My OwnCloud Project by Simon Heisterkamp (simon@heisterkamp.dk)
My Problem Everybody needs backup duh. I don t like dropbox google-drive icloud etc. They get hacked They are untrustworthy with really private documents (financial etc.) They cost money. They have limited storage. Their long term (>5y) existence is outside of my control. Solution: Host your own!
The Obvious I needed a Server. Data disks. Software to make it a cloud. Possibilities: FreeNAS a FreeBSD based NAS OS OwnCloud cloud software (clients and server) Commercial NAS for example Synology DiskStation
What I Also Wanted Low power as low as possible Root access (my hardware my control) for experimentation Data security off-site backup Cryptographic protection from access from outside Performance was very secondary the goal was long term storage, not video streaming. Price: as cheap as possible.
What I Tried FreeNAS Pre-built binary requires x86 architecture already not ideal for low power. Quite high recommended specs my 7 year old cheap laptop wasn t enough expensive Very full featured. Everything you can ask for. FreeBSD not my home-turf but I can learn All in all maybe aimed at more enterprise-level solutions.
What I Considered Commercial NAS Nice package with case and software Performance for money not very high Sometimes no Root access Sometimes web-access through manufacturers proprietary solution security issue Companies mostly American not NSA-free Not Cheap Not as full featured. No Challenge!
What I Ended Up With OwnCloud Exists in.org and.com. I m talking about.org Open Source Yay! Server installation on ubuntu: apt-get install owncloud Clients for Windows, Mac, Linux, ios, android Of course this means hosting my own linux server which brings maintenance, system development etc.
Hardware I wanted a beefed-up Raspbery-Pi, and I found one: ODROID-U3 1.7GHz Quad-Core processor and 2GByte RAM 10/100Mbps Ethernet and 3 x USB2.0 No Fan Pre-built Ubuntu Server 14.04 Board costs 69 USD
My Own Cloud: USB 3.0 Harddisk 2 TB: 730dkk ODROID-U3 with case, SD-card & power adapter: 101 from Germany Total system power consumption: 10W (adapter max spec.) unmeasured.
Next Step: Software Ubuntu Server Webmin Linux sysadmin web gui Owncloud of course OpenVPN see below. Samba LVM rsync
OwnCloud SQLite vs. MySQL: SQLite Very small installation < 5 users I tried both MySQL was much (>60x) slower in setup (I watched the tables get created one by one) Storage encryption or not: Not I trust my system defenses reasonably well I don t trust owncloud enough without storage encryption I can get my files out without using owncloud
OwnCloud Experiences My files are synced. Access to files through web-interface Clients tested: Mac, Windows, ios Client stability Mac client crashes occasionally Gives error message about syncing problems all the time it always works later if you just let the client try again. Active development client and server get updated regularly
What about off-site backup and OpenVPN?
My network structure: My cloud is only hosted on my LAN. Two open ports: OpenVPN for clients. OpenVPN tunnel to twin system. OpenVPN setup was not trivial Set up certificate authority Issue client certificate Trial-and-error firewall rules to make routing work Luckily there are good tutorials OpenVPN is SSL based (TCP or UDP) and works better than IPSec in my experience ios clients exist.
Twin System I found someone else with the same problems and who I could trust: my Parents. They got an identical system. I set up a diskimage with an OpenVPN client on it which connects to my system. Each data disk is split into two partitions: Home Home Backup Backup All data is replicated on twin system /home is served as a read-only rsync mirror
Result My data is secured against loss My data is still my data I have a linux server to play with and to maintain I can access my data from outside through a VPN Questions?