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[SYSTEM FAILURE]

Computer Systems

I have two computer “systems” at home. My main Battlestation – my every day computer: Shockwave and my newly created HomeLAB setup: Chaos.

Shockwave

I use this system for almost everything, YouTube, gaming, coding, administration, browsing the Web, you name it. The build was stretched out over several years with some small upgrades here and there to become what it is today. I am very happy with the parts I’ve chosen and so far they’ve all been very reliable.

Hardware:
Case: Thermaltake View 71 TG
Mainboard: ASUS X570-F Gaming
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
RAM: 64GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4-3600
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 FE
PSU: Seasonic Prime TX-1000
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro M.2 (1TB), 2x 870 Evo (2TB), 860 Evo (1TB), Western Digital SN850 M.2 (1TB)
Fans: Noctua NF-F12 industriaPPC-2000
Controller: Corsair Lightning Node Pro (for LED Strips + Watercooling RGB), Fans and other RGB Strips controlled via Mainboard
System LCD: GOverlay 3.5″
Screen: LG 38GK950-B 38″ 21:9 (144Hz, Curved, HDR, with table mount)
Peripherals: Corsair K100 Keyboard with Nexus Screen attachment, Dark Core RGB Pro SE Mouse, Virtuoso SE Wireless Headset, Elgato Facecam, Microsoft XBOX One Wireless Controller

Watercooling:
CPU/VRM Monoblock: EK-Quantum Momentum ROG Strix X570-E D-RGB
GPU Cooler: EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3080 D-RGB Cooler
Pump: EK-Quantum Kinetic TBE 200 D5 PWM D-RGB
Radiator: 2x EK-CoolStream PE 360 (Front & Top)
Tubing: EK-Tube ZMT Matte Black 16,1/11,1mm
Fittings: EK-Quantum Torque STC-12/16
Fluid: EK-CryoFuel Clear

Chaos

My first steps into building a HomeLAB was when I bought a ASUS RT-AC88U and flashed OpnWRT on it. I’ve been hooked ever since. While I work with a large, multi county CISCO SDWAN network on my day job, I knew that getting something similar would be a “bit” overkill, and after reading a bit I’ve settled with some older, yet still very useable hardware.

Modem: AVM Fritz!Box 7590
Some may wonder why I use a top end WiFi Router as a glorified modem, but it’s quite simple: They work. I have been using AVM products ever since I got a DSL internet connection and my Deutsche Telekom supplied modem died and on me. Support then offered an upgrade to a Fritz!Box and I have been using them ever since – even through multiple other ISPs. My current internet connection at home (250MBit/s VDSL2 35b G.Vector) required me to upgrade to their newer model though.

LTE Modem: ZTE MF79U 4G USB
Since I work at an ISP, I have so many unused SIM cards with large data plans that I thought why not get some backup in place when the DSL cuts out. The Fritz!Box has a failover option internally to switch to the LTE when the main DSL line is disconnected and restore connection when it’s stable again. I could do the same with my OpnSense router, but why bother when the FB can already handle all this.

Switch: CISCO Catalyst C3560 24-PS (IPBASE9 image)
I went with an older CISCO model because I am familiar with their CLI configuration at work (we mainly use C1121X-8PLTEP Routers at work). The PS variant because I didn’t want to run multiple cables to my AP and other hardware in case I expand later.

Router: DELL R210 II running OpnSense
– Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E3-1230 V2
– 16GB DDR-1333 ECC Memory
– PERC H200A Raid controller
– 2x 500GB WDE HDDs

– iDRAC6 Enterprise controller
I first bought the R210 to try out using an enterprise server and figuring out stuff. The device is old enough so that spare parts are both cheap and easily available on eBay, but still capable enough that I don’t need to worry about hardware specs when I install software. I had been running the R210 as a TrueNAS Core server for several months, trying out everything I needed and wanted to do before I saw an offer for the R710.
It’s running OPNSense and serves as a Firewall, DHCP Server and Adblocker for the whole network.

Server: DELL R710 running TrueNAS Core
– 2x Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU X5650
– 144GB DDR3-800 ECC Memory
– PERC H700 Raid controller
– 4x 500GB WDE HDDs, 2x DELL 1TB HDDs
– iDRAC6 Enterprise controller

When I saw an offer for this R710 on eBay Kleinanzeigen (eBay local in Germany) I instantly bought it. Someone had just torn down their Minecraft Server and wanted to get rid of the old hardware, and I was just there at the right time to take it off their hands for a very reasonable price. I mainly use it as a NAS to finally backup all the stuff on my main PC. Yes, I had some OneDrive backups and whatever before, but not for the “semi important” files. Stuff that you COULD lose, but would be annoying to get back or setup again.
I am using SyncBackPro to sync files on change to a SMB share and then a nightly upload to Google Drive. Also snapshots are saved nightly and uploaded to my vRoot Server at netcup (where this Homepage ist hosted).
Also running is AgentDVR, a video surveillance software that works with my Relink E1 Pro and DeepStack image recognition to keep an eye on my cats when I am either sleeping or not there. I decided to go with AI IR instead of the usual “if something moves”, because the camera is setup in our living room and I don’t want the whole HDD full with us moving there. Internet access is blocked in OPNSense – so I cannot access the Dashboard from the outside – but hey, so can no one else.
To keep everything monitored I have setup a UptimeKuma Docker container.

WiFi: Meraki Go GR10-HW
I went with CISCO Meraki here because I know the devices, we’re using MR33 at work and while Meraki Go is the “Prosumer” branch of the company, it’s simply not as expensive as some enterprise hardware. I would not buy a Meraki product used, because once claimed they are bound to your network until you unclaim them again. Sadly, once companies get rid of their network equipment they often skip that step thus making them unusable for anyone else – and the resellers often don’t know that.