Home Server — TrueNAS Scale
My Lab-in-a-Box, Powered by TrueNAS Scale
Overview
My home server is the centerpiece of my tech playground — and these days it runs TrueNAS Scale. One box handles storage, apps, VMs, and media: everything I need to experiment, learn, and occasionally break things spectacularly.
Why TrueNAS Scale?
I wanted proper storage with real data protection underneath all my experiments, not just a pile of drives. TrueNAS Scale gives me ZFS for the "don't lose my stuff" part, plus apps and virtualisation on top — so the same machine that guards my data also hosts the chaos.
What It Does
- ZFS storage pools for backups, media, and everything I don't want to lose
- Hosts apps and containers for testing new setups
- Runs VMs for experiments that need their own sandbox
- Media server for movies, shows, and music
- Works alongside PiHole, PiVPN, and my GeniSys automations
Key Lessons Learned
- ZFS fundamentals: pools, datasets, snapshots, and why RAM matters
- Storage planning — figuring out redundancy vs capacity the hard way
- Virtualisation, containers, and automation scripting
- How to break (and fix!) my own environment safely