Nextbox detail for external HDs

NextBox
1

Hello,

I just received the mailing for crowdfunding Nextboxes and am hesitating on internal HD sizes.
Viewing the demo video I see it’s easy to create a backup onto an external HD, but the question for me is : will it be possible to plug a big external HD (like, 2 or 4Tb) and set Nextcloud to use that disk for its main storage.
In such a case I’d rather consider a Nextbox with more RAM and a smaller internal HD.
If external HDs can only be used for backup, I am bound to a big internal HD, and this somehow is a constraint.
I think a Nextcloud instance can do this (expand to an external storage), but I saw this long ago and never tried, so that feature may have evolved or even disappeared…

Second question : Up to now I’ve only experienced Nextclouds for basic file sharing. But the video explicitly mentions the Nextcloud videoconferencing app, and in the present situation this feature is more and more significant.
My question is : assuming the Nextbox is linked to a fiber connection (so in principle no or less datarate bottleneck), is it better to get more RAM in the device to support, say, a halfdozen-contacts videoconference? Or is the basic 2Gb sufficient? I don’t expect using more ambitious apps.
[edit] I now read the FAQ on Kickstarter ! :hot_face: so I consider 4Gb RAM. Disk question remains open :wink:

A third question : while i didn’t use this feature for a while, I remember that a Nextcloud server can share files or directories with another, entirely separate Nextcloud server.
So, if I buy two Nextboxes, can I somehow set a cross-backup between the two, even if it is not a real sync, but for instance a folder from Nextbox A replicated automatically on Nextbox B, and another folder on Nextbox B automatically replicated on Nextbox A?
These Nextboxes won’t be collocated.

Last (but a bit futile) question : shall I be able to use my Nitrokey Storage USB key for a backup? (as this means somehow running the Nitrokey app on the Nextbox!) -but this is definitely not key for me :slightly_smiling_face:

Thank you!
Hervé

2

Hello!

Adding Kickstarters FAQ link for completeness:

@daringer Could you help?

1 Like
3

Hey Herve5,

thanks for your questions, will try my best:

… but the question for me is : will it be possible to plug a big external HD (like, 2 or 4Tb) and set Nextcloud to use that disk for its main storage . In such a case I’d rather consider a Nextbox with more RAM and a smaller internal HD. If external HDs can only be used for backup, I am bound to a big internal HD, and this somehow is a constraint. I think a Nextcloud instance can do this (expand to an external storage), but I saw this long ago and never tried, so that feature may have evolved or even disappeared…

In general Nextcloud is able to use any attached Storage as an extension for its user-data-storage. There is an app specifically for this “External Storage” together with our “Storage Management”, which can be used to mount storages into the file system you can use anything you connect to the NextBox as data storage.

As of now you are right, Backups are working only onto the externally connected drive(s). Backup overall is a topic which will evolve over time and will grow in features.

Second question : Up to now I’ve only experienced Nextclouds for basic file sharing. But the video explicitly mentions the Nextcloud videoconferencing app, and in the present situation this feature is more and more significant.
My question is : assuming the Nextbox is linked to a fiber connection (so in principle no or less datarate bottleneck), is it better to get more RAM in the device to support, say, a halfdozen-contacts videoconference? Or is the basic 2Gb sufficient? I don’t expect using more ambitious apps.
[edit] I now read the FAQ on Kickstarter ! :hot_face: so I consider 4Gb RAM. Disk question remains open :wink:

It is a really hard challenge to give exact figures for RAM, because there are simply too many factors to account for. For videoconferencing not only the NextBox’ internet connection has to be considered, but also the participants’, the hops in between and so on. For your scenario I would clearly suggest 4GB at least, maybe even 8GB to be on the really safe side (let’s say if the 6 participants also use the Nextcloud). But please be aware that I cannot do a full remote analysis of all the involved factors and those are just “best practices” and guidelines.

A third question : while i didn’t use this feature for a while, I remember that a Nextcloud server can share files or directories with another, entirely separate Nextcloud server .
So, if I buy two Nextboxes, can I somehow set a cross-backup between the two, even if it is not a real sync, but for instance a folder from Nextbox A replicated automatically on Nextbox B, and another folder on Nextbox B automatically replicated on Nextbox A?
These Nextboxes won’t be collocated.

So far I understood (to be taken with caution, as we develop the NextBox and not Nextcloud itself), federation is mainly used for sharing not to be mixed up with synchronization. So the short answer here is: no this is currently not possible without manual effort (means you can for sure share something with another federated Nextcloud instance and then copy the data manually). Overall this more or less is also the backup topic, so the first answer also applies here.

Last (but a bit futile) question : shall I be able to use my Nitrokey Storage USB key for a backup? (as this means somehow running the Nitrokey app on the Nextbox!) -but this is definitely not key for me :slightly_smiling_face:

No, this is currently not possible. As you mentioned, there is right now no way to communicate properly with a NK Storage.

best

1 Like
4

Thank you @daringer for this very clear answer!

So i’ll head for a 8GB RAM, and as the step between there and the next level (2TB HDD to 1TB SSD) is quite high, I’m converged.
In the following months I’ll come back for a second device, but at this time I actually don’t have the place to put it yet :slightly_smiling_face:

I am very impressed (and a bit worried), because from my end-user place I see this Nitrokey development a very efficient first use of the Ubuntu Core concept, which for me up to now was just a long-term theory!

The concern is a bit linked to my Linux philosophy : I’m a Debian user versus Ubuntu, and definitely that’s a choice, which the recent moves on Snaps deleting Synaptics etc. just comforted. I see ubuntu Core in a similar way (as opposed for instance to Silverblue) and recent discussions show the topic is still quite hot :wink:
But definitely you started your strategic analysis even before all that, and it seems the alternatives are just not yet mature… so not only I’m very impressed but that’ll become my personal contribution to M. Shuttleworth market share!

1 Like