The Mini-Server is a tiny, but very useful server that can be run 24/7 without the drawbacks related to running a large server year-round.
The project end goal is a very efficient, quiet, useful and beautiful server. The server can be situated in my room to run my web-server and various tasks I need to have performed.
Design
The server is composed of a Mini-ITX case that was modified to hold a Raspberry Pi 2 with a custom interface board to cleanly handle the connections with the LCD, Button/LED assembly, and fan. The board mainly houses a logic level shifter for the LCD and a fan controller to turn the fan on and off. Fan speed is controlled by limiting current to the fan via a potentiometer. The server makes use of the pi’s only hardware pwm pin by using it to pulse a status LED.
A custom (budget) UPS circuit was designed to keep the server running through power outages. To overcome the lack of an ADC on the pi, the battery life is estimated in software and the pi will shutdown when power is exhausted.
The server runs on Debian linux, with a custom python script to handle the physical user interface, and to send an email when the server loses wall power.
Features
- Raspberry Pi 2 B (OC’d 1 GHz, 1GB RAM)
- Custom designed “Pi-Hat”
- 2×16 LCD with PWM controlled breathing status LED
- UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)
Progress
100% Done
Possible Future Modifications
- Improved UPS with charging/step-up ICs integrated on the “Pi-Hat”
- Chassis intrusion/Tampering detection