Over the years, I have built several versions of my home production network. As electricity prices in the Netherlands increased, I decided it was time to redesign my homelab with a strong focus on energy efficiency.
Today, my servers run on Minisforum MS-01 systems. Instead of traditional Xeon-based servers, the MS-01 uses a modern Intel laptop processor. These CPUs offer an excellent balance between performance and power consumption, making them ideal for a homelab that runs 24/7. With plenty of CPU cores, support for large amounts of memory, and fast NVMe storage, they provide everything I need while using far less electricity than my previous hardware.
The MS-01 systems run Proxmox VE, a powerful open-source Type 1 hypervisor. It allows me to run all of my services in both virtual machines and lightweight LXC containers, depending on the workload. Features such as snapshots, backups, clustering, software-defined networking, and an intuitive web interface make Proxmox a reliable and flexible platform for my homelab.
For storage, I use a UniFi UNAS Pro, and I am very happy with it. Its ARM-based platform is efficient, quiet, and reliable. My NAS has one job: storing data. I do not need virtualization, containers, or the many extra applications that come with some NAS systems, such as Synology. The UNAS Pro focuses on storage, and that is exactly what I was looking for. It works perfectly alongside my Proxmox servers, providing reliable storage while Proxmox handles the virtualization.
The rest of my network is built around the Ubiquiti UniFi ecosystem, which I enjoy using because it combines simple management with reliable hardware.
Compared to my previous setup, my current homelab uses much less power while still delivering all the performance I need. For me, it proves that modern, energy-efficient hardware is more than capable of powering a reliable homelab.
Hardware
- UDM Pro SE
- USW Aggregation
- UNAS Pro
- U6 Pro
- G4 Instant
- Minisform MS-01, I9-13900H, 96GB, 1TB NVMe (3x PVE)
- Minisform MS-01, I5-12600H, 32GB, 1TB, 4TB NVMe (1x PBS)
- CyberPower UPS
Unifi
My network is built using Unifi devices, and for storage, I rely on a U-NAS Pro unit with a couple of 22TB drives.”
Minisform
The Minisforum MS-01 is a compact, high-performance mini workstation/server designed for professional and homelab use. It’s packed with powerful features like 2.5gbe ethernet, SFP+ that make it suitable for virtualization, containerization, and other homeLab stuff.
Software
- Unifi Network
- Unfi Drive
- Unifi Protect
- Proxmox Virtual Enviroment (Type 1 Hypevisor)
- Proxmox Backup Server
- Ubuntu Server
- Windows
- Windows Server
- MacOS
- iOS
- Kubernetes