Evaluating ARTiGO: In Which OS Direction Should I Go?
Last spring, I detailed my attempts to turn a Via C7 CPU-based Mini-ITX board into a NAS (network-attached storage) device, an experiment that started rocky and didn’t end any better. Back in January, I published testing results of Via’s diminutive and C7-derived first-generation ARTiGO platform, and at the time I also mentioned that a second-generation design with a higher-speed microprocessor was on the way. At CES, I showed you a picture. And two weeks after CES, an ARTiGO A2000 sporting a 1.5 GHz C7 CPU, whose larger enclosure also supports dual 3.5" HDD configurations (which to me means RAID 1 mirroring), showed up on my front door. Via needs to update its website documentation, though, given WD’s 2 GByte HDD introduced late last month!
Check out the videos:
VIA ARTiGO A2000 barebone storage mini-server
Considering my past grumbling about loud system fans in consumer electronics gear, you can imagine my enthusiasm with one particular ARTiGO A2000 feature:
A quiet ball-bearing fan silently cools the system with noise levels remaining below a mere 26.8 dB.
I confess, though, that I haven’t yet gotten around to firing the system up. Part of the reason is that other editorial projects (including other important hardware evaluations) have taken priority. And part of the reason is that I’m frozen with indecision as to which operating system to put on the NAS. Windows Home Server is one candidate, and it’d integrate particularly well with my Media Center System, two Zunes and two Xbox 360s. But my computer stable is increasingly Apple-branded, for which WHS’s auto-backup capabilities are currently incompatible.
To that point, what about installing Mac OS X Server? The CPU is part of the problem; I happen to have a copy of Mac OS 10.3 Server here, but that particular O/S generation is PowerPC-only (plus Mac OS 10.3 was introduced in late 2003 and is now way out of date). And part of the problem is more systemic; I highly doubt that Apple PR would be interested in providing me with a review copy of Mac OS 10.5 Server if they knew I was planning on shoehorning it into a Hackintosh 
And what about open source? Certainly I could toss a generic Linux distribution onto the ARTiGO A2000, but I’m not sure it’d implement all of the NAS-tailored capabilities I’m looking for. Then there’s FreeNAS…and NASLite and NanoNAS…and OpenFiler…and Sun Open Storage…so many options, so little time! That’s where you come in. I’d welcome your suggestions on NAS operating systems that have worked for you, or that you can otherwise recommend. Here’s a wish list of my desired features, in no particular priority order:
- Support for standard file protocols such as CIFS (including both Windows workgroup and domain awareness), NFS, AFP, FTP, HTTP and HTTPS, and Rsync.
- Support for discovery services such as UPnP and Bonjour (i.e. Zeroconf).
- Support for TwonkyMedia or another flexible and DLNA-compliant media server, along with iTunes Streaming Server and SqueezeCenter capabilities.
- An integrated Bittorent client.
- Built-in FTP and HTTP server capabilities, both to host web pages and for browser-based access to files stored on the NAS.
- The ability to tether a USB (and ideally also a LPT) printer and act as a server for it.
- Augmentation of built-in storage via a USB- and/or ESATA-connected HDD (or few), both to append to the capacities of the integrated HDDs and to act as standalone storage.
- The ability to network-enable a USB peripheral such as a scanner.
- Dynamic DNS update capabilities, and NTP support.
- Backup support, both generically (in conjunction with client-based software) and specific to OS 10.5’s Time Machine protocol.
- Automatic HDD spin-down support to save power and extend storage operating life, and
- Robust status, diagnostics and debugging capabilities, including S.M.A.R.T. support and email alerts of pending problems.
Did I forget anything, folks? I look forward to your feedback. Happy weekend, all!
Brian Dipert commented:
