Here’s what I currently have:
- Ryzen 1700 w/ 16GB RAM
- GTX 750 ti
- 1x SATA SSD - 120GB, currently use <50GB
- 2x 8TB SATA HDD
- runs openSUSE Leap, considering switch to microOS
And main services I run (total disk usage for OS+services - data is :
- NextCloud - possibly switch to ownCloud infinite scale
- Jellyfin - transcoding is nice to have, but not required
- samba
- various small services (Unifi Controller, vaultwarden, etc)
And services I plan to run:
- CI/CD for Rust projects - infrequent builds
- HomeAssistant
- maybe speech to text? I’m looking to build an Alexa replacement
- Minecraft server - small scale, only like 2-3 players, very few mods
HW wishlist:
- 16GB RAM - 8GB may be a little low longer term
- 4x SATA - may add 2 more HDDs
- m.2 - replace my SATA SSD; ideally 2x for RAID, but I can do backups; performance isn’t the concern here (1x sata + PCIe would work)
- dual NIC - not required, but would simplify router config for private network; could use USB to Eth dongle, this is just for security cameras and whatnot
- very small - mini-ITX at the largest; I want to shove this under my bed
- very quiet
- very low power - my Ryzen 1700 is overkill, this is mostly for the “quiet” req, but also paying less is nice
I’ve heard good things about N100 devices, but I haven’t seen anything w/ 4x SATA or an accessible PCIe for a SATA adapter.
The closest I’ve seen is a ZimaBlade, but I’m worried about:
- performance, especially as a CI server
- power supply - why couldn’t they just do regular USB-C?
- access to extra USB ports - its hidden in the case
I don’t need x86 for anything, ARM would be fine, but I’m having trouble finding anything with >8GB RAM and SATA/PCIe options are a bit… limited.
Anyway, thoughts?
Anyone have opinions about hiding this under a bed or other discreet location? (Closet, crawlspace, etc)
Maybe with hardwood floors or a closet that isn’t full of winter coats or something, but it makes me nervous. But I would like to kinda spread out the homelab a little
I would suggest looking into TiniMiniMicro project.
And considering ProxMox as a platform. It will save you your nerves so much. Spin up a VM/LXC in a few seconds, play with it, delete it. Make a snapshot before update, if something fails - revert back. I’ve tried so many new projects because of how easy it is to do it.
It sounds overly complicated to me, but I honestly don’t know much about it. Do you have a good resource for what value it brings vs other options?
Personally, I just use containers on a single host. Right now that’s openSUSE Leap, but I’m thinking of switching to microOS for an immutable base system, which I think has value. This makes it really easy to move services between machines (just copy the compose file and whatever config/data volumes it has), e.g. if I decide to move a service to a dedicated machine (e.g. an ARM SBC).
https://www.servethehome.com/introducing-project-tinyminimicro-home-lab-revolution/
https://www.learnlinux.tv/proxmox-full-course/
https://tteck.github.io/Proxmox/
https://www.learnlinux.tv/easy-portainer-setup-run-your-first-docker-container/
This should keep you busy for some time. ;- ) =
Everything is complicated, till it isn’t any more.
I’ve been looking at this for a bit: https://a.co/d/2FMhmIY
I haven’t checked any reviews, but it might be something to look into.
Wow, that’s like… exactly what I was looking for. It’s also from a brand I don’t recognize and reviews say there’s no manual (I ignore those anyway), but if it works it works. And 4 2.5G ethernet? What an odd board!!
Thanks! I’ll definitely be looking to see if I can find out anything more about this board!
The are similar (the same?) boards all over Amazon and AliExpress. I would be interested in knowing what you find out. Good luck!
Well, here’s what I found:
- OpenMediaVault post about it
- Probably original manufacturer website
- Reddit post, with link to the OMV post and a YouTube video (YT video in Chinese)
The mfg website had other networking and NAS-type stuff, so I guess they’re an OEM in China.
The OMV page says it idles at ~23W, which seems odd since that CPU has a 6W TDP and other boards with the same CPU seem to idle around 6W. It seems something to do with how they’re using PCIe to provide the I/O is taking up a lot of power?
I’ve been super happy with my 8th gen Intel NUC i5. I put it in an Akasa Turing fanless case, installed an NVMe for host OS, and an 8TB SSD for data. It’s low power and so quiet that I couldn’t imagine ever using fans again.
I also have a USB 3.2 drive dock for external backup HDDs, but I only turn it on when actively doing a monthly backup.
8TB holds more media than I’ll ever need, but I do trim movies and shows regularly. For some, 8TB won’t be anywhere near enough, and SSDs exceeding this are ridiculously expensive.
Dell/HP SFF? 7th-9th gen CPUs, super cheap, quiet, should idle at 10-15W.
Only issue is 4x 3.5" drives for sure won’t fit, you need a pretty unique case to do that in mini-ITX size I think
Not sure which ones have NVMe slots, would have to research that.
As long as it has the ports, I can look into options for cases. I only need 2x 3.5" drives for now, the other two are just for upgrade options (e.g. buy two bigger drives, copy from existing array to new array, remove old drives, etc).
I’ll have to check those out.
