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    Dell/HP/IBM/Lenovo branded 1L Mini PC with 2x eSATA Ports ?

    Does anyone happen to know (or have) a Dell/HP/IBM/Lenovo branded 1L Mini PC with 2x eSATA Ports ? I have seen older 3/4th Gen Core I machines with a single eSATA port, but never 2. Does a Mini PC exist that has 2x eSATA Ports ? I have an 8bay eSATA Box that I would like to use for offline cold...
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    Complete Rack ReVamp including Storage Pool and protocols - Suggestions welcome.

    Here goes nothing...... Perspective: It's Home Internet Sharing with a Large Plex Library. Nothing mission critical (yet). Up to this point, I have been centrally managing all of my storage (3 boxes) in the form of SAS DAS, from a single box (for simplicity/laziness) and it has served me well...
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    $6.00 USD 16GB Intel Optane NVME SSD - Useful or E-Waste ?

    At their current price starting @ $6.00 USD each (16GB Optane NVME SSD), could a single drive perhaps serve as RAID Cache or substitute for scenarios on a Workstation where one might want a RAM Drive (temp file/folder redirection in Windows) providing a PCH connected NVME Slot with proper key...
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    Platform choice help. 2nd Gen Epyc vs Intel ?

    I could really use some help from those that are familiar with Intel CPUs/Motherboards NEWER than LGA2011. My product knowledge basically ends there. I am looking for a single socket ATX motherboard + CPU for a basic Custom/Homebuilt 4U that won't break the bank. The current frontrunner...
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    Suggestions for a RAID Cache SSD ?

    Can anyone suggest an old (cheap/small) Enterprise drive that is readily available and suitable for use as a RAID Cache ? I know the rough specs that I would like to meet (2.5" SLC SSD, 16+GB, SAS2 or SATA3) I am just not familiar with brands/models that work well for this application. I plan...
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    Anyone using TP-Link Omada based infrastructure ?

    I am at a point where I am considering joining the Ubiquiti Cult, but can't justify certain items pricing for home use - Enter TP-Link Omada. For my needs (for managed devices), I figure I can get away with: - a simple HW Controller (Oc200, $110 CAD) - SFP Router/FW (ER7206, $170 CAD) - main...
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    Paid VPN Service integration

    I am looking for suggestions on Integration as well as Service Providers that I can configure to accomplish the following: - Able to integrate into my network (VM etc is fine, otherwise OPNsense). - Housewife Friendly that supports Mobile Device admin real time Server/Region Switching (ie...
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    NTFS Volume Cluster Size Limitations

    Is there any inherent danger in running an NTF Volume on the ragged edge of a given Cluster size's Volume size limits ? (ie. single digit MBs under an 8k cluster size's file system limits) I recently did an online expansion to an active RAID6 volume and essentially calculated down to the MB...
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    LSi HW Raid Level Promotion and Array Expansion

    I have an existing LSi (9280 4i4e) HW RAID5 array consisting of 7 IronWolf SATA drives that I want to: 1) Expand capacity with an additional 4 drives. 2) Raid Level promotion from Raid5 to Raid6. I am looking for advise on what is the least risk, with the least amount of wear on the drives...
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    Securing Management NICs

    Other than authentication of course, are simple MAC Address based static IPv4 reservations and VLan tags enough to keep my management interfaces out of sight and out of mind on a common subnet/scope with all my internal traffic, ie. Safe ? I am in the process of opening things up a bit to the...
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    MSI B550 PRO-DASH (AM4) - Sure, it's not a perfect IPMI/VGA/KVM, but it's not IPMI money either.

    MSI B550 PRO-DASH (AM4) https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B550M-PRO-DASH Could the Realtek implementation of DASH be just enough to allow Home Lab guys to run AMD Ryzen at roughly 1/4 the price of the current (only) Asrock offering with some form of INCLUDED out of band management solution ...
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    Linux NIC Bridging - Is there a downside ?

    This has far more to do with BSD than it does with Linux unfortunately (Proxmox). Q: Are the use of NIC bridges and virtIO within a Hypervisor an acceptable way to achieve desired line speeds in/from a VM that doesn't natively support the NIC/hardware ? (Think RTL 2.5Gbe WAN/LAN & PFsense). I...
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    Help with CPU/RAM estimates for simple virtual consolidation - Non Critical Home User

    I have spent the last few weeks kicking the tires on ProxMox and am satisfied with the results and haven't found any limitations that would keep me from moving forward on a new project, that being a bit of consolidation. I have broken it down to 2 scenarios, with the first being a simple 1U...
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    x86-64 based 1U Network Appliances

    Can anyone suggest a few make/model #s of x86-64 based 1U Network Appliances that can be found decommissioned and now in the surplus market reasonably priced ? My starting point is something like a Barracuda Spam Firewall 300. Uses a standard LGA1155 (2nd/3rd Gen Core i3/5/7 CPU) micro-atx...
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    2016 vs. 2019 Hyper-V

    I know my hardware is all 2016 friendly, as I am running it all already in a separate installation on metal. My question is, is there anything that I would be missing from 2019 if I chose to just deploy 2016 Hyper-V Server ? I should also add, this will be an edge installation for PFsense and...
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    PFsense on Hyper-V

    I almost feel dirty for asking this, but is anyone using Hyper-V for their home PFsense deployment and/or misc SDN or Security ? Or Hyper-V on the edge for anything ? I have a use case where my antiquated hardware is all Server 2016 friendly, dropped hardware support in ESXi and finicky in...
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    Anyone have a collection of Intel SR26xxx Chassis / S5520UR Motherboard Legacy Firmware etc. ?

    I am wondering if anyone has a collection of the last BIOS, Firmware etc. for Intel S5520UR Motherboards (Dual CPU LGA1366) and/or Intel SR2612URR 2U 12bay chassis ? I have a couple systems that I would like to apply the last available firmware etc to see if I can get a handle on the fans...
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    Expander and Backplane stacking/cascading to facilitate a modular storage expansion plan ?

    Is there a preferred connection strategy for Expander/Backplane Stacking/Cascading from a single RAID Card ? If forced to chose, which of the following 2 connection strategies would you settle for ? Parts count and cost are not an issue, as I have most of the required hardware already. (As...
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    New Forum Category idea ?

    The complete lack of sarcasm on my part doesn't translate very well through txt, so rest assured, I am being serious. Any chance of a 'Home User', 'Poor Kid', 'Home Server' or other area to separate some of the less interesting (for example...not pointing fingers).... "still using LGA1366" and...
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    Mixing SAS Drives in the same array - Same brand/speed - different generation/cache

    I have an array that is made up of 2TB Dell branded Seagate Constellations that simply refuses to die or.... even degrade. I have the opportunity to grab another handful of Dell branded Constellations for literally nothing, but they are a generation older. Current drives - Constellation ES.1...