Physical Hosts
pve-prod-01 — Primary Compute
Role: Primary Proxmox node. Runs all primary VMs and LXCs (docker-prod-01, auth-prod-01, immich-prod-01, dns-prod-01).
| Component | Specification |
|---|
| Model | Minisforum MS-A2 |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX (16C/32T, 5.4GHz boost) |
| iGPU | AMD Radeon 680M (available for future ML/transcoding) |
| RAM | 32GB DDR5 SO-DIMM (1x 32GB, expandable to 96GB) |
| Boot Drive 1 | Samsung 980 NVMe 1TB (S/N: S64ANS0W120169T) |
| Boot Drive 2 | Sabrent Rocket NVMe 1TB |
| Boot Config | ZFS RAID-1 mirror (configured in Proxmox installer) |
| LAN | 2x 2.5GbE RJ45 built-in |
| Storage | 2x 10GbE SFP+ built-in |
| OS | Proxmox VE 9.1.5 |
| IP | 192.168.10.11 (VLAN 10 - Management) |
| Source | Amazon |
| Price | $575 (Feb 2026) |
Radeon 680M iGPU not configured at launch — Plex transcoding runs on the NAS via i5-13400 QuickSync. Available later for ML inference or additional transcoding if needed.
nas-prod-01 — Network Attached Storage
Role: Unraid NAS. Dual-parity array for bulk media and downloads. ZFS mirror pool for precious data (photos, backups). Plex runs here as a Docker container using QuickSync iGPU.
| Component | Specification |
|---|
| Chassis | Rosewill RSV-L4412U (4U, 12-bay, $345) |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-13400 (10C/16T — 6P + 4E cores) |
| iGPU | Intel UHD 730 (QuickSync for Plex transcoding) |
| Motherboard | ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi D4 (ATX, DDR4, $100 used) |
| RAM | 32GB DDR4 |
| HBA | LSI SAS 9120-8i (migrated from previous host) |
| 10GbE NIC | Dell Intel X710-DA2 (dual SFP+, $28 eBay) |
| Onboard LAN | Intel 2.5GbE (built-in on motherboard) |
| Boot | USB flash drive (Unraid OS) |
| OS | Unraid 7.2.4 |
| IP | 192.168.10.10 (VLAN 10 - Management) |
Motherboard Swap: Original Gigabyte B760M DS3H DDR4 only had 1x usable PCIe slot. Could not simultaneously fit the LSI HBA (x8 card) and 10GbE NIC (needs x4 minimum). ASUS TUF Z690 has a second x16 slot wired at x4 from the chipset, solving the conflict.
- i5-13400 over i5-13600: Unraid is IO-bound, not compute-bound. Performance delta irrelevant. Sold i5-13600 to offset MS-A2 cost.
- 32GB RAM: No heavy VM workloads on Unraid. 32GB is generous for pure NAS duty. Sold extra 2x 16GB sticks.
- X710-DA2 over X520: Newer chipset, better long-term driver support, dual port for future flexibility.
pve-prod-02 — Secondary Compute
Role: Secondary Proxmox node. Runs PBS VM (pbs-prod-01) and secondary AdGuard LXC (dns-prod-02).
| Component | Specification |
|---|
| Model | Dell Optiplex 3070 Micro |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-9500T (6C/6T, 9th gen) |
| RAM | 16GB DDR4 SO-DIMM (2x 8GB Micron) |
| Boot Storage | 256GB NVMe |
| Networking | 1x GbE RJ45 built-in |
| OS | Proxmox VE |
| IP | 192.168.10.12 (VLAN 10 - Management) |
| Source | Work surplus (free) |
RAM left at 16GB for now — workload is light (PBS VM + one AdGuard LXC). Single NVMe boot is acceptable given this node’s non-critical secondary role.
pi-prod-01 — Monitoring / QDevice
Role: Lightweight always-on device. Runs Proxmox QDevice (cluster tiebreaker), Uptime Kuma, and Beszel monitoring server.
| Component | Specification |
|---|
| Model | Raspberry Pi 4B |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Boot Storage | SD card |
| Networking | 1x GbE RJ45 built-in |
| OS | Raspberry Pi OS |
| IP | 192.168.10.20 (VLAN 10 - Management) |
| Source | Microcenter ~2023 |
Secondary AdGuard moved off the Pi compared to v2 — now runs as an LXC on pve-prod-02 (dns-prod-02). Pi is dedicated to QDevice + monitoring only.
Network Hardware
UDM-SE — Router / Firewall
Role: Primary router, firewall, UniFi controller, DHCP server, WireGuard VPN endpoint.
| Component | Specification |
|---|
| Model | UniFi Dream Machine Special Edition (UDM-SE) |
| IP | 192.168.10.1 (VLAN 10 - Management, gateway) |
| Rack Position | U1 |
| Source | Existing — carried forward from v2 |
Core Switch
Role: Managed 2.5GbE switch. VLAN trunking to all hosts.
| Component | Specification |
|---|
| Model | UniFi USW-Pro-Max-24 |
| Ports | 16x 2.5GbE RJ45 + 8x 2.5GbE RJ45 + 2x 10GbE SFP+ |
| IP | 192.168.10.2 (VLAN 10 - Management) |
| Rack Position | U3 |
| Source | Reddit r/homelabsales |
| Price | $560 bundled with StarTech rack |
Power & Protection
UPS
Role: Protects full stack from power loss. USB-connected to nas-prod-01 for NUT graceful shutdown.
| Component | Specification |
|---|
| Model | Tripp-Lite SMART1500LCDXL |
| Capacity | 1500VA / 900W |
| Battery-Backed Outlets | 8 (5 used, 3 spare) |
| USB Interface | Yes — NUT server runs on nas-prod-01 |
| Rack Position | U18 (bottom) |
| Price | ~$145 |
- NUT server on nas-prod-01, NUT clients on pve-prod-01 and pve-prod-02
- On low-battery signal: Proxmox VMs and LXCs shut down first
- Hypervisors shut down
- Unraid shuts down last
First hardware purchased — non-negotiable before spinning up any HDDs. Power loss during a write on HDDs is a data corruption risk.
Rack Layout
Model: StarTech 4POSTRACK18U (18U open-frame, bundled with switch for $560)
U1 │ UniFi UDM-SE │ Router / Firewall
U2 │ UniFi UP-PATCH-24 │ Patch Panel (keystone)
U3 │ UniFi USW-Pro-Max-24 │ Core Switch
U4 │ Brush Panel │ Cable management
U5 │ Minisforum MS-A2 │ pve-prod-01 (2U bracket)
U6 │ Minisforum MS-A2 │ ↑ continued
U7 │ Dell Optiplex + Pi │ pve-prod-02 + pi-prod-01 (shared shelf)
U8 │ Rosewill RSV-L4412U │ nas-prod-01 (4U chassis)
U9 │ Rosewill RSV-L4412U │ ↑
U10 │ Rosewill RSV-L4412U │ ↑
U11 │ Rosewill RSV-L4412U │ ↑
U12-U17 │ [Empty] │ Future expansion (6U available)
U18 │ Tripp-Lite UPS │ Power protection
Interconnects & Cabling
DAC Cables
| Length | Route | Purpose | Price |
|---|
| 0.5M | UDM-SE SFP+ → Switch SFP+ | WAN uplink | ~$10 (10Gtek) |
| 1M | Switch SFP+ → MS-A2 SFP+ | VM/LXC LAN traffic | ~$15 (Cable Matters) |
| 2M | NAS SFP+ → MS-A2 SFP+ | Storage traffic (dedicated) | ~$17 (Cable Matters) |
2M cable for NAS ↔ MS-A2 accounts for RSV-L4412U sliding rail extension slack (~1.5M path + margin). Storage traffic is intentionally kept off the LAN switch — dedicated 10GbE link preserves full bandwidth.
RJ45 Uplinks to Switch
| Device | Port Type | Purpose |
|---|
| UDM-SE | 2.5GbE RJ45 | LAN downlink to switch |
| MS-A2 | 2.5GbE RJ45 | VM/LXC LAN traffic |
| nas-prod-01 | 2.5GbE RJ45 | Management + Synology replication |
| pve-prod-02 | 1GbE RJ45 | All traffic |
| pi-prod-01 | 1GbE RJ45 | Management |
Patch Panel
Model: UniFi UP-PATCH-24 (keystone style) at U2
- 7 wall runs terminate via Cat6 shielded keystone couplers
- Remaining 17 ports filled with blank inserts
- 0.5ft Monoprice SlimRun Cat6 patch cables from panel (U2) to switch (U3)
Drive Inventory
See Storage Architecture for full pool layout and assignment. Summary:
| Drive | Count | Type | Role |
|---|
| WD Red Pro 12TB | 5 | CMR NAS | 2x parity + 3x data (parity array) |
| WD Red Plus 4TB | 5 | CMR NAS | 2x ZFS mirror + 2x future expansion + 1x spare |
| Seagate IronWolf 6TB | 2 | CMR NAS | Hot spares / future array expansion |
| Seagate SkyHawk 6TB | 4 | Surveillance | Cold backup storage in Synology only |
| Seagate Barracuda 4TB | 1 | Desktop | Retired — not suitable for 24/7 NAS |
SkyHawk drives use surveillance firmware — not appropriate for NAS parity array. Barracuda is a desktop drive not rated for always-on duty. Neither belongs in the production array.
UPS Outlet Map
Tripp-Lite SMART1500LCDXL has 8 battery-backed outlets:
| Outlet | Device | Notes |
|---|
| 1 | UDM-SE | |
| 2 | USW-Pro-Max-24 | |
| 3 | pve-prod-01 (MS-A2) | |
| 4 | pve-prod-02 (Optiplex) | |
| 5 | nas-prod-01 | USB cable to UPS for NUT |
| 6 | pi-prod-01 | Via USB-C power adapter |
| 7-8 | [Spare] | Available for future devices |
Total Build Cost
| Component | Cost |
|---|
| Minisforum MS-A2 | $575 |
| Rosewill RSV-L4412U Chassis | $345 |
| ASUS TUF Z690 Motherboard | $100 |
| StarTech Rack + USW-Pro-Max-24 | $560 |
| Tripp-Lite UPS | $145 |
| Dell X710-DA2 10GbE NIC | $28 |
| DAC Cables (3x) | ~$42 |
| Patch Panel + Cables | ~$60 |
| Total | ~$1,855 |
- i5-13600: ~$150
- Extra 32GB DDR4: ~$100
- Net Cost: ~$1,605
Does not include drives (reused from v2) or Optiplex (free from work).