With the goal of making it is easier for non-technical users to setup FreedomBox, we have launched a new initiative to sell FreedomBox hardware directly to users.
The new hardware is quite powerful compared to the single board computers. It has Intel/AMD quad-core processors, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD, 2 x 2.5Gpbs LAN ports, and (in future) 2TB/8TB hard drives with RAID setup. Compared to single board computers:
Due to more CPU capacity and RAM, it will be able to host all apps available in FreedomBox, most of them simultaneously.
It will be able to store large amounts photos, videos, media, and backups from all devices at home with 2TB/8TB disk capacity and store redundant copies of data with RAID.
It can act as a home automation hub when connected to additional hardware such as Zigbee USB dongle.
It can act as desktop or TV companion too due to triple display output and a fast NVMe SSD disk.
These devices are prepared and shipped by FreedomBox developers (currently me) and their purchase will support FreedomBox development.
Notes:
Purchases are currently only available in the USA. There are plans to ship worldwide eventually.
The initial stock will be very small and is intended for working out logistics. But backorders will be available with shipping expected after 1-2 weeks of purchase.
The 2 TB and 8 TB models will be available when we finished adding RAID setup features in FreedomBox. However, one can purchase the 512 GB device and later add hard disk drives themselves to upgrade to the 2 TB or the 8 TB model (or more).
Olimex, our hardware partner, will continue selling the FreedomBox Pioneer edition hardware based on OLinuXino Lime 2 devices all over the world with a significantly lower price tag.
Could you measure what the power consumption is? (in my experience, the TDP of the CPU is sometimes rather far from the actual power consumption). Asking because for me, this a rather important aspect.
Just wish it wasn’t coming out of the states; when available, the import fees will be painful for us abroad. So I need a holiday there and then have it shipped to the hotel
Please look into DHL/ExpressOne for global shipping, FEDEX and UPS suck in Europe; FEDEX billed me 4 times for a product I paid the importation taxes on through their website & they even threatened legal action, until I screen-shotted the bank transfer information and UPS does not deliver on time.
@DachaLife thank you for the kind words and advice. Hopefully, project members from EU will be able to prepare and ship the devices from EU to avoid the hassles.
LibreCrafts.com/about says “FreedomBox itself demands from a user the technical knowledge to acquire and setup the right hardware” but FreedomBox says it is “compatible with any hardware that Debian is compatible with…” and “any machine running Debian can be turned into a FreedomBox.” There are plenty of computers that run Debian (and don’t require “technical knowledge to setup”), so these statements seem to be inconsistent. Can you please explain? Are there some computer models out there that run Debian, but are problematic when it comes to FreedomBox?
FreedomBox project aims to simplify the setup of servers at home as easy as possible. However, over the years we have learned that there are still many technical hurdles for setting up a FreedomBox. A user needs:
To select hardware. This requires
Appropriate CPU/memory size to handle multiple apps and many users simultaneously.
Ensure the hardware does not consume too much power while running all the time as a server at home.
Consider the storage requirements
SD cards used in single board computers face various problems (including wear-out and slow speeds).
Setup large storage with hard disks with redundancy using RAID
Ensure that power supply meets the needs of all the attached hardware (people keep running into power issues when USB HDDs are connected).
Ensure that network interfaces are suitable for placing FreedomBox in front of the router (with two network interfaces, one for LAN and one for WAN, multi-gigabit ports using all the available internet bandwidth).
Setting up the BIOS for server operation, secure boot, etc.
Install FreedomBox on Debian. This requires
Downloading Debian matching the architecture and verifying signature
Preparing installation disc
Running install wizard
Installing FreedomBox package during OS installation or through apt on command line.
Or setup a FreedomBox image. The requires
Downloading the correct FreedomBox image and verifying signature
Preparing the direct disk image (like SD carding) using tools like dd or rufus
Or prepare a live disk to copy image onto installation disk
Having to install an OS is something many people don’t have the expertise to do. And sometimes people want simplicity to save time and effort. Many people don’t even want to setup their Wi-Fi routers at home. If people can purchase devices with free software readily available, and with simplest possible setup process, it would increase adoption. This was Libre Crafts aims to address.
Irrespective of the hardware you choose, we, here on this forum, will help you setup and run FreedomBox smoothly.
