Tutorials
Old Gaming PC vs Mini PC: The Real Power-Cost Math for 24/7 Servers
A practical power-cost guide for deciding whether an old gaming PC or an efficient mini PC makes more sense as a 24/7 home server.
TrueNAS vs Unraid vs OpenMediaVault vs Proxmox for a Home Server
Choose TrueNAS, Unraid, OpenMediaVault, or Proxmox by primary workload, disk growth, application isolation, licensing, and the recovery burden you can support.
NAS vs DAS vs Mini PC: The Storage Decision Tree
A practical decision tree for choosing NAS, DAS, or mini PC storage based on who needs the files, how apps run, and how recovery should work.
Cisco Live 2026 Lab Build: A Small-Scale Reference Architecture
Plan an isolated lab for segmentation, branch routing, private-app access, telemetry, and governed changes, with failure and rollback exercises; this is a proposed build, not reported test results.
The Beginner Homelab Buying Guide: Start Small, Upgrade Later
Choose a first homelab host around one workload, storage, backup, power, and expansion needs; check exact hardware specifications and total costs before adding a rack of equipment.
The Complete Plex, Arr, and Tdarr Homelab Media Automation Series
Navigate the Plex, Arr, and Tdarr guides in dependency order, from storage and permissions to controlled imports, playback checks, private access, backups, and recovery testing.
A Practical Post-Quantum Readiness Checklist for Network Teams
A practical checklist for network teams preparing for post-quantum cryptography: inventory, risk ranking, platform support, certificates, VPNs, secure boot, and refresh planning.
How Seerr and Tracearr Fit Into a Plex, Arr, and Tdarr Homelab
Separate Seerr request approval, Arr imports, Tdarr processing, and Tracearr playback analytics, then validate one authorized request-to-playback path with manual approvals and alert-only monitoring.
Tracearr Setup Guide for Plex, Jellyfin, and Emby Monitoring
Deploy Tracearr with Docker, connect Plex, Jellyfin, or Emby, validate live sessions and alert-only rules, and preserve a recoverable monitoring history.
Homelab Backup Strategy: NAS, Offsite Copies, and Restore Tests
A practical homelab backup strategy covering 3-2-1 design, NAS backups, offsite copies, immutable or offline protection, and restore drills.