. I think I'll be able to make a review video about this next month.
http://www.banana-pi.org/w2.html

Here my video about the NanoPi M4

Here my video about the Rock64

If you also would like it to be able to play games well. Then the Odroid XU4-Q could also be a possiblity. When underclocked enough it doesn't need a fan.

There are many others. It depends on how much you want to pay, how much processing power you want, ...
The Rock64 is good enough to run a simple server. But if you want to be future proof, then I would rather go for a NanoPi M4 or so.
Greetings.
 

[broodwich82]

That NanoPi M4 looks really great, even though it's still pretty new and software support is still in the works. I might be willing to take a gamble on this board since I suspect the Rockchip 3399 will become fairly well supported.

 

I forgot to mention that small form factor is important to me as my project is concealing a wifi-enabled server in an RGB accent lamp which I will carry around with me while living an "ultramobile" lifestyle So, the NanoPi M4 wins on form factor as well. I suspect I could arrive at a tolerable thermal situation by some combination of a copper shim to the heatsink, mounting non-horizontally and building the enclosure with convection in mind, and perhaps some tinkering with clock speeds as needed.

 

Looks like wifi might still be a bit dodgy. I suppose I'll have to take my chances with that and fall back on a known good USB adapter if support is problematic for longer than I have to wait.

 

Thanks so much for the pointers!