Best Safe Node hardware

no idea what a Docker is … think i’ll need a simpler solution. looking for a black box that needs a little bit of step-by-step configuring and either internal or external drives.

I’m not sure either, but to my understanding a docker image is just the code needed that you can mount on the nas.
Much like you mount an o/s on a pi.

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As simple as I can make it, Docker is a way to run an application in a self-sufficient container that is platform independent, meaning it could be run on Windows/Linux (maybe Mac?), or even, in this case, on your NAS. Think of it like running a really light weight virtual machine (if you are familiar with those) with only the stuff needed to run that specific application, and nothing else. Maidsafe could package up all the software and configuration into a container that you could run anywhere with a few clicks or lines on a command line. It does require extra software to handle containers, which is normally Docker Engine.

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Makes sense. Thanks.

I still wonder if people are overdoing it initially on storage space. Given every algorithm I’ve seen for section balancing, space much above the median is not so very useful. Being able to dynamically resize the drive space seems important to efficiency.

My solution is still the same as it was a couple years ago. Goals are uptime, minimal latency, then storage integrity in that order. And following the SAFE modus operandi, filling out the usage of existing hardware. Xeon based NAS, with ECC, zfs raid on nvme drives, docker containers and redundant internet connection. Not a cheap solution if one were to buy it, but on the margin, it’s free.

I would love it if there were a lower tier where e.g. mobile phones could play an ephemeral role, but the backbone has to be low latency and hardened. Bonus points for already purchased, underutilized, and free on the margin.

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Kinda glad you said that, guess I should stop eyeing up the 16 Bay synology bits with 12 Bay expansions.

I’m thinking that I’ll just get a cheap mini pc and plug in a couple of external drives. Does anyone know if the o/s will matter in terms of ease of use? I’m not used to using a command line, so would I be better using a Windows computer to run a safe vault? Or will it be possible to have a linux machine and set up a safe vault only using the GUI?

I agree you shouldn’t go overboard, but for something like a four bay NAS, you can fill it with a 512GB NVME drive for cache and four ~8TB HDDs and you can max up to a 2Gbit connection with fast response time for around $1000 USD. Put that on a UPS with your modem and router, and you have a low power, reliable vault that can withstand a few hours of power outage due to the UPS.

With said NAS, I’m not sure what the CPU recommendations are going to be, but, I would guess you could run potentially hundreds of vaults on it with containers, if the vaults aren’t normally all that active except when data is requested. People also forget these NAS run extremely quiet and with low electricity usage, which is useful for something running 24x7.

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Linux with docker is probably the least overhead vs ease of use. You don’t need a UI consuming resources. You just want to boot the device and leave it to do its thing.

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Ok that makes sense. I guess I’ll receive any farming rewards into my wallet so I’ll know if it’s working fine! Thanks.

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Yeah, the recent dev reports with a hundred running on a laptop are encouraaging. I am anxiously awaiting the testnet where I can do a rewards vs total latency experiment. I still hold the hypothesis that fast internet connection is thing 1, but that something faster than a spinning disk will matter materially.

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There is a little bit of this built into the invite mechanism already. Basically when you create an invite, either through generating it via farming, or when purchasing one for a friend from a wallet balance, it gives you enough tokens to pay for the ‘packet’ required for getting your Safe on the Network, plus a bit extra for creating your SafeID, getting and the basics up and running.

You can’t actually pre-purchase space to be used later though, it’s still just an amount of tokens in a wallet, and they are subject to inflation/deflation etc, so we’re building in a mechanism for donors to be able to top up invites by any amount. So you could also add extra for a friend etc.

The main thing really is to be able to get your Safe on the Network, and grab yourself a SafeID. Once you have that you’ll be able to receive payments and messages etc very easily, and get going from there.

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It would be gamed / exploited if anything were to be actually free.

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Thanks guys. I don’t know how technically but once the messaging / sms app exists, people already have the struggle of moving over apps, so to then ask them to immediately buy safe token or wait a week for enough credit for sending messages would be a non-starter. I am not sure if I have enough to donate safe tokens to all friends. People just need enough free credit to instantly start messaging for a few weeks, perhaps sans photos / upload. Then, once they’re in, they start buying maid.

Also, if some people will only use Safe on their phone, say for messaging, I assume that the hardware and internet connection will not be reliable enough for them to farm free coin, meaning that starting on messaging will not be instant / free.

Fully understand the gamification point, but there must be a sensible way for people to ‘trial’ on a phone or with no access to farming equipment.

The great demo that @JimCollinson just did looked to be on a phone aspect ratio. If there requirements to farm enough to start are fit for a phone, then ignore everything I’ve just written! :blush:

It cannot be free, somebody has to pay for it, and we dont want robots registering milions of accounts and cashing the credit.

This doesnt mean, there cannot be 3rd parties that offer invites with more tokens “for free”. You can pay by watching ads or whatever. Anybody will be able to setup service like this (and it will be his task to fight of robots). Such 3rd party can do it easier than the network itself which doesnt have central authority to say who is human a who is not.

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Does Dropbox have this problem? I can’t see how a very small mb limit, or time trial would break the system. I would feel that we’ve failed if we have to reply on a 3rd party forcing us to watch adverts before I can reply to a friend that has just sent me a message.

Dropbox will ask you to fill your email and other personal info, that is your payment for the “free” trial.

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That’s still better than watching ads before being able to reply to a text message.

I feel like we are not understanding each other. Watching few ads would get you invite to make your account with some prepaid tokens to use, no ads when replying to messages. And it is only an exapmle.
Main point is we all want the network to be easy to use especially at the beginning. Safenetwork is decentralized with no personal info registration, which means there are technological reasons it needs different approach than usual 30 days free trial.

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I think you’re right in terms of crossing paths, perhaps I am just optimistic that we can find a solution to having simple free access for beginners without breaking or gaming the system. The team has taken on far larger challenges in the past, and I fear that in the early days of launch there will not be many 3rd party companies willing or capable of offering an on-boarding service.