My server is exactly as I need. Basically 1 year old now. This year I really want to do vlans to control the network more than an off the shelf router. I work in tech and still am struggling because all I know is meraki bullshit and that's not priced for the typical home user.
I'll need a few AP's and a switch and firewall. I don't know what to get or what to buy and each research session ends with more options than I started with. Anyway that's my goal. I'll get there eventually.
DON'T DATE ROBOTS!
As a child, the house we grew up in had a very large tree in our back yard. I had a memory of burying some skeleton keys near it but couldn't remember where. The house was old enough that we'd find skeleton keys occasionally and also as a kid they are special.
I searched for days, weeks, months... Digging holes all over the yard and under the tree. I recruited neighborhood kids and friends.
For two summers we searched for buried treasure. Never found them. Might have been a dream I had of burying the keys. I still think about it occasionally and wonder. The tree is long gone and the truth is I'll never know for sure.
They are sata drives.
Seagate Exos X16. 6 of them refurb is still $800.
The case is hot swap with just an hba connection so I can let zfs do it's thing.
I don't see "screwed the pooch" used much but it always is funny to me.
I was limited by the processor and some existing ram which basically dictated my purchases to save money.
You're completely right though, a more modern system would be similar in price and more capable.
I blew my budget on drives and a hot swap case. The rest is easy to upgrade when the time comes.
I purchased a case, SilverStone Technology CS382 8-Bay. Around $200-225.
Bought used parts off eBay:
Asus P8Z77-M LGA 1155 DDR3 SDRAM Desktop Motherboard $75
32GB DDR3 1333 $35
LSI 6Gbps SAS HBA 9200-81 IT Mode P20 $35
Nvidia Quadro P620 2GB GDDR5 4x mini DisplayPort $70
I have six 12tb drives (seagate exos), purchased refurb from serverpartdeals.com and had great luck with them and their support. I found that on Reddit data hoarder sub.
I run Truenas. 4 drives for primary. 2 drives for backup of the first 4. And I have a qnap 4 bay dumb raid box for a third backup with old drives I had. My paranoia but not related really to the nas.
Anyway it's possible and I enjoy what I built. Also that case is loud, get a fan controller too.
I had an Intel s2600 with dual Xeon and 120 gigs of RAM. It seems like such a good idea to run that as a home server. However, the amount of power that it used because it was older was way too much.
I ended up hunting on eBay and found an old Asus motherboard, Intel chip, ram, and a pny Nvidia card.
I bought refurb hard drives from serverpartdeals and a new case from Amazon.
I recommend starting with a chassis you want and working backwards to help narrow your scope.
I know you wanted smaller but heres what I bought. SilverStone Technology CS382... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKTYSZV9?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Also, I run truenas scale with a bunch of apps. Ssd z1 for os. Ssd z1 for transcode and caches. And then 4 drive set for main storage and another 4 drive set for backup of the first set.
I use simplelogin but mostly I still use an email that provides aliases. I break things up into five or six main groups. Content like games and streaming, shopping, social media, and a few others. This works as a general grouping for bookmarks, passwords, note taking, and emails.
I felt using a simplelogin alias for every site was out of control. For me personally I just need it a bit simpler.
Every other company seems to charge for parental controls. It's so stupid, I don't need another fee just because I have a child in my life.
I wanted to degoogle, so I looked for a new router and ended up with an Asus.
Have you seen the housing market? Sometimes you have to deal with a roommates bad habits, even if he is a spirit.
At least he doesn't leave dishes in the sink.
I don't have experience with any readers until recently. Did some research and went with. Kobo colour. It has met expectations and I'm using it with no issue.
I wanted physical buttons.
I didn't want an Amazon device.