u/Fretzky

Hey everyone!

I'm currently facing a classic homelab dilemma and could really use a sanity check on my general architecture and hardware selection. My overarching goal is to completely de-cloud/exit iCloud. The setup needs to be extremely energy-efficient but have enough punch for image recognition/video transcoding when needed.

Important note upfront: I don't have a NAS yet. My data footprint is currently quite small, so I want to start by using spare hardware I have lying around to build this as a "lab" and test the waters.

Compute Node (Existing): Minisforum NAB6 Lite (i5-12600H, 16GB RAM, 500GB PCIe 4.0 SSD, 2x 2.5G LAN). Running headless Ubuntu 24.04 LTS with Docker Compose. This hosts the live databases and all containers.

• Cloud-Replacement: Immich (Photos), Seafile (General Data), Vaultwarden (Passwords), libimobiledevice (for local WiFi iPhone backups).
• Smart Home & 3D Printing: Home Assistant, Bambuddy (Printer Management) and Obico (Failure Detection incl. Obico ML-jobs).
• Infrastructure: Caddy (Reverse Proxy), AdGuard (Local DNS/Blocker), Uptime Kuma.
• (Local LLMs are more of a future "maybe" tinkering project and have no priority right now).

Planned Storage Node (DIY NAS): The Jonsbo N3 (8-Bay) will be filled with 7x old 500 GB HDDs: 5x Data (MergerFS), 2x Parity (SnapRAID Dual-Parity because of the age of the drives), plus 1x local internal backup drive (large enough for the future, so ~12 TB). Running OMV + MergerFS + SnapRAID. Headless.

Cache & OS: I still have two older 240 GB SATA-SSDs lying around. One for the OMV OS, the other as a Fast-Cache for MergerFS, so the HDDs can stay spundown 95% of the time.

Backup (3-2-1): Restic backs up from the Mini-PC to the NAS. From there locally to the 8th HDD in the case. An offsite backup via a Raspberry Pi is planned, exact workflow still TBD.

My Architecture Dilemma (Question 1): Does separating Compute (Minisforum) and Storage (DIY NAS) even make sense in my case? On the one hand, a separate NAS idles extremely low (HDDs spundown), while the Mini-PC easily handles the occasional CPU spikes (Immich ML-jobs, Obico). On the other hand, running two distinct machines means a higher "base-load" power consumption. Should I rather try to sell the Minisforum and build a beefy All-in-One system (Proxmox/Unraid or else) inside the Jonsbo N3?

The Database Split (Question 2): My plan for the separated setup: The live databases (e.g., PostgreSQL for Immich, SQLite/MariaDB for Seafile) stay physically on the fast NVMe of the Minisforum. Only the bulk media data (pictures, RAWs, documents) is stored on the NAS via a mounted network share (NFS/SMB). Will this network mount bottleneck me in daily usage (even with 2.5G LAN and SSD-cache on the NAS)? Is anyone running this kind of "split setup" and can share their experience?

The NAS Hardware Dilemma (Question 3): If I stick to the separated setup, I need a suitable Mini-ITX motherboard for the "dumb" data hoard in the Jonsbo N3.

• Must be able to power 8 spinning HDDs (plus the two SATA SSDs). So it absolutely needs a 24-pin ATX power connector. Something like this comes to mind: N150 8 Bay Motherboard (https://amzn.eu/d/02KrVwjP), or something like this as an i5 8265U 8 Bay Motherboard (https://amzn.eu/d/02jn6o7f)
• Needs enough connectivity: M.2 / PCIe slots to reach a total of 10 SATA ports (8x HDD, 2x SSD) via ASM1166 / JMB585 adapters.
• Must idle incredibly low (reaching deep C-states when HDDs are asleep/spundown).

I was thinking about Chinese NAS import boards (CWWK/Topton) with an Intel N100/N150 or recycled i5-8265U, but I'm open to all platforms (Intel/AMD) and solutions. Which Mini-ITX mobo/CPU combo (standard consumer hardware + HBA/SATA card is totally fine too) would you currently recommend for such an 8-bay NAS with a strict focus on idle consumption?

Thanks in advance for your input and sharing your experiences!