{"id":4184,"date":"2022-06-15T15:10:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-15T20:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jimsghost.place\/?p=4184"},"modified":"2024-12-30T12:19:28","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T17:19:28","slug":"srvkitchen-pt1-en","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimsghost.place\/?p=4184","title":{"rendered":"Server in the Kitchen: The Beginning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Let\u2019s face it \u2014 right now, everything I write is going straight into the drawer. But who knows what the future holds\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

By the time this post was written, the functionality of the numerous sensors and controllers in the house had already outgrown the capabilities of the Raspberry Pi 3B+, which had admirably served as the “central brain” of the home for the past couple of years. It had lived a long and honorable life, building an impressive career in this role. What\u2019s more, it kept trying to fulfill its duties even when the station called \u201cRaspberry Can\u2019t Keep Up\u201d was already far behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But miracles don\u2019t happen\u2026 At some point, it simply said: “Happy New Year! I\u2019m done, I\u2019m outta here!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so, the Raspberry Pi was replaced by a more suitable computer that took on the roles of a home NAS, local web server, database host, standalone torrent client, and home controller management system, among other things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I threw it together one evening using a case and motherboard with a processor that a Friend had generously gifted me after upgrading his own NAS. All I added were hard drives and as much RAM as I could fit\u2026 No photos exist, but there wasn\u2019t much to photograph anyway \u2014 just a plain, no-frills PC form factor.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Once the new server fully assumed the role of the home’s “central brain,” it was time to figure out where to stash it so that it was both accessible and out of the way, didn\u2019t take up space, wasn\u2019t underfoot, stayed in a comfortable environment, was safe from surprise Cat attacks, and, most importantly, didn\u2019t stick out like a sore thumb while still being part of the home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Note from the Future:<\/strong>
Later, the smart home moved back to a Raspberry Pi \u2014 this time the fifth generation \u2014 and under a completely different home automation system. But that\u2019s a whole other story, one I\u2019ll share someday when everything settles in my mind and stops shifting concepts every time I come up with a new controller\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Of course, the idea of a “home server room” didn\u2019t just pop into my head one day. It had been percolating for years, thoroughly chewed over in my mind. As a result, the spot for the project had been chosen long ago and agreed upon with everyone it could possibly concern. Everyone agreed it was the right decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We have a pantry in the kitchen for storing all the goodies \u2014 an essential and timeless attribute of any kitchen, in any home, anywhere in the world. It could take the form of a separate piece of furniture, like a cabinet or chest. Or, as in our case, it\u2019s built into the wall as a small \u201croom\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The pantry itself doesn\u2019t occupy this part of the wall all the way up to the ceiling. That\u2019s simply because the kitchen ceiling is ridiculously high, and the pantry\u2019s functionality becomes irrelevant at heights exceeding the average reach of a human female with her arm fully extended upward. As a result, there\u2019s a rather significant chunk of unused space between the top of the pantry and the ceiling, which, until recently, served no purpose whatsoever:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That unused space became the perfect spot for the “home server room” project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advantages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n