CodeLathe TonidoPlug

Included with the CodeLathe TonidoPlug was a small pamphlet containing the setup information and Tonido Software information, one US power cable, one Ethernet cable, and the device itself within a bubble-wrap bag. The TonidoPlug can be connected directly to an AC wall outlet, but fortunately, CodeLathe includes an AC power cable as well so that the mini ARM device will not occupy multiple spots on any power-strip.

The TonidoPlug itself is white and printed on the front is a small Tonido logo. On the left-side face of this Marvell ShevaPlug are two LED indicators for showing the system's status. On the bottom of the device is the Gigabit Ethernet connection along with the lone USB 2.0 connector. Again, if you wish to use multiple USB 2.0 devices simultaneously, a powered USB 2.0 hub must be connected.

Removing the power connector so that the AC power cable could be used required a bit of force, but after that, it was easy to connect the power cable and easily set this ARM computer on a shelf. Printed on this side of the TonidoPlug is the model number (003-SP1001), serial number, and the network's MAC address.

Setting up the TonidoPlug was very easy to do, just like the PogoPlug. The Tonido Software stack is very easy to configure, there is an app store for easily installing new components, and CodeLathe does allow you to SSH into the device (with root) support for additional configuring and tweaking atop the Ubuntu 9.04 software stack. In fact, we have the Phoronix Test Suite running on the TonidoPlug without any problems. Apache, MySQL, and PHP can also be easily setup.

Overall, we were quite pleased with the Tonido Software, its easy configuration support, and comparable offerings to the PogoPlug. We also like that it is running Ubuntu and CodeLathe does not impede root SSH access or other limitations. While the hardware is not too unique as it is designed around the Marvell SheevaPlug, it is a nice offering from CodeLathe with a price of just $99 USD. About the only thing we wish the TonidoPlug offered was at least two USB 2.0 ports to avoid having to use a powered USB hub.