• UniFi 8-Port 60W POE Switch

This runs PoE out to two UniFi access points at the front and back of my house. It’s got a ghetto server heatsink which I’ve stuck to the top, as that thing gets absurdly hot.

• Turris Omnia 2GB Router

Running the Turris fork of OpenWRT, this is home to an LXC container running Pi-hole (ad-blocking DNS) and several reverse proxies for content hosted on the NUC. This also runs Wireguard so I can keep an always-on connection from my phone that only proxies DNS/LAN requests.

• Raspberry Pi 4GB

A simple DIY PiKVM for the NUC. I’d usually remote in via Parsec as it’s far superior in every way, but this is for times when the OS has locked up or is still booting.

• Intel 11th Gen i5 NUC, 32GB RAM

This runs a small Minecraft server, network storage via SMB, automated WiFi phone backups, client-side encrypted cloud backup and services like ebook/media streaming.

• 2x Yottamaster USB HDD bays

4x 8TB drives (WD ‘White’), 1x 4TB drive (WD Black) and soon an additional 22TB drive (WD Red Pro). Most homelabbers would blanch at running storage like this over USB, but I’ve found it very reliable. Since the disks are monitored using Hard Disk Sentinel, I immediately get notified of any related issues.

• 650VA No-name UPS

The UPS gives me about 20 minutes before it completely discharges, and each 12v 7ah battery lasts about two years.

I’ve also got a 12v fan plugged in via USB to the router to provide some airflow, because otherwise the cupboard just becomes a hotbox.

I’ve never felt I could truly call it a homelab, but I love it all the same!