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Gnubee Personal Cloud 1: low-cost and low-power network-attached storage device

By on May 26, 2017
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“The GnuBee Personal Cloud 1 (GB-PC1) is a network-attached storage (NAS) device specifically engineered to run free, libre, open source software (FLOSS). The GB-PC1 has all the functionality of any commercial, proprietary NAS, but at a much lower cost and with the transparency, reliability, and accessibility advantages that come with using FLOSS.”

GnuBee’s Crowd Supply page notes that the GB-PC1 can be used for a variety of applications in addition to NAS. Examples listed include using the device as a file, media, download, or web server, or for the remote hosting of private cloud services.

The GB-PC1’s software and hardware are fully open source, according to GnuBee.

The GB-PC1 is designed around MediaTek’s MT621A Dual-core Network Processor SoC, which is based on the MIPS1004Kc CPU architecture. The processor, which can be overclocked to 1.2GHz, is backed by 512MB of soldered-down DDR3 RAM. The board’s microSD slot has successfully been tested with up to 64GB cards.

Just remember that the GB-PC1 is not compatible with the more affordable — and generally higher capacity — 3.5-inch drives, but probably a Gnubee’s future version might be.

GB-PC1 specs:

  • Processor — MediaTek MT7621A (includes 2x 880MHz MIPS1004Kc cores)
  • Memory — 512MB DDR3 (soldered on-board)
  • Storage:
    • 1x microSD slot
    • 6x sockets for 2.5-inch HDD or SSD drives; supports RAID 0 and 1 under LVM and MD, and Linux MD RAID 10
  • Networking — 2x GbE ports
  • Other I/O:
    • 1x USB 3.0 ports
    • 2x USB 2.0 ports
    • 1x serial port (available at 3-pin header or 3.5mm jack)
  • Power — 12VDC @ 3A max. (barrel jack)
  • Dimensions — 216 x 70 x 140mm
  • Anodized aluminum enclosure
  • Software — Debian, OpenMediaVault (OMV), LEDE, libreCMC

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