Computer
Separate services
Running several jobs on one computer can save hardware; separating the software helps each job stay understandable.
A place to write this stuff down.
Notes from a home network that got slightly out of hand.
I am not a network engineer, professional reviewer or seasoned homelab expert. I started with a convenient way to watch movies and learned the rest as the setup gradually acquired a rack, several dashboards and opinions about network storage. This site records the long, complicated process of figuring things out as I go.
The notes include wrong turns and decisions that made sense until the equipment submitted its rebuttal. They are written for another capable home user who wants to know why an option was chosen, when a simpler option would have worked and how the conclusion was reached.
Recent notes
Things I had to learn the inconvenient way.
Some pieces record what happened to equipment in my home. Others explain a general failure pattern without pretending I personally performed every possible test. The difference should be clear on each page.
Start with the storage and playback stories if you want the lived experience. The rest of the archive explores recovery, privacy, monitoring and security decisions in enough detail to help you decide whether they apply to your own setup.
Browse all nine notes09Monitoring note
Operations
Why a green dashboard can sit beside a broken service
A monitor can accurately report that a page answers while the job behind that page is failing. This explainer shows what each kind of check can and cannot establish.
Short versionMonitor the user-visible job and its shared dependencies, not only whether a process answers a basic request.
08Security note
Networking
How to read a frightening UniFi security alert
A severe-looking notice does not, by itself, prove that someone got in. This guide explains the difference between a detection, a block and evidence of actual access without describing my private exposure rules.
Short versionA blocked alert is evidence that something matched a rule and was stopped; it still deserves review, but it is not proof of a successful intrusion.
07Explainer
Storage
Why deleting a large folder may not return the space
A folder can disappear from the normal view while a recycle bin, snapshot or older version still retains the data. This explains a common storage puzzle; the example below is illustrative, not a claim about a specific deletion in my home.
Short versionWhen free space does not return after deletion, check recycle bins, snapshots, version history and cleanup progress before deleting more things in a panic.
06Explainer
Backups
A completed backup is not the same thing as a recovery plan
A successful backup job is reassuring, but it cannot answer the question that matters after a failure: what can actually be restored, and in what order? This is a planning guide, not a report of a completed disaster-recovery test.
Short versionA backup becomes useful only when its contents, location and restoration steps are understood and checked.
05Diagnostic note
Media
The Plex server is not always the problem
The same server and file can behave perfectly on one playback device and badly on another. Useful diagnosis begins by naming the exact device, app and playback mode instead of treating Plex as one indivisible machine.
Short versionInspect the active session and run controlled comparisons before changing the server, replacing the file or accusing the network on principle.
04Recovery note
Storage
When a network storage problem made the whole server look frozen
The server still had power and several local parts were running. Too many important actions were waiting on the same unavailable storage connection, which made one fault look like a failure of the entire platform.
Short versionRestore the shared storage from the bottom of the dependency chain upward before restarting everything that happens to look broken.
The lab / general map
The awkward interactions matter more than the equipment list.
A network fault can look like a storage failure. A storage failure can make the server interface appear frozen. One incompatible playback device can make a healthy media server look underpowered. Understanding which job depends on which other job is more useful than memorizing model numbers.
The lab page explains why someone might split storage from applications, use cables for stationary devices or keep a second playback option. It also explains the price of those choices: each extra layer creates another thing that can fail.
See the lab mapFiles
Network storage
The NAS manages shared data separately. That flexibility makes the network connection a dependency worth watching.
Connections
Wired where useful
Fixed equipment benefits from predictable cables. Wireless still earns its place for everything that needs to move.
Watching
Plex and playback devices
A good experience depends on what the screen can play, not just how powerful the computer in the other room is.
How I recommend things
Things I use and things I only researched are not the same.
I label the difference. Problems stay in the write-up, even when they make an expensive purchase look foolish. A product is not “best” merely because it survived long enough to appear in a photograph.
A useful recommendation explains the job first. If a less expensive or less complicated option does the same job, that belongs in the discussion too.
- Used here, not copied from a press release
- Failures documented alongside successes
- Canadian availability considered
- Affiliate links clearly identified
Commercial disclosure
Privacy & disclosure There are no paid placements or affiliate links here now. If I add affiliate links later, I will label them where they appear.