MiniLab

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sikorski.cloud/post/34131

But Intel partner are able to continue to build intel nucs.

I have a Dell Optiplex 7060 MFF that wont boot, according to the power LED flash sequence it has a faulty motherboard.

The motherboard has a model number of IPCFL-BS 65W.

It had a decent i7 processor so I removed it and put it in a lower spec 7060 that I bought, I then installed the i5 from the other 7060 but it still wouldn't boot, no surprise there!!

I suppose I can do one of the following:

• sell it as is for spares or repairs on eBay (the CPU (i5-8500T) has got to be worth at least £30 on it's own)
• get a replacement MB from eBay or an AliExpress clone
• try and work out what has failed on this MB and fix it (this is way above my skill level)

Anyone have any other ideas or suggestions?

This is a great article about just how powerful these MFF PC's can be upgraded to and that you don't always need a rack mount or tower server!

Hi All,

Thought I'd add a quick post on how simple it is to add a 2nd NIC to the Dell Optiplex MFF PC's.

The unit I bought came with a wireless M.2 card and antenna and also an extra Display Port in the accessory port. I didn't need either of these so I removed both.

I then purchased this M.2 wired NIC from Amazon, I was too impatient to wait to get a slightly cheaper one from Aliexpress!! LOL https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B6ZVRNQ1?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Installation was really simple, I just had to ensure that the ribbon cable was laid as flat as possible so that it wouldn't interfere with the SSD and caddy. https://i.imgur.com/lt5Zgs5.jpg

I used two plastic bolts and nuts to hold the NIC port in the accessory port hole, it's not a perfect fit but it is secure enough.

I'm going to use this server as a pfSense router running in a Proxmox VM so the 2nd NIC was important.

I had some fun getting Proxmox and pfSense to see the 2nd NIC, but that's for another post!!

Hi all,

Seeing as I created this community it seems only fair that I kick it off with details of my Mini Lab!! LOL

Instead of them just sitting on top of each other I took inspiration from another user and built a custom rack using 2020 aluminium extrusion and 3D printed parts.

These are the specs of the servers

Pictures - https://imgur.com/a/d950ydM You can see most of the services I'm running in the Proxmox cluster screen shot, but I'm also running these in the CT called "docker-test"

• Docuwiki
• Heimdall
• Homeassistant (test env)
• Nextcloud (test env)
• Nginx Proxy Manager
• Portainer
• Overseer
• Pi-Alert
• Uptime Kuma

My "Holden" node currently has nothing running but I intend to use this node for Plex and the *arr's suite using my TrueNAS as storage for the movies & TV shows instead of the local storage.

I also have a a Dell Wyse 3040 that I've installed Proxmox on and this runs my instance of OpenVPN when I 'm away on holiday so that I can shutdown all the servers but still VPN home.

I've uploaded the print files to Printables - https://www.printables.com/model/499181-mini-lab-rack-for-dell-optiplex-mff-servers in case anyone wants to use them for something similar.

Also, it's quite heavy so I've had to relocate it from on top of a utility room wall cupboard as I wasn't convinced the cupboard brackets would support the cupboard, it's contents and the server rack!! LOL