$500 Home Lab Challenge FINALE

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[HardwareHaven]

You're a winner in my eyes, Brett ♥

[twistidclowns]

Your setup might not be what people actually need but its closer to what an aspiring homelabber would want. Also these rules are ripe for shenanigans if the right deals pop up.

[Skudster]

I think season 3 needs to have the viewers' requirements/restrictions involved. Viewers decide on budget, what needs to be running, and maybe a max space requirement. You could also get crazy and start with comparable or matching laptops and an RPi with a limited budget to get all the other pieces needed. Anyway, I loved watching both challenges and love the banter between you all. Keep up the great work!

[guy_autordie]

The netapp jbod is a winner move for that budget!

[fairmania]

If there was a prize for 'go big or go home' you would have walked this! You put together an absolutely mental system, scale beyond the budget, and maybe the efficiency measure was the place you missed the target. Two great systems, so many ideas for people to consider, a credit to the creativity of both competitors. You really tugged at Jeff's heart with the SBC cluster too!

[VelocityBlasters]

You won. You built the homelab that I would have built. I value the ability to easily expand which you have in spades. I also live in a place where electricity is clean (hydroelectric) and inexpensive.

[jarek]

For season three, you should add Jeff Geerling, making it a three-way competition and getting another judge. Having different perspectives and ideas always keeps it interesting.

[ImiH-bmiq]

Here are a couple of ideas for HomeLab challenge Season 3… in no particular order of importance, popularity or sanity :)

- All participants start with the same exact hardware and let’s see who comes up with the best use of said hardware. By “use” I mean it is actually useable in an everyday sort of way, not just barely runs.
- 2 or 3 hardware tiers for above. 1- Not super up-to-date desktop ( 8th or 9th gen i3? ), 2- something new and dedicated under X dollars, 3- How about a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W?
- Panel of 3 judges… or maybe 5 if participants also score each other
- More than 2 participants. Colten and Brett are awsome, but how about Jeff also entering the ring?

And most importantly… PLEASE don’t make us wait a year and a half for next season!!! :)

[mitchellstl]

Love when techies get together! I totally agree that any home lab really is subjective to the builder especially when starting out. I think Brett's setup is what we ask start out with but I think we all envision out first build like Colton's. Great job guys!

[gabrielalejandroverapinto]

I truly appreciate the jank and as someone whose homelab sits well above your powerdraw I may be biased but I would say you derserved the win :D

[MrSousuke]

Well.. Now I like the video then I'll watch it. But man, congrats for the 3dprinting contest! Free filament? Yay! 🎉😂
I have to say, I would have bet on you, those cluster was a perfect bait for Jeff and your findings were exceptional. Impressive what 500$ could do.

[MrLinuxguru]

It was very close 😂but we are defining what's important for homelabs it's brilliant fun guys

[stuartbanana]

That Emotional W for sure!
Stayed true to the character of the channel and went Wild with the clusters (really cool that they were even RaspberryPi alternatives too), as well as the enterprise equipment.

The Jank is adored. “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth Overdoing”

[hugevibez]

One thing that wasn't really accounted for is that it's difficult to get that level of resiliency without sipping so much power. You get to learn so much with this system like ZFS, SAS and Networking with the SBC cluster. You can always upgrade the components piece by piece, getting a more efficient system for your x86 system; faster, more capable SBCs; denser storage; more resiliency by adding another system and running zfs-ha. All of this fitting within a 12U minirack, which would be able to fit in most apartments. Hardware Haven made the better NAS solution, but you made the better homelab for sure.

[antoniom.andersen]

"You're gigabit networking" Ouch, that stung because it's true on my part.
I'd love to see you fill up that NetApp with SSDs. As for the system I'd want the most it'd be yours Brett, mainly because it's so cool and jank but also because I'd get to play with that NetApp. For practicality I'd have to go with Colton because of the low power draw.

If you keep the UPS you could try getting the buttons to work and then 3D print a front panel for it, maybe a good exercise for 3D printing.

[joemccall]

Colten: "I built a 1997 Honda Accord"

Brett: "I built a 747 strapped onto a ocean-going super tanker carrying a '72 Pinto on the deck"

[MegaSunspark]

Ohhh, this was a fun & funny contest to watch. Thanks guys!

[AndresPineda]

It was nice seeing you three in a single video. ❤

[brockwilkie]

you had the server we wanted, not what we we need in a beginner homelab! but serously lets get some more channels in on the challenge!

[zrdfx]

I liked the series but I really missed the building and setting up and testing of the all the stuff! That part was soo fun 😊