Category: Storage

  • Homelab Storage Refresh (Part 1)

    Homelab Storage Refresh (Part 1)

    Background I have just completed the move of all my production and media-based storage/services to TrueNAS Scale. ( I will just refer to this as TrueNAS) This is based on my HP Z840 and I have now retired my faithful Synology DS918+ and DX517 expansion bay. (Those have gone to fellow vExperts Paul Wilk and…

  • Intel Optane NVMe Homelab

    Intel Optane NVMe Homelab

    I have been a VMware vExpert for many years and it has brought me many many benefits over the years. I don’t think it’s an understatement to say I probably wouldn’t have my current role within VMware without it. One of the best benefits has been access to a huge amount of licences for VMware…

  • 100Gb/s in my Homelab

    100Gb/s in my Homelab

    For a while, I’ve been looking to update the networking at the core of my homelab. I have had some great results with the current setup utilising a number of DAC’s but there were a couple of things that were annoying me. Then MikroTik dropped the CRS504-4XQ-IN and if the price wasn’t horrendous then that…

  • Homelab bad days (almost)

    Homelab bad days (almost)

    I recently spent 3 weeks in Ireland with my wife Wendy and our son Nate. This involves driving from the south coast of Dorset up to Scotland and then getting a ferry over to Belfast before travelling west to the Republic. While driving I got a slack notification that one of my SSD’s in my…

  • Lab Update – Part 2 Storage Truenas Scale

    Lab Update – Part 2 Storage Truenas Scale

    The HP Z840 has changed its role to a permanent storage box running Truenas Scale. This is in addition to my Synology DS918+ TrueNas is the successor to FreeNas a very popular BSD based StorageOS and TrueNas scale is a fork of this based on Linux. The Synology has been an amazing piece of kit…

  • NFS 4.1

    Switching on NFS4.1 In the Homelab I like a number of Homelabers use Synology for storage.  In my case, I have two a 2 bay DS216+ and a 4 bay DS918 That I have filled with SSD’s NFS has been the prefered storage protocol for most people with Synology for two main reasons the biggest being…

  • Lab Storage

    I have been meaning to post around some of lab setup for a while.   Although it changes frequently at present its as below.  I will add some pics when I have tidied up the lab/cables My primary lab storage is all contained within a HP Gen8 Microserver. Currently Configured: 1x INTEL Core i3-4130 running at 2.3Ghz…