Hey everyone!

I created a post in the Technology community regarding my home server and I got some fantastic advice from @CurbsTickle@lemmy.world which led me to installing Proxmox on an older Apple Mac Mini (“Core i7” 2.3 Late 2012 model) that I’ve been trying to keep alive.

My previous setup involved OMV and Docker. Plex and Haugene OVPN Transmission app running in containers. Then I manually copied from the Transmission SMB share to the Plex media folder. All of which resides on an external 2TB hard drive. I’d run into a really irritating network issue, usually when I was watching something in Plex. In the original post, I thought OMV was the issue and was looking for a new configuration to test. This led to me setting up Proxmox and installing Plex in a LXC container. Unfortunately the network issue is persistent and based on my limited knowledge it looks like the NIC is having an issue (Broadcom NetXtreme BCM57766), specifically transmit queue timeouts and then the NIC resets. I am unable to ping the server during this time and it happens randomly per the logs, but more frequent when I used Plex. I compared an old OMV syslog to the Proxmox ones and I suspect the hardware is failing and it’s time for something new!

My wife and I are trying to minimize our streaming services, but we’re also not huge media watchers. Occasionally we want to watch a movie or I download an obscure British show, I’ll go find it, download it and then copy via my Mac Studio with a SMB share. I will eventually look at the *arrs, but the priority is a functioning Plex server and a Haugene setup that doesn’t impact my Plex functionality. I’d like to be able to direct play 4K content on my LG CX and 4K Apple TV, download to my iPad quicker than right now and maybe have someone remotely play something and it not melt the CPU (least important). I’m watching more anime, so transcoding might crop up on occasion with subtitles.

I need advice on hardware and here are some key points

  • Form Factor: Compactness is key, aiming for a Small Form Factor (SFF) to save space.
  • Cost Efficient: I bought and installed a 1.0TB Mercury Electra 6G SSD not that long ago and also just bought (this week) 16GB of RAM which is now likely useless. I doubt I can repurpose these parts (drive maybe), so I’d like to be a bit budget conscious. But I’d also like to save myself headaches and willing to invest a little to have the performance and reliability I want.
  • CPU Preferences: I’m leaning more towards an Intel CPU, especially for their Quick Sync video transcoding, but I’m open to exploring AMD alternatives if they fit my requirements for 4K direct play and efficient transcoding.
  • Proxmox Compatibility: This will remain my primary OS for container and VM management.
  • Ease of Setup: I prefer a straightforward deployment/build process to get up and running without extensive tinkering.

With these considerations, do you have any hardware recommendations?

Whether it’s a specific model of a mini PC, a custom SFF build, or particular components that fit the bill, I’d greatly appreciate your suggestions.

If you think there is any chance of reviving this old Mini and have suggestions on how to avoid the NIC problems, I’m open to hearing them, but I’d hate to throw more money at this thing right now if getting something new would be less stressful.

  • robalees@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Fell down a hole looking at the Optiplex machines last night. My desk is tiny and I’m already rocking this Mac Mini, a Mac Studio, work laptop and a pi3B running PiHole. So I’m leaning towards a micro, although I might be able to get away with a small form factor instead. I also have a MBP (“Core i7” 2.8 15" Early 2013) that I could wipe and use as a temporary measure while I save for something new. Also bought a pi4B with 4GB of RAM laying around and not used, so I could always split up services, whack Plex on the Studio and use what I’ve got for a while longer.

    Right now I might go with @phanto@lemmy.ca suggestion to find a USB NIC adapter to keep this beast running or at least determine if it’s just the NIC and not the board. Any suggestions for a Debian friendly USB to ethernet adapter appreciated. I also have the Apple thunderbolt to ethernet adapter, might keep trying to get that working. Not seen a single dropped ping overnight with the builtin NIC, so it appears to be super intermittent or when I start to watch something on Plex.

    I’m putting some money aside for an 10th or 11th gen i7 at minimum, I feel like I’d like the option for 4K transcoding if needed. Looks like I can put a 2.5" SATA in a micro (7090?), which would be awesome seeing as I have a SATA 1TB SSD in the mini right now I’d like to cannibalize.

    My wife and I have had some bad experiences with Ebay in the past, but I’m willing to go back if I can find a good deal on an off lease Optiplex. Any other suggestions on places to look for off lease options that I can hopefully trust (US)?

    Also please be brutally honest if you think I should just get a 6-8th gen Optiplex and not bother with the newer CPU. Outside of Plex and torrents, I’d like to eventually run Node.js, VSC Code Server, Pi-hole, home assistant, some storage or cloud access and a Screeps Server. Also playing with Blender, but I doubt I’ll be able to do much with rendering with any of these machines.