Submitted 1 year ago by orize@lemmy.dbzer0.com to selfhosted@lemmy.world
I got this thing in my home. How can I turn this into a home server?
Google the product name and Linux. If nothing turns up, you need to find the name of the SoC / processor and google that. Find out if it's supported by Linux and what other people did to install Linux. You might need additional hardware though, like a serial or JTAG adapter and a soldering iron. And I must warn you, that thing has 1 GB of RAM and 256MB(!) of flash storage. You won't be able to do much with those specs.
Why does it have more RAM than storage?
Well, it's a mass-produced, embedded device, designed to do one specific task. I guess lots of the video related stuff is assisted by hardware and they usually strip down the embedded Linux to the minimum needed. Because every Megabyte of storage costs extra and they need to hit some 99,- or 89,- price point. Furthermore, they don't want it to boot for 20 seconds, so these devices generally don't contain any extras. Similar things happen on wifi routers, the ones below $100 usually contain similar amounts of memory (or less). At least the last time I bought one.
it’s an iptv stb, it doesn’t need much. it’s not designed for subscriber customization or ‘app’ loading.
sk@hub.utsukta.org 1 year ago