Managed switches are the way to go. I have various segments and none talk to each other.

I use one of those coax/Ethernet converters in my house. It’s a 2-story place and running Ethernet was going to be too daunting for a room.

Overall it works very well (I had bad experiences with using network over electrical power). The only thing that will be a downer is the gigabit coax converters seem to be expensive. Since I just had 1 client in an isolated network, 100mbps was fine for me but would hamper your NAS throughout. You’d also need to buy 2 sets of converters for your use case, so that’s potentially not cheap if you’re wanting gigabit from end to end.

Some of the newer wireless standards are very quick, but you’d also need to ensure all NICs are compatible and a newer AP wouldn’t be free.

Perhaps talk to the landlord about splitting the cost of getting Ethernet professionally run in all rooms. It may be the most cost effective solution, but the drawback is you walk away with nothing. The landlord would be able to advertise Ethernet ready infra, so there is some benefit for them to do it.

Yep, I’m speaking in generalities. Overall, my point is that a homelab doesn’t need something expensive because it may not be heavily used, so most of those features are not necessary. If the guy had mentioned running a business or customers, that’d be a different story.

You even had to qualify your own statement that one has to modify hard drive power consumption to achieve acceptable noise levels.

I had a SIEM running on a mini-pc like a champ. It cost me fifteen bucks and taught me a lot. Build to requirement, not title.

Bear in mind, a system that is built to be a dedicated server will be meant to crunch data. That means 2 things:

• loud fans

• heavy electricity use

If you just want a lab, I suggest getting a desktop PC and loading a server OS on it. Practical hardware experience isn’t too valuable because platforms change and they usually make them super simple to maintenance with lots of online support. Getting a desktop will also save you some bread on initial investment.

Exactly. The use-case dictates requirements, then you build according to that. Will this work for a camera system? With the right drive(s) added, sure. Would this run something graphics intensive very well? Not particularly.

I would learn about mtbf if I were you. Everything has a failure point (generally buried deep in product info), and when you start keeping it on 24/7, the hours will burn. Those fans on your GPU will give it up way before they normally would.

Finding a used server is not a good idea either. You aren’t in a data center and servers are super loud. Also, they chew up electricity like a hungry dog and his dinner.

As others have said, find a used desktop somewhere and a cheap KVM switch so you can use the same peripherals for both. It doesn’t need to be beefy by any measure (maybe drive space), just affordable.

What makes you thing the man is trying to VPN with his BBC?

I like NVR systems with PoE, Lorex makes some good ones and they do a decent job at trying to secure your device. Granted, that same security makes it more challenging to reset a password, but it’s good to know someone jacking your NVR wouldn’t be able to just use it.

For networks, much of it depends on budget and requirement. Do you want home security cameras on your network? Are you someone who works with large files all the time? Do you have gig plus Internet speeds? Do you own or rent? Lots of factors can affect choices. Start from there and build the infrastructure that works for your need. Don’t go looking to build a monster you’ll never really get moving, that’s a waste. Brand will become a factor once you look at the capabilities you need, you’ll see names come up over and over. At the consumer level, there are a few but price is also a factor. Not much help, I know.