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Overview

Athena is Isabel’s oldest laptop, representing a hybrid configuration that combines laptop, server, and headless profiles. While the flake still maintains support for this system, it sees minimal active use today.
Named after the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena was once a workhorse but now serves primarily as a backup system and testing ground.

System specifications

CPU

Intel processor with integrated graphics

Storage

Btrfs root with separate media partition

Type

Hybrid laptop/server configuration

Security

TPM 2.0 and Bluetooth support

Hardware configuration

Athena uses a multi-partition setup optimized for media storage:
fileSystems = {
  "/" = {
    device = "/dev/disk/by-uuid/2cdcddcf-db9e-472f-ab4f-14e7b644beea";
    fsType = "btrfs";
  };

  "/boot" = {
    device = "/dev/disk/by-uuid/2524-71ED";
    fsType = "vfat";
  };

  "/media" = {
    device = "/dev/disk/by-uuid/c4f7c302-f492-47dd-8bfd-e3073c1923bd";
    fsType = "ext4";
  };
};
Reference: systems/athena/hardware.nix:2-17
The dedicated /media partition on Ext4 provides a stable location for large media files separate from the system root.

Device configuration

Athena is configured with Intel integrated graphics and a single display:
device = {
  cpu = "intel";
  gpu = "intel";
  monitors.eDP-1 = { };
  keyboard = "us";
  capabilities = {
    tpm = true;
    bluetooth = true;
  };
};
Reference: systems/athena/default.nix:12-21

Enabled profiles

The hybrid nature of Athena is reflected in its profile combination:
profiles = {
  server.enable = true;
  laptop.enable = true;
  headless.enable = true;
};
Reference: systems/athena/default.nix:6-10

Server

Server-optimized settings for running services

Laptop

Power management and mobile hardware support

Headless

Can run without graphical interface

Boot configuration

The system uses systemd-boot without secure boot enabled:
system.boot = {
  loader = "systemd-boot";
  secureBoot = false;
  loadRecommendedModules = true;
  enableKernelTweaks = true;
  initrd.enableTweaks = true;
};
Reference: systems/athena/default.nix:23-29
Secure boot is disabled on this system, which may be appropriate for older hardware but reduces boot-time security guarantees.

Services

Despite being barely used, Athena hosts several services including media management and backups:
services = {
  cloudflared.enable = true;
  immich.enable = true;
  arr.enable = true;
  borgbackup.enable = true;
};
Reference: systems/athena/default.nix:31-36

Cloudflared

Cloudflare tunnel for secure remote access

Immich

Photo and video management platform

Arr Stack

Media automation tools (Sonarr, Radarr, etc.)

BorgBackup

Deduplicating backup solution

Smart monitoring disabled

Due to hardware limitations or age, SMART disk monitoring is explicitly disabled:
services.smartd.enable = lib.mkForce false;
Reference: systems/athena/default.nix:39

What makes it unique

Athena uniquely combines server, laptop, and headless profiles, making it adaptable to different use cases despite its age.
The dedicated /media partition and Immich service show this laptop was repurposed for media management and storage.
As the oldest system, Athena demonstrates how the flake maintains backward compatibility with older hardware.
With BorgBackup enabled, this system likely serves as a backup target for other machines in the infrastructure.
Being barely used in production, Athena is perfect for testing configuration changes before deploying to critical systems.
While Athena sees minimal use, keeping it in the flake ensures you can quickly bring it online for testing, backups, or emergency scenarios.

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