Ideas for Leveraging SBCs in Your Workstation Setup (and other areas of your life)

SBCs are a great tool for computing tasks that need to be running all the time. As SBCs have a very low power overhead, they are ideal for tasks that need to be on (or that are left on) 24/7.

Computing Tasks (Ideal for SBCs)

• File and media servers
• Web servers
• Database servers
• Smart TV boxes
• Web-based monitoring tools
• Massively concurrent processing (cluster computing)

Some Real-World Uses for SBCs

I presently run one desktop computer and three SBCs on my desk. I have four monitors set up. One HD monitor, and three older and smaller LCD monitors. For the mechanically handy makers, multi-monitor stands can be fabricated pretty easily by utilizing the VESA mounts on the back of most monitors. For the rest of us, multi-monitor mounts have become pretty common and inexpensive at many specialty shops and online stores.

I am presently running the following systems and tasks at work (check with me next week for an updated list as my setup is constantly evolving):

• Core i7-7770 running Win10
• General computing tasks
• Heavy websites like Facebook, Gitter, etc.
• Windows-specific programs
• ODROID-XU4 2GB running Ubuntu MATE 16.04LTS on a 4.14 kernel
• Thunderbird email, handling three email addresses: Automatic filtering on incoming email
• Monitoring cryptocurrency markets in Chromium
• Listening to music via Bluetooth headphones
• Project experimentation
• ODROID-C2 2GB running Ubuntu MATE 16.04LTS on a 3.14 kernel
• Firefox:
• Secondary access to back office software (running on an ODROID-U3 in our server rack) – Primary access is from the Windows machine
• Digital banking
• Monitoring real-time status of order fulfillment
• Monitoring real-time webstore analytics
• Miscellaneous web research
• Project experimentation
• RockPro64 4GB running Ubuntu LXDE 18.04LTS on a 4.4 kernel
• Monitoring real-time Google Analytics in Chromium
• Project experimentation

I have all four systems using the same mechanical keyboard and mouse via Synergy. It allows multiple computers to act similarly to multiple monitors on a single computer.

One of the great things is that if one of the computers is busy (updating, rebooting, processing heavy workloads, etc.), I can simply work on the others while monitoring the progress. It’s great for multitasking and efficiency!

I am also using the following SBCs at home:

• ODROID-U3
• Family file server using SFTP and CIFS
• Backup server for the Windows computer
• Connected to 2^nd monitor so it can be used even when the Windows computer is unavailable
• ODROID-C2 running Android
• Connected to 55-inch TV
• More flexible and open than the “Smart TV” system that came with the TV
• Allows cord-cutting via HDHomeRun (over-the-air free HD TV), Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, etc.
• M1 Apollo Lake N3450 running Windows 10 (see our webstore for more details)
• Connected to VU7A Plus display and 42” TV (dual monitor support)
• Acts as a music production workstation
• MIDI controller software (Roli Blocks Dashboard / Roli Equator)
• Digital Audio Workstation (Soundtrap.com)
• Plays music from other sources for layering
• ODROID-C2 #2
• Runs Camio video surveillance software (see camio.com for details)
• ODROID-U2
• Replaces the dashboard in my 1978 Ford F150 4x4
• Multiple ultrasonic sensors to detect unseen obstacles (in progress)
• ODROID-C2 #3
• Acts as a media server in my 2004 Cadillac Deville
• Wired into the car’s amplifier
• Runs SDR (software-defined radio)
• Has 4 USB ports exposed on the front panel for flash drives, phone sync, etc.
• Can pair to the phone via Bluetooth
• Can pair to the house when in range and automatically update the music library off the family file server

I have plans to incorporate other SBCs for many other uses, such as home automation tasks.

Read Part 3 of 3