Topics · pillar guides
Homelab Topics
The big lenses on the homelab. Each hub pulls together the categories, terms, and comparisons that matter — a map into the deep end.
NAS
Everything that decides a NAS purchase: bays and RAID, the filesystem, RAM ceilings, ECC, and whether the box locks you to one drive brand. The lead category on this site.
NAS Drives
What belongs in an array and what does not: CMR versus SMR, endurance and TLER, NAS-rated lines, and the $/TB math of shucking.
10GbE & Fast Networking
The jump past gigabit: 2.5GbE versus 10GbE, SFP+ and DAC cables, link aggregation, and where a faster pipe actually earns its cost.
Self-Hosting
Matching the app stack to the hardware that runs it: Docker and hypervisors, TrueNAS versus Unraid, reverse proxies, and reaching it all remotely without exposing it.
Plex & Jellyfin
The transcode question, answered by iGPU not vibes: QuickSync, direct play versus transcode, and how many 4K streams a chip really handles.
Backup & Data Protection
Why RAID is not a backup, and what is: the 3-2-1 rule, snapshots, rsync jobs, and an offsite copy that survives a fire.
Mini-PCs & Home Servers
The compute layer under a homelab: N100 boxes to used enterprise 1U, when a mini-PC beats a NAS appliance, and what it takes to transcode and virtualize.
Homelab Networking
Segmenting and powering the lab: VLANs and managed switches, PoE for cameras and APs, the storage protocols (SMB, NFS, iSCSI), and link aggregation.