Home Automation PC (HAPC)

[walken100]

Ok, it time to move my home automation fetish to its own PC. Looking for info and input. Struggling to find any good info on the internet. If you have any good links or advice I'd appreciate it.

A little background: Running Elve, controlling Z-wave, X10 and IP devices (cameras so far). I am setting up some basic security and monitoring functions so reliability is the priority.

My thinking: A small form factor PC running XP or 7, small hard drive, noise isn't a concern, power consumption isn't as important as reliable operation. I've looked at everything from new small atom based devices to used small form factor PCs. My current leaning is towards some of the small form factor lease returns. Thinking I can do this for $100-350. Not puckered about $$ but a hundred bucks is a hundred bucks.

Thoughts?

 

[Frunple]

Zotac Mag. (Mini all in one Giant)
No serial ports but it has USB ports so you can use usb to serial converters.
$268 if I remember correctly. Powerful machine!

 

[RonX]

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=PL-1000-PB&cpc=SCH
$299
6 USB ports
and the best part: 4 Serial ports
Microsoft Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 pre-installed.

What is the difference between POSReady 2009 and Windows XP Professional?

* Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 contains the following Embedded Enabling Features:
o File-Based Write Filter (FBWF), which redirects writes to disk to RAM and helps protect the underlying OS image.
o USB Boot, which allows installation from a USB key.
* Office productivity applications are not licensed to be run on POSReady.
* POS for .NET is included with POSReady.
* POSReady does not contain Help files, which reduces its footprint.
* Both products use the same management software.

For more information, see POSReady 2009 vs. Windows XP Professional (PDF).

 

[Odeen]

Since the automation PC is on 24/7, I bought something with an emphasis on power consumption, size, and installation options. I ended up with a Foxconn Netbox NT525, when they were on sale for $145 shipped:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856119034

Upsides:
Tiny (1" thick)
6 USB ports
Latest dual-core Atom with on-die video and memory controller and ultra low power chipset
No nVidia ION2 (So no extra power draw and heat), but still has both HDMI and VGA ports
Comes with Vesa mounting holder to hang behind a monitor.

Downsides:
Not passively cooled
HDMI max resolution 1360x768
Only 1 DDR2 SoDIMM slot (DDR2 is currently more expensive than DDR3)
Default BIOS does not support AHCI (AHCI BIOS available from Foxconn support)

I installed a Corsair Nova V32 SSD (Cheap and cheerful), a Corsair 2GB SoDIMM, a little USB Bluetooth dongle, and it's been humming along running Premise for a month now. All serial ports are networked (Courtesy of VSPE serial port emulator).


Once I get my ELO touchscreen, I can strap this guy to the back of the screen and have it live inside my wall.

 

[walken100]

Since the automation PC is on 24/7, I bought something with an emphasis on power consumption, size, and installation options. I ended up with a Foxconn Netbox NT525, when they were on sale for $145 shipped:

What operating system are you running and any set up recomendations?

 

[Odeen]

What operating system are you running and any set up recomendations?

Windows 7 Embedded 32-bit.

About 1/4th the bulk of the full Windows 7, which is important on 32 gigabyte boot drive, supports SSD's natively, and between it and Premise server, using ~1gb of RAM right now.

 

[tmbrown97]

Someone posted an awesome little machine on here a couple months ago that was about as small as that foxconn one but had two serial ports - I think it was white. I searched for 30 minutes earlier today and couldn't find it.

If you really don't care about power, than an old off-lease machine is fine - but they consume more power and take up more space than they're worth. HAPC's don't generally consume much for resources so you can get away with something nice and on the smaller side.

One other option - costs a little more but takes out two birds... Personally I'm using an HP MediaSmart Windows Home Server as my HAPC. It takes care of a lot of the simple stuff that needs to be always running, as well as is my file share for all the normal file storage around the house, and also backs up all the computers in the house for me regularly. Adding things like Elve on there were really no big deal and had no impact on performance.