my home server that does everything died many weeks ago so i’ve been making due with VASTLY inferior backups that literally haven’t received updates in over a decade because the manufacturers stop supported them.
i’ve rebuilt this server many times from old e-waste i had laying around and my last attempt to solicit feedback on the last rebuild yeilded some VERY useful advice so i’m hoping to lightening strikes twice.
my constraints are that i can only use hardware that i have on hand; with the exception of a motherboard since i don’t have a functional one this time around, so i plan on buying one used off of craigslist or one of the many local repair shops.
also: deepseek tells me that this hardware are the only things i have on hand that are compatible with each other (and i’m crossing my fingers in the hopes that some of them still work):
- CPU: socket LGA1200 era Intel Celeron
- RAM: 64 gigs DDR4 3200 on 2 128 pin sticks
- CASE: mini itx steel case
- POWER: ATX standard
- DRIVES: 4 SATA, 1 PATA, 2 NVME
i also have a wifi3 router/ap and a wifi4 router/ap combo boxes; these are the backups i’m currently using and they are crazy slow.
i need this build to do the same thing its predecessor did which were (ranked in order of importance):
- router (i used a pfsense virtual machine last time)
- wifi access point (i last used a wifi nic in AP mode)
- DNS adblocking (i used pfBlockerNG last time)
- live kernel patching (used ubuntu last time)
- vlan segmentation (via pfsense)
- vpn routing (via pfsense)
- jbod drives (aka no raid nor HA and permanently mounted on the host)
- backup capabilities (last used rsync initiated server side to laptops & - gmail)
- per device firewall rules (for the robot vacuum and security cameras)
- IDS & IPS (via pfsense)
- home cloud storage (last used pfsense + nfs + sshfs + ddns)
- multimedia system (last used kodi + old plasma tv)
Just wanted to mention that PATA hard drive may need to sit this one out, depends on whether you want to buy more stuff beyond a motherboard. LGA1200 means you’re using motherboards built from roughly 2020+, it would be highly unusual to find a motherboard with a PATA port in this decade or even last decade. So to use that drive inside the server you’re looking at buying some type of adapter (I’ve seen PATA-to-SATA adapters but can’t vouch for any in particular) or a PCIe card with PATA ports if those exist. Or to use it externally you’d have to hunt around for an old IDE-to-USB enclosure or some other type of USB adapter to have the drive sit outside the server.
I have a few old PATA drives myself but actively using them seems like more trouble than it’s worth
that’s my current backup mechanism for my work & personal laptop backups.
it also doesn’t matter much if i can use the PATA drive since all of the SATA drives dwarf it in size.