ITG027 45homelab

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Abstract
Hook
Agenda
Keywords
Links
Blog Post
Social Posts

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Abstract

I've been running a Dell PowerEdge R720 in colocation, and I'm at the point where I'm rethinking the whole setup. So instead of guessing my way into a new storage server, I brought in someone who builds them for a living. Zack Perry is the face of 45HomeLab, the homelab-focused division of 45Drives, and he joins me to break down what's actually in their lineup and why any of it matters if you're the kind of person who wants to touch, modify, and understand your own hardware.

We get into the HL15 and HL8 storage servers, the newer X15, and the smaller Home Client and Home Workstation machines, and what problem each one is actually solving. Zack makes the case for open, repairable, enterprise-grade gear at a price that isn't insane, which is exactly the gap I've been trying to figure out how to fill in my own lab. We also talk through the real tradeoffs of colocation versus bringing it all home, since that's the decision sitting in front of me right now.

If you're staring down a homelab purchase and don't want to just buy whatever's trending on a forum, this episode is for you.

Hook

I've got a colocated server that's about to become a decision I either get right or regret. Today I'm talking to the guy who builds the hardware I'm considering buying next.

Agenda

Introductions

Who are you?
What do you do?
What do you do for fun?

1. 45HomeLab Origin Story

How 45HomeLab spun out of 45Drives' enterprise storage background
The gap in the market: consumer NAS too locked down, enterprise gear too big and too expensive
What "open and repairable" actually means in practice

2. The Product Lineup

HL15: the flagship 15-bay storage server, direct-wired backplane, screwed-not-riveted chassis
First server in the 45HomeLab x Unraid Signature Series, and where the new X15 fits
HL8 and the HL15 Beast: where they sit compared to the HL15
Home Client and Home Workstation: the smaller, quieter side of the lineup
Fully built vs. chassis-and-backplane vs. chassis-only, and who each is for

3. Real Use Cases

Home Assistant, Immich, Frigate, and the "staff pick" application philosophy
Customer spotlights: what people are actually running on this hardware
Media, backups, surveillance, and where a homelab stops being a hobby and starts being infrastructure

4. Buying Before You Build (My Situation)

Colocation costs vs. bringing storage home
- 2x Mushkin 256GB SSD
- 2x Crucial MX500 2TB SSD
- 3x WD Red Pro 18TB HDD
What to actually look for before spending money on new gear
Noise, power, and space considerations for a home office
Where the HL15 or a smaller option fits into a Proxmox-based setup

Wrap Up

Where to find Zack and 45HomeLab
Final thoughts and key takeaways

Closing

Like / Subscribe
Next:
Sign-off: on behalf of my guest, Zack Perry, and myself, Eric the IT Guy Hendricks

Keywords

45HomeLab, 45Drives, Zack Perry, HL15, HL15 Beast, X15, HL8, EPYC 7452, ASRock ROMED8-2T, homelab storage server, open source hardware, repairable hardware, Unraid, Proxmox, bootc, colocation vs home lab, self-hosting, enterprise storage at home, Dell PowerEdge R720

Blog Post

I have a Dell PowerEdge R720 sitting in a colocation facility a few miles from my apartment, and every spin-up sounds like a jet engine for a solid 45 seconds. It is six to eight years old, I am paying for rack space, and I refuse to hand Dell a thousand dollars just to unlock the IPMI port. So instead of guessing my way into a replacement, I called Zack Perry from 45HomeLab and had him help me think it through.

A few things worth carrying away from this one:

Open and repairable is the actual pitch. 45HomeLab comes out of 45Drives, the folks who were building storage for Backblaze years ago. The chassis is 16 gauge steel, screwed together, with no lock-in. Swap the board, the CPU, the RAM. As Zack put it, as long as it fits, you are not going to break anything.
There is a machine for every rung of the ladder. We went from the little Home Client and the Workstation Zack games on, up through the HL8, the HL15, the HL15 Beast, and the new Unraid X15, and what each one is really for.
He actually spec'd my box. I brought real numbers, 16 virtual machines and about 124 gigs of RAM with room to double, and Zack pointed me straight at an HL15 with an EPYC, a proper HBA, and a direct-wired backplane. He even had the noise figures ready, 42 to 44 decibels a foot away, quieter with the Noctua kit, quiet enough that his cat sleeps through a reboot.

We also got into the stuff you only get from two people who actually run this gear: what we both refuse to self-host (email, obviously), a good networking rabbit hole, and moving a whole lab onto an infrastructure-as-code workflow. If you are weighing colocation against bringing it home, or you are just tired of a loud old server, this one is for you.

I have a Dell PowerEdge R720 in colocation that sounds like a jet engine and costs me rack space every month. It is six to eight years old, and I refuse to pay Dell a thousand dollars just to unlock its IPMI port.

So for episode 027 I called Zack Perry from 45HomeLab, the homelab side of 45Drives, and had him help me figure out what to buy next.

A few things you'll pick up:

Why open, repairable, 16 gauge steel hardware with no lock-in is the whole pitch
The full lineup, from the Home Client and Workstation up to the HL8, HL15, HL15 Beast, and the new Unraid X15
What each one is actually for
Zack spec'ing my real setup, 16 VMs and 124 gigs of RAM, right down to the CPU, the HBA, and how loud it is from three feet away

If you are weighing colocation against bringing your storage home, this one is for you.

[PASTE YOUTUBE URL]

#Homelab #45HomeLab #SelfHosting #OpenSource #Linux

Twitter/X

My colocated R720 sounds like a jet engine and I won't pay Dell $1k to unlock its IPMI. So for 027 I had Zack Perry of 45HomeLab spec my next box off my real numbers: 16 VMs, 124GB RAM, and how quiet an HL15 actually is. [PASTE YOUTUBE URL] #Homelab #SelfHosting #Linux

Bluesky / Mastodon

I have a Dell R720 in colocation that sounds like a jet engine, and I refuse to pay Dell a grand to unlock its IPMI port. For 027 I had Zack Perry from 45HomeLab walk me through the HL15, the new Unraid X15, and what to actually buy to bring my lab home.