I have no idea where to ask this question on the internet, so I thought that I’d pick the fine brains of Ubuntu users!
What I want
A budget piece of hardware to attach to my router using Ethernet. The hardware will act as a permanent repository for use by Syncthing, and as a Tailscale exit point.
My initial thoughts
The first thought was to use an old phone, but keeping it permanently plugged in could be a fire risk (because of the battery) and a security risk (because it no longer gets updates). A newer phone that has charging bypass would solve the battery problem, but not the security risk.
The next thought was to get something like a Raspberry Pi and install Ubuntu on it. It doesn’t have to be Ubuntu Server, because it won’t be a server per se, but I think that I don’t have an option because it won’t have a monitor? I’ve never even seen a Raspberry Pi, much less installed anything on one, so I don’t know how hard it would be.
I can get a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, 2 GB Ram (with Ethernet) from Cex for £32; would that work? I realise that I’d have to get a micro-SD card for storage.
I have absolutely no clue what other hardware I could consider.
Question
What hardware do you suggest? I’m in the UK, in case that matters.
I just about understand what you are talking about. I am not talking from experience. I have been reviewing hardware specifications.
Ubuntu 24.04 and 26.04 are available for the Raspberry Pi but the 4GB is the minimum of RAM.
So, it is either Ubuntu server or Ubuntu Core 24. There is a Syncthing snap in the app center. And pre-built Ubuntu Core 24 images for the Raspberry Pi. So, you are not forced to use Ubuntu server.
Download Ubuntu for the Raspberry Pi
Additional hardware is available.
Raspberry Pi additional hardware
Work your way down the page to the Get Started section. I am assuming that the micro-SD card will hold the OS and also be storage for the data.
You may have already done research like this. Anyway, I start the conversation going. And have learnt something along the way.
Regards
1 Like
Thank you for the reply. I didn’t realise that Ubuntu had a specific flavour for Raspberry Pi! I’ll definitely look closer into that.
Good point about the RAM requirements. I thought that the 4GB limitation was only for desktop, but the page that you linked shows which Raspberry Pis are certified, so I’ll stick to those even if they’re more expensive.
I might try the Ubuntu Core, as long as both Tailscale and Syncthing work on it, because it would be more secure.
I have a Raspberry Pi 4 8GB running Ubuntu 24.04 handling a Tailscale subnet router, and that is working fine while also being the PiHole for my network.
I haven’t really worked with Syncthing, but it should be OK. My only concern would be the MicroSD card and how many writes it would potentially cause, but speed likely won’t be an issue.
One thing I did make sure to set up was scheduled updates. Since it is not a system I am regularly on I wanted to make sure it wasn’t too far out of date, just scheduled it to check once a week with a cron job.
1 Like
Thank you. That gives me confidence.
I see that the model 4 isn’t mentioned on the Ubuntu website, but the 4B is marked as certified, so I’ll look at that. The 5, also certified, looks like a nicer machine, but it’s more costly!
I just double checked my system, it is a 4B, forgot which one it was.
I am working on replacing it with a Lenovo Tiny at the moment, but that is just because I want to free up the Pi for other uses.
Something I have noticed that could impact troubleshooting is that when I SSH into my other systems it logs the IP of the Pi since it is the Tailscale point on the local network.
1 Like
Thanks for the troubleshooting advice!
Funnily enough, I’ve just been looking at a Lenovo Tiny. Let me know how it goes.