Ubiquity is trash with fickle support based on the whims of what sells wide adoption. TP Link IMO is a decent value for the money if you want easy “prosumer” level networking gear. I have I have 3 TP Link APs as well as a 16 port 10g core switch and its great for my needs.

Mikrotik offers more features per $$ but its not as easy to use.

Second this, whatever you pick never let someone else “own” your data because then they own your company. If you cant export data freely so it can be imported into another system, then its not yours.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805995358102.html?

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805829576833.html

https://www.tp-link.com/us/business-networking/omada-wifi-ceiling-mount/eap772/

consumer crap is just that crap.

I like small PC’s as PFsense/Opnsense routers and then a POE switch and access points. It always works better than any mesh or consumer stuff.

That looks like the closest successor to the pebble I think I’ve ever seen.

I may need to order one and test it out.

if it existed I would be using it. Garmin is the next closest not total crap “smart” watch.

Old Pebble if you can find a working one that someone will part with.

Ubuntu server, it’s a bit more modern than Debian and has a massive install base which means someone has had your problem and fixed it before and documented it.

many times, shucking is a very valid way to get large format disks for cheaper than retail NAS parts. But be aware of what your buying and make sure that the disk your getting if its a white label is a reliable disk. WD Easystore/Mybook are generally good, as are the larger format Seagate external.

Im not sure Intel has any worthwhile CPU’s unless you are getting them used.

Currently E cores are mostly trash, and not all that “efficient” and letting a P Core turbo up and get the task completed uses less overall power.

Secondly Intel is lying about its heat output, and power use. Everything from 10th gen up is a power hog if you dont limit the performance to well below “stock” settings.

https://www.techspot.com/review/2612-intel-core-i5-13500/

This is a good match up between an i5-13500 vs R5 7600, which is the most interesting IMO. The R5 7600 seems to be about $15 less expensive for just the CPU and uses 3/4ths the power which will be a greater savings over time vs Intel. The AMD Motherboards also still seem to trend a bit lower in cost than Intel.

So overall its a good question. If you can get a use 13500 or one under $150 then its probably worth it, but at retail prices the 7600 will cost less to buy, and less to own while being similar in performance.

Create 3 VM’s and pass-through disks to each VM. Boom ceph cluster on a single computer.

ZFS/BRTFS might still be better, but if you really want Ceph this should work and provide expansion and redundancy at a block device level, though you wont have any hardware redundancy regarding power/nodes.

I have and I have done unifi. I don’t like being restricted to their NVR or software solutions because it means I to toss the cameras if I want to extend solution with things like ptz or verifocal cameras. Want to add ai/ml detection sorry can’t do…

Unifi is good for some people but it’s not the solution for everyone. Reolink can also offer similar ecosystem experiences but also while letting you expand your system if wanted.

They do but are a poor value next to most other options.

Would not recommend this. It’s fun to tinker with but a poor substitute for real cameras.

Most cameras are self hosted but they are not marketed to consumers because they require running cables to them either for power and/or data.

Reolink camera with onvif so support can be connected to Frigate or Shinobi.

Hikvison and Dahua are common Chinese brands that have lots of options across lots of prices points but are treated as insecure or hostile iot devices required closed networks.

Costco often has camera and NVR packages that are passable.

Whenever possible make sure any camera you get is onvif so you can use it with any NVR or software.

https://www.theserverstore.com/

They also have a large ebay presence but I have purchased from both their ebay store, and their web store depending on what I needed.

No and stop using SMS it’s not secure.

The only real advantage of RAID1 is that in some cases you get 2x the read performance. But doing snapshots where you get backups that include changes is more powerful than RAID or a volume copy.

The version I posted is connect x3 and the b variant which is the lower power version. It is still well supported in most Linux/BSD based operating systems. The connect x2 less so, plus it’s on an older more power hungry design.

IDK about using the wireless card. I have APs so I never tried. I will say an AP will have much better coverage than any Wi-Fi card.

No that card wont work, it will cook its self in an M720q.

What you want is a https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p3814320.m570.l1313&_nkw=MCX312B-XCCT&_sacat=0 MCX312B which runs much cooler and can comfortably fit in an M720q.

the default 65w PSU is fine with an i3/i5, but you can get a larger one if you want. I can try testing idle power though I am on a 110v/60hz system so it may not be exactly the same.

I have seen line speeds at nearly full bandwidth on mine in synthetic testing.

I ended up adding a M.2 A+E 2.5gb network card in place of the wifi card which gives me 4 network interfaces. stock intel 1gb, M.2 Realtec 2.5gb, and 2x Melanox 10gb SFP’s.

Last thing, DO NOT USE RJ45 SFPs. The draw way to much power and generate lots of heat. Use direct attach cables, or fiber to connect to switches/routers.