Good day, friends. Since catching the self-hosting bug, I’ve set up a couple of Proxmox home servers with a bunch of services I enjoy.
Now I’d like to set up a server and local network on my sailboat so I can self-host servarr, pihole, and other services while traveling. The tricky part is that everything on the boat is 12V and I would rather not use an inverter, if possible. Also, it needs to be ultra-low power so I can leave it on at all times and not to deplete my batteries too much.
Criteria:
- ultra-low power
- Small form factor
- runs on 12V
- 10 TB of storage plus ability to make full local backup
- Capable of hosting servarr, audiobookshelf, freshrss, etc. via docker
- HDMI output
- Full local mirror/backup of the entire file system, including the media library.
- We will have two laptops and two Android phones to access the server, so the server doesn’t need to run a desktop environment.
I’ll have a mobile wifi router and a cellular signal booster (or maybe Starlink eventually) for internet access. Since internet bandwidth will be limited and expensive while traveling, I don’t want to have to re-download a massive media llibrary if the storage media fail. Thus, I want the media library to be mirrored or fully backed up or synced locally.
What hardware and Linux distro would you use in this situation?
I run a NUC and a few other things off a 125W elcheapo $20 bestek(?) inverter off the house battery.
Sure it gets converted twice but the juice is cleaner in the end.
And consider DIYing a big house battery. The cells are cheap now. I built a 1200Ah LFP bank just because it fit nicely in the compartment. Then throw some solar at it.
And for backup, just get a large spinning external and plug it in occasionally to sync a copy. Put it back in the Tupperware for cold storage.
Post this in a piracy community and it goes full circle
There is a certain satisfying symmetry to sailing the high seas while sailing the high seas.
Arrrrr and ahoi o7
You’ve gotten a lot of good answers, so I’m going to do some out of the box thinking - maybe it will spark a few ideas.
Goal:
- self hosted server on boat
Issues:
- size
- power
- corrosion
So if I were going to do this myself, I’d start with a pelican or other similar watertight container. We don’t want the equipment getting wet, and we don’t want it exposed to the salty air.
I’d probably pick a usff computer, like a dell 9020 or maybe a framework motherboard. To get the storage, I’d get one of these to add multiple sata ports to the computer. Then its a matter of getting a bunch of ssds and powering them. I think the 12v goal is going to be too restrictive, most laptops need 19v to charge, so I’d just bite the bullet and get an inverter. If you’re really tight on power you could go with a pi, but the framework motherboard/usff both use mobile processors, and shouldn’t draw too much while idle.
Any wires that pass though to the case should be made through waterproof bulkheads.
Personally I’d nix the HDMI out requirement. One more port to keep track of and it complicates the self hosting. If you want it for media streaming to a TV then I’d recommend a roku and just run a jellyfin server on the computer. If you want it for server debugging I wouldn’t bother running it out of the case.
The last thing I’d do is figure out cooling. For this I’d probably create some sort of closed loop heat exchanger from the case to either the outside air or the lake/ocean itself. This could be as simple as a pump running water through two radiators, one in the case and the other outside or just dumped overboard. If you know your power usage ahead of time you might be able to get away with a peltier element, dumping the heat outside the case.
I’d probably put this all on its own power system, get a solar panel, battery, inverter, etc. It could even get topped off by the boat’s system if it needs extra juice.
Also whatever you do, I’d figure out a way to ensure you’re giving your system a clean and steady 12v.
Don’t forget to think about how to keep the salt air from corroding the electronics. Either build a spare or two that you keep sealed in plastic, or find an airtight case with an integrated heat sink or something.
Edit: you might want to look into conformal coating and dielectric grease (for the connectors) as well, although I don’t know enough about that to competently give advice beyond the mere suggestion.
Came here to say this. I’ve worked on systems for a restaurant on the beach and it was corroded as hell. We had the wireless access points in cheap “weatherproof” boxes and they got corroded. We replaced them once a year or so because it was so bad.
There are a lot of atom or mobile i3/i5 powered mini PCs that actually are powered with a 12v brick, in fact most of the industrial ones are. Small form factor, passive cooling, can play media for you and usually comes with 4x 1/2.5gbit Ethernet, so it can double as a router/switch. Usually 10-15w power draw.
Go to AliExpress and simply search for minipc and make sure it has a SATA connector for your hard drive.
I like the idea of using an industrial pc. Small sailboats experience a lot of vibration and sometimes violent bouncing, slamming, and heeling. Most things on a sailboat have been tossed around and flung onto the floor at some point, so it will have to be bolted down.
I don’t know, maybe something like this?
KINGDEL Desktop Computer, Fanless PC, Intel i7 8th Gen CPU, 32GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, HD Port, VGA, 2xCOM RS232, W-11 Pro https://a.co/d/0eODy8RH
Something more like this https://a.co/d/0bgPCSvQ - it should use half the power, it’s way smaller, 2x SATA if you want 2 drives. I haven’t checked if this specific one is 12V, but there are dozens in the same form factor and with similar specs.
For hardware I recommend this guy to everyone: CWWK N100 mini PC w/ 4xNVMe hat
Get 4x4TB NVMe drives and you’ll have 12TB usable storage + parity drive.
It also uses a 12V power supply.
Relying on 4 nvme drive for low power isn’t ideal as nvme drive needs about twice more power compare to sata SSD.
That’s not correct. They can draw significantly more power when in use but also consume significantly less when not in use. You can use 2x SATA with this but you’re gonna spend more $$$/TB
I’d recommend avoiding spinning disks and going all ssd if possible.
You can get 12v in atx power supplies.
You may want to consider something like a Lenovo tiny with a few large ssds.
This sounds like a job for a raspberry pi 5 with an m.2 hat for storage, software is a less important choice here, so ubuntu’s raspberry pi flavour would be my choice. Just make sure you give it power in a form it likes.
I just got an email about a new power supply board for the rpi5 - PD Power Extension Board for Raspberry Pi 5. It’s on their pihut website and is $20. Has multiple input types.
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Your best bet might be to use a laptop as the basis. They are already designed with power efficiency in mind, and you won’t need an external screen and keyboard for local problem solving.
I would also consider having a raspberry pi 3 or similar as a companion. Services that must be up all the time run on the pi (e.g. network admin). The main computer only gets kicked out of sleep mode when required. The pi 3 needs less power than the newer pis, while still having enough computing power to not lag unless pushed hard.
I definitely agree with SSDs. HDDs don’t do well when rotated when running. Boats are less than a stable platform.
HDDs don’t do well when rotated
The original iPod had an HDD in it. You can rotate HDDs. Sharp impacts may be risky though, especially for a non-laptop drive.
HDDs can be made tolerant to it. Constant rotation still puts significant extra strain on the bearings, when spinning however. The drive will likely fail faster than an SSD.
This is a good idea. A modern laptop is already power efficient and has its own battery, which I guess would act like a UPS and protect the motherboard from big swings in voltage from the main battery bank.
I would get a laptop as well in that situation. Just make sure it is one that supports setting the charging threshold. Having it on all the time will kill the battery quickly if it keeps charging from 95 to 100%. It’s much better to keep it below 80%, which should still give enough “UPS time”.
The battery will also not electrically protect the motherboard from voltage swings. So get a good power adapter that can handle the voltages.
Get a PicoPSU for automotive use (there are two varieties, one that needs stable 12v and another that can run directly off a battery with varying voltage).
I think you’ve hit on the key difference between home and boat use: the variable voltage. My battery varies between about 13.3V and about 11.2V depending on its charge state. I’ll look into these.
When you are actively charging the batteries off a solar panel for example, it will be even higher, up to
17V14.5V or so I think. The automotive PicoPSUs only cost a little more and will smooth it out up to 24V I think… there are even some models that go up to 48V.Edit: why the down-votes? Is this incorrect?
Yes that’s incorrect. Open circuit voltage for solar panels can be in the hundreds of volts, but you’re never gonna put that into your battery. You’re gonna run it through a charge controller that will bring it down to a normal voltage. For a lead acid that will be somewhere around 13.6V and 14.4V for LFP.
i didn’t downvote but 17v on a 12v battery maybe seems a bit high. I’m more used to about 7-14% over (maybe up to 14v on a 12v batt) when charged/floating but i don’t use solar anywhere currently, and i usually work on 48v systems. i normally expect to see about 54v on a fully charged battery string (13.5v per battery x4) with the rectifiers running.
i also second the opinion of running an automotive PSU for this situation.
edit: i looked it up since i was curious, some “12v” solar panels can output between 16-20v, but it’s recommended that you would use a charge controller, especially if you have lead-acid batteries
I always liked the idea of the small Lenovo ThinkEdge Servers, I just never had a usecase. Maybe these would work for you.
I’d like to design a similar off-grid system. What do you have in mind for mobile wifi router and cellular signal booster?
I was looking at something like this mini-router with OpenWRT:
GL.iNet GL-AXT1800 (Slate AX) Pocket-sized Wi-Fi 6 Gigabit Travel Router, Extender/Repeater for Hotel&Public Network, VPN Client&Server, OpenWrt, Adguard Home, USB 3.0, Network Storage, TF card slot https://a.co/d/0iP7qaKj
For a signal booster: weBoost Drive Reach Overland - Cell Phone Signal Booster for Off Road Vehicles | Boosts 5G & 4G LTE for All U.S. Carriers - Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile & More | Made in The U.S. | FCC Approved https://a.co/d/00PNi0AE
I would recommend something like a Pi as well, but it looks like you’re going to have to take it down to 5v. Maybe a NUC might be better.
But if you really want 20 TB, you’ll need to buy two drives at least 10 TB, and you’ll want them to be SSDs for the low power requirement. So that means you’ll need a device with two SATA ports, because I don’t think anyone makes NVMe drives that big. Oh, and be ready to pay a few thousand for each drive. Also you’ll want to keep one drive offline, in an ESD bag in a dry bag. So maybe one will be USB.
But for real low power, I’d suggest just plain turning it off. Booting doesn’t take that long any more. Or maybe suspend to disk, if you can find a system that supports it.
But overall, I would suggest reevaluating how important these things are to you. Generally, lots of electronics and nomadism don’t go together. Have you considered books? I’m sure you can find people to swap with when you’re in port.
Hmmm, looking at the cost of large SSDs, I think you’re right that I should downgrade my storage requirements. Or perhaps I could use a large HDD that is turned off while underway for “long-term” storage and a smaller SSD for media that I want immediately available. That would avoid the problem of spinning a HDD while bouncing around in high wind and waves.
And, yes, we do have books, lol. But we also enjoy movies. :)
What hardware and Linux distro would you use in this situation?
The distro isn’t likely to be a factor here. Any (non-super-specialized) distro will be able to solve issues in about the same way.
I mean, any recommendation is going to just be people mentioning their preferred distro.
I don’t know whether saltwater exposure is a concern. If so, that may impose some constraints on heat generation (if you have to have it and storage hardware in a waterproof case).
Yes, I think you’re right that distro doesn’t matter. As I’ve been reading through the responses, I realize that the two main issues are storage (don’t want to use HDDs on a bounching boat, but SSDs are expensive per TB) and power (limited battery and variable voltage). As you say, corrosion may also been an issue that I hadn’t considered. I’ll probably have to check in with the sailing forums to see if people have trouble with their laptops corroding at sea. This server isn’t likely to get splashed directly, but it will be exposed to a lot of humidity and variable temperatures.
Not directly an answer, but the CRT guy has a series of industrial computers for different environments, which could provide inspiration.
Some of them have direct DC inputs, some have anti-vibration designs, some have massive passive cooling!
The little guys series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP3aKEG79DM&list=PLec1d3OBbZ8LGjvbb0GQwlQxWXmI2PA88
I think a Synology box would work for you, or a TrueNas design - you could just build out one of their motherboards in your own itx case. These are good, robust, anti-vibration, mobile low power cpus, hardware selected for robustness and minimum heat. Stick it in a cupboard and forget about it, they run containers, and vms.
Yeah - industrial computers is the way. I would want something that can run at 60 c, and is water/dust proof. How to keep 20tb on a floating humidifier? Im not sure about this one, but swap drives often is probably a good idea.
Do you ride salt or sweet water?
I live on Lake Superior, but this server planning is for a year-long voyage from Lake Superior to New York to the Bahamas and back. So, I do need to take salt and humidity into account.
Lolwut? Someone downvotes you for that?
I’m not the OP, but you can get 8TiB SSDs, they are spendy, but doable, no spinning disks required, the benefit of using a nas based solution is you can put a bunch of cheap SSDs in
