Blocked by my ISP. So I have it all blocked.

So I have both Rackmount Server and Mini PC’s running in my lab, and it really comes down to what do you want/need.

Mini PC PRO:

• small size
• quiet operation
• low power, low heat
• limited remote management option with vPro

Mini PC CON:

• limited storage options
• limited ram
• lower thread/core counts at lower TDP (often 35w)
• limited expansion or no expansion

Rackmount Server PRO:

• offer expansion
• offer redundant power
• lots of RAM
• lots of cores/threads
• lots of PCIe
• lots of networking
• IPMI (remote management)

Rackmount Server CON:

• lots of noise
• lots of heat
• lots of power use
• takes up way more space

https://www.minisforum.com/products/minisforum-ms-a2

I think the little Minisforum MS series offer the perfect balance of mini PC with server like options. They give you 4 built in network ports 2x 10g and 2x 2.5g which is perfect for most applications IMO, they are available in both AMD and Intel flavors. With the one open PCIe slot you can add an external SAS card and then just use a SAS enclosure for disks. I currently have USB HD’s plugged into my mini PCs and its not great, they dont get enough cooling, and I live in fear because they are on cheap wallwart power supplies. It is working and for the most part has been.

My Rack configuration has been stripped down massively and now its just a single 2RU and Dell 1RU that is a low spec storage server only. The 2RU has an AMD 3900x w/ 64gb and 16gb MI25 card so I can tinker with AI, the Dell is just an i3-8gen with 32g and 4x 12tb drives.

The Lenovo’s are both i5-8gen with 32gb, same with the Dell mini PC, the Minisforum is an MS-A1 before they had the MS-A2 with better networking and PCIe. The Lenovo’s do have upgraded networking so I can have 4 network ports per box, 2x 10gb, 1x 2.5, 1x1g.

Plenty of Russian propaganda too. Every “conservative” community or server is essentially acting in Putin’s favor.

https://www.printables.com/model/413074-m720qm920p-baffle-for-cx312b-pro-connect-x-3-card

The wall mount rack is a used ACP Netshelter. I was able to find it on Craigslist a few years ago. The rackmount face plates are custom 3d printed but unfinished as I abandoned the project due to life.

I may, it was a massive work in progress that I never finished because life decided to beat the crap out of me for the last 3 years. I was trying to build a modular system that was 19" and 10" rack compatible and would have storage options as well. In this case its 2x Seagate external drives, and a WD external drive plugged in via USB3 and setup in a CEPH cluster.

Yes thats the MS-A1 which is a great little box but not as flexible as the MS-01. It lacks the PCIe slot, and only has 2x 2.5g Ethernet ports.

You probably wont find the MS-01 used since its not like the Lenovo’s with their mass market deployment as office PCs.

As for price, https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256810143174659.html? I was looking at the barebones since the prices on DDR5 and NVME’s are nuts right now. I have spare NVME drives so all I would need is RAM and I can find it cheaper than the resellers who mark it up when they install it for you.

I have 2 of them with older 6 core CPUs and 32gb each. I also added a 10g SFP card in the PCIe slot so they would have a bit more umph.

For 380 each I would not bother, and I would look at the Minisforum MS-01 as it has built in dual 10g SFPs and dual 2.5g RJ45’s plus a PCIe slot.

https://minisforumpc.eu/products/ms-01?_pos=1&_psq=MS&_ss=e&_v=1.0

at ~80 euro’s more you get more CPU, faster ram if you can find it, more storage, and more networking.

zimablade or zimaboard easy setup and casaos or zimaos make selfhosting easy with preconfigured apps/containers mine is an intel quad core with 8gb and pcie 4x slot.

Depends on the application. I run a nightly backup of a few VM’s because realistically they dont change much. I have containers on the other hand that run critical (to me) systems like my photo backup and they are backed up twice a day.

Used UPS’s show up from time to time. I recently found a craigslist posting with 6 all of which were in decent shape needing some cleaning, and new batteries.

Batteries are the rub since they only last about 5 years so most used ones need new batteries. Good news is its not that hard to replace them as long as you take your time and pay attention.

Ubiquity is trash with fickle support based on the whims of what sells wide adoption. TP Link IMO is a decent value for the money if you want easy “prosumer” level networking gear. I have I have 3 TP Link APs as well as a 16 port 10g core switch and its great for my needs.

Mikrotik offers more features per $$ but its not as easy to use.

Second this, whatever you pick never let someone else “own” your data because then they own your company. If you cant export data freely so it can be imported into another system, then its not yours.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805995358102.html?

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805829576833.html

https://www.tp-link.com/us/business-networking/omada-wifi-ceiling-mount/eap772/

consumer crap is just that crap.

I like small PC’s as PFsense/Opnsense routers and then a POE switch and access points. It always works better than any mesh or consumer stuff.

Ubuntu server, it’s a bit more modern than Debian and has a massive install base which means someone has had your problem and fixed it before and documented it.

many times, shucking is a very valid way to get large format disks for cheaper than retail NAS parts. But be aware of what your buying and make sure that the disk your getting if its a white label is a reliable disk. WD Easystore/Mybook are generally good, as are the larger format Seagate external.

Im not sure Intel has any worthwhile CPU’s unless you are getting them used.

Currently E cores are mostly trash, and not all that “efficient” and letting a P Core turbo up and get the task completed uses less overall power.

Secondly Intel is lying about its heat output, and power use. Everything from 10th gen up is a power hog if you dont limit the performance to well below “stock” settings.

https://www.techspot.com/review/2612-intel-core-i5-13500/

This is a good match up between an i5-13500 vs R5 7600, which is the most interesting IMO. The R5 7600 seems to be about $15 less expensive for just the CPU and uses 3/4ths the power which will be a greater savings over time vs Intel. The AMD Motherboards also still seem to trend a bit lower in cost than Intel.

So overall its a good question. If you can get a use 13500 or one under $150 then its probably worth it, but at retail prices the 7600 will cost less to buy, and less to own while being similar in performance.

Create 3 VM’s and pass-through disks to each VM. Boom ceph cluster on a single computer.

ZFS/BRTFS might still be better, but if you really want Ceph this should work and provide expansion and redundancy at a block device level, though you wont have any hardware redundancy regarding power/nodes.

https://www.theserverstore.com/

They also have a large ebay presence but I have purchased from both their ebay store, and their web store depending on what I needed.