It's been a while since I updated the blog on the mini rack.
What started with Jeff Geerling’s Raspberry Pi Kubernetes cluster video quickly turned into something much bigger. First it was self-hosting a media server. Then rebuilding my home network. Then landing a new job in tech. Then taking over management of an entire technology team.
Calling it a journey feels small. The last six months have been rapid change and constant learning.
Planning helped. Persistence helped more. And an unwillingness to quit when something broke helped most of all. That mindset has shaped this entire year.
So where is the rack now?
It has changed.
My old server was a small form factor custom PC I built almost ten years ago. It served me well. But after a string of seemingly random crashes, I traced the problem back to the motherboard.
That was the end of it.
Losing it stung. Some of the parts are still usable, including 32GB of DDR4, which suddenly became precious when RAM prices surged. But the core of the system was done.
So I needed a replacement.
My first instinct was to build again. I planned out a custom build around a MinisForum board and carefully selected components. Then the RAM shortage hit. Prices exploded. What had been a $900 build quickly approached $2,000.
That was not happening.
I explored other options. I considered building a cluster from older desktops at my new job, but none had the GPU power or PCIe connectors to even install a GPU that I needed for media encoding.
I designed hypothetical mini systems that could house a low cost Intel Arc GPU. I searched for PCIe lanes in small chassis. I went down every rabbit hole.
The market was brutal.
Then I got lucky.
While shopping at work for a small desktop to host an imaging application, I came across this:
Lenovo ThinkCentre M90q Gen 6
Intel Core Ultra 7 265T vPro
64GB DDR5
1TB + 2TB storage
Intel Arc A310 4GB GDDR6
The price was absurdly good. I genuinely thought it might be a mistake listing.
I went home that night and bought it before someone else could.
The CPU was not exactly what I had spec’d in my custom build, but it was close enough. And it cost nearly half of what I had been planning to spend.
It arrived. It was real. And it was perfect for the job.
Learning Docker
This rebuild gave me the excuse to finally learn Docker.
I installed Debian. Installed Docker. Then started spinning things up:
- Jellyfin
- Sonarr, twice
- Radarr
- Bazarr
- WireGuard
- Cloudflared
- qBittorrent
And it just works.
I should have learned Docker years ago.
The new build feels significantly more stable and more secure than my previous setup. Nothing is directly exposed to the internet. Access is tunneled through Tailscale or Cloudflared. Traffic routes through a jumpbox and a VPN. It is layered and intentional.
Right now it primarily serves as a media server. But it has room to grow.
There was some slight drama with my library self deleting a few times thanks to an obscure setting in Bazarr, but her, you live and learn.
I still have a lot to learn about security. But this feels like a solid foundation.
The Physical Rack
In the middle of all this, I bought a 3D printer. A Bambu P1S.
I chose it because it is simple and I caught it on sale (MicroCenter Black Friday deals may be the only *real* deals the holiday still offers). It has been incredible for learning. I have been printing panels, mounts, airflow components, and experimenting with fit and function.
I even used it to build a temporary cabinet door for the mini rack enclosure. It is not permanent. But it keeps animals and hair out, and that is enough for now.
My Raspberry Pi cluster, which I've dubbed the Pi5x5, is currently only two nodes deep. But I confirmed my custom mounting solution works. Power distribution is solid. When prices settle, I will finish out the remaining Pis.
I also added a JetKVM to the rack. It is not fully integrated yet. I discovered Tailscale a few months ago and it has ruined every other remote access solution for me. JetKVM does not yet support native Tailscale installation in a way I am happy with. There are workarounds. I just do not feel like fighting them yet.
So it waits.
Physically, the rack is close to complete. I need to finish the Pi collection and add a few more airflow control panels. After that, the focus shifts back to software and services.
The rack and cabinet as it currently exists.
Side Quests
As if this was not enough, I also decided this was the moment to:
- Remove Windows 11 from my main PC and switch to Bazzite
- Drop Discord after their announcement around legal identification requirements
- Begin migrating this blog to a fully self-hosted solution
All of that is in progress.
And somewhere in the chaos, I lost my entire pixel art archive. That one is on me. I did not have proper backups in place. I am actively working on recovery, but it was a hard lesson.
Backups are not optional.
Perspective
There is a lot happening. And there is still a long list of projects ahead.
But these projects keep me moving. They keep me learning. They keep me growing.
Ten years ago, I was living in a friend’s basement in Chattanooga, preparing for my second year of university. I assumed I would stay there. I did not know what a VLAN was. I probably did not fully understand LAN or WAN either.
Now I manage infrastructure. I run a homelab. I design systems.
Growth happens when you stay curious.
I am grateful to be surrounded by people who push me to keep learning.
Until next time, stay warm and toasty.
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