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HI All,

A friend of mine has a Google Mini-0020 3GHz Search Appliance that he said I can have. I have heard about these, but never put one into production.

What kinds of things can I do with it? (obviously I know about search and indexing documents) but i mean it is standard PC hardware.

Is there an OS on it? (Like Windows Server?)

I assume that I could nuke it and make it into anything I wanted.

Could I do more with it and retain the Google search? Like host my complete website on the box?

Thoughts are appreciated!

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2 Answers

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You can't host other services on the machine. Essentially if you want to do anything except use it as a search appliance you'll have to wipe it and in that process you'll lose the search capabilities.

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@Josh - Got it. I can obviously replace the hard drive and keep the original in tact. So what do they have on it for an OS? – user14946 Sep 15 '09 at 17:45
Also, You void your warranty by modifying the appliance in any way, making you ineligible for technical support, should you break things. – Joe Sep 15 '09 at 17:53
@Joe - It is not under warranty I believe which they bought new one recently. Weird that every two years you have to buy a complete new box – user14946 Sep 15 '09 at 18:04
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Is there an OS on it? (Like Windows Server?)

Yes, is a linux box with some kind of CentOS

I assume that I could nuke it and make it into anything I wanted.

No, there is a root user but only Google has access via ssh. The user can manage the equipment and update the software through a web interface.

Could I do more with it and retain the Google search? Like host my complete website on the box?

There are some templates to present results in the GSA, so you can host a web page, but is not intended for that.

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CentOS?! I've heard some rumors saying that Google uses Ubuntu, but nothing about RHEL or something else based on it. – Cristian Ciupitu Nov 4 '09 at 1:23
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