Believe it or not, this project started over a year and a half ago, so to not explode your brain, the first section will be about the current machine and how it was compiled, and the section further down will be the long and complex story of how it has all come together.
Build Overview
This decently beefy computer isn’t for gaming or video editing or anything like that so the specs may seem almost alien like to you.
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-14100
GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 730
RAM: CORSAIR VENGEANCE 128GB (4x32GB) 3200MHz
Op Sys Storage: Western Digital PC SN530 256GB NVME
Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 2TB NVME
Motherboard: ASRock B660 Pro RS
As you can see, there isn’t a graphics card currently because I am not running any visual things on it. Now I may add one in the future if I decide to do some AI stuff but for now it’s perfect.
“So… what is it doing then?”
Right now, it’s the backbone of my self-hosted infrastructure. It runs on TrueNAS SCALE, an open-source NAS operating system that also supports containerized apps and virtual machines. This setup lets me run a bunch of different services which are accessable both locally and remotely. All from a single dashboard.
Here’s a quick look at what’s currently hosted on this glorious chunk of metal:
- WordPress sites for personal projects (like this blog!)
- NGINX Proxy Manager to configure and publish certificates
- A Minecraft server (Java + Bedrock crossplay) managed through Crafty
(read more in my Minecraft server post) - Immich, my private photo and video gallery (think Google Photos, but mine)
- FileBrowser, for managing and sharing files
- A secure Tailscale VPN for remote access
- Several other misc tools hosted under subdomains, all routed through Cloudflare
It’s tucked away in my basement, humming quietly and doing its job 24/7. And trust me getting to this point wasn’t just a matter of plugging in a few cables and downloading random stuff. Below, I’ll break down the full technical setup and share the long, chaotic journey from vague idea to a full-blown professional home server ecosystem.
The Journey
The journey to the current server build was… chaotic. Originally, I had windows running on an i7-12700K. Then after around a year later I moved that CPU into my main PC and dropped in my i9-9900K instead. That was all well and good until I decided to swap the server’s case 2 months later, something went very wrong, and boom: broken CPU.
So I sold that CPU for around ~$190 and rebuilt the server with the Intel i3-14100 and of course the new current motherboard, which, surprisingly, has been more than enough for my needs and has been equal to and in some cases better than the i9-9900K. It runs TrueNAS SCALE installed bare metal on the 256GB NVMe. My main 2TB NVMe storage drive managed to survive all the drama.
The result? A “simple” (with a lot of hand quotes) but solid setup that doesn’t waste power, doesn’t overheat, and just works.
Networking
The server lives behind my router with a static IP, which saves me from a lot of dynamic DNS headaches. For remote access, I use a combo of Tailscale VPN and reverse proxies to reach everything cleanly and securely.
Public-facing stuff like my websites and dashboards are all behind HTTPS, routed through Cloudflare. For backend-only services (like certain internal dashboards), I honestly don’t care too much about the encryption—I keep those behind Tailscale or just let them run locally.
Port-forwarding is set up only through NGINX to prevent funny stuff, and thanks to Tailscale, I can also securely access internal tools even when I’m not home.
Hosted Services
Here’s a closer look at what’s actually running:
- WordPress: This blog and other personal sites live here. Getting this to play nicely with NGINX nearly broke me. For two whole months, I couldn’t figure out why the config wasn’t working. Until, I found out it was just my browser being weird the whole time. (Yeah-)
- Crafty Panel + Minecraft Server: Crafty lets me manage both Java and Bedrock Minecraft servers with ease. Setting it up was somewhat a pain since there’s barely any documentation. Eventually figured it out thanks to one obscure YouTube video I mention in another post.
- Immich: My private photo and video gallery, a privacy-focused alternative to Google Photos. Smooth to run, doesn’t need much horsepower.
- FileBrowser: Lets me upload, organize, and manage internal system files.
- Tailscale: For secure VPN access to everything from anywhere.
Everything is hosted via TrueNAS apps or custom Docker containers, depending on what works best for the service.
Preformance
This thing runs extremely cool and quiet. With 128GB of RAM, I’m barely using even 1/8 of it under normal load. CPU temps are low, power usage is modest, and it handles everything I’ve thrown at it.
On the maintenance side, I’ve set up:
- Weekly compressed backups (stored for 7 days)
- Monthly uncompressed backups (long-term snapshots)
So if something breaks, I’m not starting from scratch again cause learned that one the hard way.
Thank you so much for reading this headache of an article. If you are interested in setting up your own home server and would like some help, feel free to contact me 🙂
Its one of the most useful and coolest projects I’ve ever worked on!
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