Trying to set up a home based "Cloud" network

[dhavalbbhatt2]

Hello all,
I have been away for a while, however, I am in the process of building a new computer for the house and I have some specific requirements and was wondering if I can accomplish them through Ubuntu. These requirements may span beyond networking, but the core of the requirements is networking, which is why I have this posted in this forum rather than anywhere else. If a moderator feels otherwise, please move this to where I can get most number of responses. Additionally, if you feel there is not enough information, please feel free to ask questions - I will try and be as comprehensive as I can be. Lastly - all help is greatly appreciated, so many thanks in advance!!!!

My core requirement, apart from the ability to use the computer for personal use (so that removes the need for installing the server version of Ubuntu) is the ability to use this computer as my "cloud" server - the contents (files, music, videos, pictures, etc.) of which can be accessed from anywhere via the web and on a multitude of devices (iPad, iPhone, etc.). I also need for the media contents to be streamed to the various media devices that I have on the home network.

With that being said, what are the software components that I need to install?

I am sure this must be asked somewhere else, but the only thing that I found, which was close to what I need, was the need to create NAS type environment using a personal computer with Ubuntu (desktop).

At this time, I am not hung up on the version of Ubuntu, or for that matter, even Ubuntu itself. Although, I think I do need Ubuntu for personal computing requirements. I have not looked at FreeNAS fully, but I do believe that may be an option, although, not sure if that is a full fledged Linux distro. Also have heard about ownCloud, not sure how well that plays with Ubuntu and what all software components are required to make it work (I do believe it needs Apache and a domain hosting service and a URL). Ideally, I would like to avoid having to pay for a domain name and hosting services, if I can (in other words, see if I can turn this computer into a web server).

Just so ya'll are aware, this computer won't be used a whole lot for personal computing - I have my laptops that do that work, but I can't rule out occasional use, especially by kids as they do their homework and stuff.

Any more information, please feel to ask.

Once again, all help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
DB

[ian-weisser]

Life is a series of tradeoffs.

Is your data valuable to you? How secure do you want it? Are you willing to let your kids accidentally destroy it when they drop a drink or kick a plug while playing a game? Do you have a separate backup plan?

Are you willing to use the command line?
Are you familiar with networking? Routers? Firewalls?
Are you willing to maintain and administer the setup you want to build?

What you are asking is complex...but you get to decide where you prefer the complexity. Do you want the complexity in the setup, in the user connections, or in the administration?

[dhavalbbhatt2]

Hello Ian,
Thanks for the response - much appreciated. The data is of course very valuable to me and I do want it secure. Will the kids accidentally destroy the data - I am not sure if they will be allowed access to the data, but in all reality, they might destroy the computer, so in theory, I could be left with destroyed data. That being said, I do have a back up strategy.

I am fairly technical, so I don't mind CLI. I am reasonably familiar with networking, routers and firewalls and can find my way around those. As far as maintenance of the setup, I would much rather that I do it than someone else.

I realize this is not an easy task to accomplish, hence looking for direction on this forum. However, I am not sure how difficult this will be. Of course, it would be a lot easier to purchase a NAS and get done with it, but the fun of building something is different. At the very least, I will end up with a decent computer system for the family. With some help, maybe a server that holds all my data that I can securely access from anywhere!

Please do keep the replies coming.

Thanks,
DB