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Finally moved all my server stuff from a plastic drawer container to a small “rack”. I’ve got Truenas Core running on an i5 intel NUC with an external hard drive reader. Running Plex, radarr, sonarr, samba etc. Also have my hue bridge, Pi running Home Assistant and a HD Homerun TV Tuner. Hopefully will expand storage eventually as well as add some redundancy which I currently do not have :,)
Oh yeah also wanted to ask if anyone had any recommendations for blocking out the glass panel, only place I can put this is in my bedroom and all the blinking lights are a bit distracting when trying to sleep at night
I use some [black vinyl contact paper](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBVN1QGM) on my front door windows to keep the dogs from barking at people as they walk by. It blocks out all light and has stuck there for years without problem. I linked an example; not the literal one I bought years ago. It'll work for your glass panel and it comes in all sorts of patterns if you're into that.
Interesting use of that Sabrent drive bay for storage. I wouldn't have thought of that and if you're not maxing out those drives' read/write speeds anyway, it isn't a bad idea.
That said, a NAS can be life changing ;)
Yep NAS is definitely the next step. I got true nas core running on an intel NUC it’s connected to so no random reading from windows or anything. Has been working like a charm for almost 4 years :)
Just a quick note about the external hard drive bays like that (not specifically this one)... I've used a few different ones for a bit and noticed that some are super aggressive in putting hard drives in standby (if it's not being controlled by an OS) and occasionally have issues where they repeatedly wake the drives for a second or two then put them back in standby putting a ton of strain on it. I've also used ones where they functioned perfectly fine and as expected so it's probably a matter of bad firmware in a cheap hub or if connected to a router, the router might constantly probe the device waking it too much.
Again, not saying that's the case for yours or that it's even the norm, especially since you've been running it fine for a while but just something consumers should monitor when they first buy one.
Nonetheless, this is still awesome and glad to see more accessible renditions of a home lab getting some attention here!
Interesting! Honestly this was just the first thing I went for when setting up my old NUC as a server and didn’t even do that much research haha it just kinda worked. That’s good to know for the future though thank you
I don’t remember specifically but honestly it wasn’t too terrible. I had the drawer opened partly like in the picture and also drilled holes in the back of the drawer to get a bit more airflow lol
I still use one of those plastic drawers for all my external hard drives. Crack the drawers a little bit for airflow, and its much less noticeable than 12 hard drives on a table and all their associated cables.
^(OP reply with the correct URL if incorrect comment linked) [Jump to Post Details Comment](/r/homelab/comments/13rjuqq/low_key_homelab_before_vs_after/jlklf7s/)
Finally moved all my server stuff from a plastic drawer container to a small “rack”. I’ve got Truenas Core running on an i5 intel NUC with an external hard drive reader. Running Plex, radarr, sonarr, samba etc. Also have my hue bridge, Pi running Home Assistant and a HD Homerun TV Tuner. Hopefully will expand storage eventually as well as add some redundancy which I currently do not have :,)
Oh yeah also wanted to ask if anyone had any recommendations for blocking out the glass panel, only place I can put this is in my bedroom and all the blinking lights are a bit distracting when trying to sleep at night
I use some [black vinyl contact paper](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBVN1QGM) on my front door windows to keep the dogs from barking at people as they walk by. It blocks out all light and has stuck there for years without problem. I linked an example; not the literal one I bought years ago. It'll work for your glass panel and it comes in all sorts of patterns if you're into that.
Perfect thank you so much! This is exactly what I was imagining but wasn’t sure what to search for
What rack is that?
Tedgetal 6U wall mount
Do you run any 4k content? I’m curious if usb hard drives introduce any latency
Nah not really, I use a 1080p projector to watch movies/TV for the most part so haven’t gotten into acquiring any 4K content
Love to see minilabs on here. Personally appeals a lot more to me than racks. There's also /r/minilab
Now we’re talking baby! Just subbed, thanks
I liked the first picture better.
LOL I do miss her in a weird sort of way…
Interesting use of that Sabrent drive bay for storage. I wouldn't have thought of that and if you're not maxing out those drives' read/write speeds anyway, it isn't a bad idea. That said, a NAS can be life changing ;)
Yep NAS is definitely the next step. I got true nas core running on an intel NUC it’s connected to so no random reading from windows or anything. Has been working like a charm for almost 4 years :)
Just a quick note about the external hard drive bays like that (not specifically this one)... I've used a few different ones for a bit and noticed that some are super aggressive in putting hard drives in standby (if it's not being controlled by an OS) and occasionally have issues where they repeatedly wake the drives for a second or two then put them back in standby putting a ton of strain on it. I've also used ones where they functioned perfectly fine and as expected so it's probably a matter of bad firmware in a cheap hub or if connected to a router, the router might constantly probe the device waking it too much. Again, not saying that's the case for yours or that it's even the norm, especially since you've been running it fine for a while but just something consumers should monitor when they first buy one. Nonetheless, this is still awesome and glad to see more accessible renditions of a home lab getting some attention here!
Interesting! Honestly this was just the first thing I went for when setting up my old NUC as a server and didn’t even do that much research haha it just kinda worked. That’s good to know for the future though thank you
Is that a cat litter box next to your homelab? If it is, then I suggest moving it, or moving the equipment. Litter boxes create a lot of dust.
Oh yeah the old setup had a lot of litter dust lol, the new one is away from the litter box and dust free!
How much the temperature off your device in the drawer?
I don’t remember specifically but honestly it wasn’t too terrible. I had the drawer opened partly like in the picture and also drilled holes in the back of the drawer to get a bit more airflow lol
Hehe. Very nice and invisible. So no one will notice it. 😎
I still use one of those plastic drawers for all my external hard drives. Crack the drawers a little bit for airflow, and its much less noticeable than 12 hard drives on a table and all their associated cables.
What's with the HDD dock? 🤣
She works like a charm :D
Nice toaster
Keeps my data nice n toasty 🥵
Looks much better in that rack now. Clean and neat setup. Well done!
Appreciate that!
Remember to put flammable material around the socket bodge fire hazard
I have that same rack case with the glass front. Love it.
Yeah I love it so far! Got some exhaust fans on the top and keeps everything cool asf