Example projects
Storage
OpenMediaVault (which isn't released yet, but looks like it has an excellent and comprehensive panel, similar to that used by the ReadyNAS.)
ownCloud, data storage project from the wider KDE community
openstoragepod, video, slides - open hardware project, small cubes to store terabytes
Tahoe-LAFS (Least Authority File System) - is a Free Software/Open Source decentralized data store. It distributes your filesystem across multiple servers, and even if some of the servers fail or are taken over by an attacker, the entire filesystem continues to work correctly and to preserve your privacy and security.(debian packages available but not very up to date). Possible public grid or private self-hosted grid.
SparkleShare - opensource dropbox replacement - doesn't really need a server side setup (ssh access+git) but could be included by installation instructions to user
- Non-free (will not be used, but useful for comparisons):
5 NAS servers comparison: FreeNAS, CryptoNAS (formerly ?CryptoBox), Openfiler, NASLite-M2 (proprietary) and NanoNAS (proprietary): http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reports/7153/1/
ReadyNAS - proprietary parts sold on top of Debian running SPARC hardware. similar to freedombox but targetting home storage only, with a web interface, rather than lots of applications, although there were some (like BitTorrent.) Point is really to look at them as a model of how to sell Debian preinstalled in display-less computers.
Wuala, Distributed, redundant, encrypted (zero-knowledge), and online file storage (closed source)
- One of the main points to take from Wuala is the storage distribution (papers available). It lets you specify how much personal storage of yours you want to allow others to utilize and you get the same amount in return from the cloud of users.
Telephony
Asterisk (appliances, live CD's)
PlugBPX, a project to turn the sheeva plug into a simple Asterisk server
Networking
OpenWRT - GNU/Linux based free firmware for gateways and routers.
GNUnet - framework for secure peer-to-peer networking (see ?#ProjectResources)
Tor (For routing perhaps)
tinc, FOSDEM2010 LightningTalk, Guus Sliepen about tinc .avi, 60 MByte
example(tinc) ChaosVPNSmoothWall - firewall distro
IP Cop - firewall distro
OneSwarm - F2F (friend2friend) P2P sharing : ?OneSwarm is a new peer-to-peer tool that provides users with explicit control over their privacy by letting them determine how data is shared. (no debian packages, java)
Yacy : P2P decentralized search engine with decentralized crawling (java a bit too much memory & cpu consumption)
Social
Lorea - distributed social networks, already running on 10 networks
GNU social - alpha demo available
Diaspora - developer release available, some public seeds already running.
Seeks Project - "social websearch"
RetroShare - secure communications with friends
Glue
Aegir (Drupal-based control panel)
Webmin, mature web-based *nix sys administration - easy to use from anywehere, no X necessary.
Similar projects
The Sovereign computing group is a similar project with a very interesting Manifesto.
Other
PogoPlug: Proprietary software stack to run on plug computers and provide "personal cloud" storage and access (dynamicDNS, access control, web configuration)
Tonido, local cloud services on a sheeva plug device. Proprietary software on top of Ubuntu jaunty.
SPACE service platform for distributable services, with (KDE) desktop integration and (Eucalyptus) cloud backend
Tidbit: A global database for exchanging signed tidbits of information