Architecture
Choose boundaries between routing, storage, compute, management, and user-facing services.
FG / 01 / Field guide
Home Lab
Build the quiet, recoverable backbone for local AI, storage, networking, and the services worth owning.
Pulse
Current briefing
What is moving now.
Standing watch
Compact 2.5GbE switching
Serve the Home
Watch for quiet, low-power options that improve the next rack revision without creating a management or compatibility tax.
Open the brief →Primary-source watch
Proxmox platform changes
Proxmox documentation
Track dated release notes that materially affect backup, clustering, storage, recovery, or hardware support.
Open the brief →Build watch
Low-power NAS tradeoffs
Hardware Haven + NAS Compares
Collect practical builds that disclose power, noise, thermals, expansion limits, software choices, and failure modes.
Open the brief →Current briefing
FCC Covered List Expansion Targets Foreign Consumer Routers
Protectli
An FCC Covered List update blocks regulatory authorization for new foreign-made consumer routers, raising boundary questions for modular edge hardware and home lab firewall appliances.
Open the brief →Current briefing
License-Free GPU Slicing Lands on Proxmox via Intel Arc Pro B-Series
Level 1 Techs
Intel Arc Pro B60 and B70 GPUs enable subscription-free SR-IOV virtualization on Proxmox VE, offering home labs and small enterprises a low-cost alternative to recurring Nvidia vGPU licensing.
Open the brief →Current briefing
Intel Arc Pro B60/B70 Enable License-Free SR-IOV Virtualization on Proxmox
Level 1 Techs
Intel Arc Pro B60 and B70 workstation GPUs can be partitioned into independent virtual functions on Proxmox VE without recurring licensing fees, offering an accessible alternative to Nvidia vGPU stacks.
Open the brief →Current briefing
Intel Arc Pro GPUs Deliver License-Free SR-IOV Virtualization on Proxmox
Level 1 Techs
Demonstrations of Intel Arc Pro B60 and B70 workstation GPUs show functional SR-IOV virtualization in Proxmox VE, offering dense multi-user GPU slicing without recurring enterprise license fees.
Open the brief →01
Get your bearings
Treat the lab as a system with five layers: network, compute, storage, applications, and operations. The rack is not the product. Reliable services, controlled failure, and understandable recovery are the product.
02
Start here / Three moves
- 01
Map what already exists
Inventory hosts, storage pools, network dependencies, power, backups, remote access, and the services that other people depend on.
- 02
Design the NAS migration
Write the target architecture, data classes, backup path, validation checks, cutover order, rollback plan, and acceptable downtime before moving anything.
- 03
Build an operating baseline
Record idle power, noise, temperatures, update cadence, alerts, credential handling, and one tested restore.
03
Build capability
Operations
Patch, observe, back up, restore, document, and retire systems without depending on memory.
Local AI
Match models and accelerators to real workloads, then account for thermals, power, memory, and data sensitivity.
04
Choose gear / Decision rule
Choose by workload, consequence of failure, idle power, noise, expansion, software compatibility, recoverability, and full-system cost—in that order. A spec sheet without an operating plan is not a recommendation.
before
affiliate
05
Your source map
Start with voices you already value. Verify before concluding.
YouTube
9App / Tool
2- ProxmoxApp / Tool
- OPNsenseApp / Tool
Brand
4- ProtectliBrand
- NetgearBrand
- TP-LinkBrand
- UGREENBrand
Reference layer
Use these to settle claims—not to manufacture certainty.
Field Notes
Original editorial work
Independent analysis built from the strongest available evidence.
Field NotePublished
The rack is not the product
A useful home lab is measured by recoverability and capability—not the amount of equipment in it.
Read the working note →Project BriefNext brief
A NAS migration that does not become a dependency trap
Architecture, validation, rollback, and the operating baseline that should exist before the first file moves.
Read the working note →Field NotePublished
Opinionated Arch Desktops and the Daily Driver Dilemma
Pre-configured tiling environments promise to eliminate Linux configuration fatigue, but curated defaults cannot fully bypass the realities of rolling-release workstation maintenance.
Read the working note →Field NotePublished
Beyond the AI PC Hype: Assessing Integrated NPUs for 24/7 Homelab Inference
Dedicated neural accelerators are finally arriving in compact homelab hardware, but their true utility hinges on runtime stability and pipeline offloading rather than raw throughput.
Read the working note →Gear
Recommendation ledger
What fits, who it fits, and where it fails.
recommendedOwned
Protectli Vault
Firewall applianceCandidate
Open the product record →StandardEvery approved pick
Who it is for. Why it fits. Where it fails.
Each recommendation will include drawbacks, alternatives, last-reviewed date, evidence level, and affiliate disclosure.