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Advice on building a small PC/server (infosec.pub)

submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by TheButtonJustSpins@infosec.pub to c/homelab@lemmy.ml

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Hello! I am doing some if-I-die planning, and I want to create a machine that is separate from my current homelab that can a) host paperless-ngx and b) be used with keyboard/mouse/monitor if needed. I want it to replace my current paperless-ngx instance that's hosted in my lab.

Ideally, I'd want two SSDs in RAID 1, possibly with a third drive for the OS? I'll be backing up to my NAS and from there to the cloud, but I want to separate this machine from the rest of my infrastructure and still be able to have reliable access to the documents on it.

In theory, I could just sync the files to a USB drive and tell her to grab it if anything should happen to me, but finding the right files while stressed without the metadata stored in paperless wouldn't be the nicest thing to make her do.

tl;dr: What should I buy to build a homelab-in-a-box that can be attached to my homelab normally but also function separately as a PC.

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[–] TheButtonJustSpins@infosec.pub 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

I wonder if it wouldn't be smarter to like get a cheap netbook or something and just sync paperless to it daily, and have it set up for easy grab-and-go.. or even have it be the storage with a share that paperless in the lab uses?

[–] TheButtonJustSpins@infosec.pub 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I guess what I could do is set up a specific storage path for Vital Documents and make sure that all the info that's needed is in the path, so then I can just back that up to a USB drive and it'll be easy to grab and put into her computer. Much cheaper, and probably much easier too.

[–] code@lemmy.zip 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

i would do that but with a externl drive so you can do more than just the paperless stuff like pics etc if needed. i backup my data to local drive, cloud drive and external usb that i keep at my brothers house.

[–] TheButtonJustSpins@infosec.pub 2 points 11 months ago

Hyper Backup supports an external drive, so I set it up to go off my NAS. This is pretty great.

[–] litchralee@sh.itjust.works 1 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

From your description, this new box would not be necessarily have to be a full homelab-in-a-box but needs to be enough to run on its own, with possibly an umbilical cord to your normal homelab for regular syncing. The new box needs to be fairly user-friendly, in the sense that someone else can connect it to their monitor/keyboard/mouse, enter a password, and be able to browse all the documents.

The first thing that comes to mind for me is a NUC or other small form-factor PC, with capacity for your desired SSDs. On a daily basis, this would sit somewhere convenient, like a home or maybe off-site from your homelab, with only power and a network connection. But it would run an OS with a GUI -- GNOME? -- even though it mostly runs headless. All your syncing could be done with rsync or whatever, and neither your homelab nor this machine should require the other in order to function properly, retaining independence. This machine could then be easily disconnected and tested semi-annually to make sure that it will work properly when the time comes.

Is this the sort of answer you're looking for?

Also, TIL paperless-ngx

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Silly question but why would your (likely) nontechnical spouse need to access your homelab? If you die they will most likely need paperwork and money, not some hobby project.

[–] TheButtonJustSpins@infosec.pub 1 points 11 months ago

They don't need the homelab, they need the docs that are stored there (preferably without having to muck around with the homelab at all).