Editing Introduction to a Self Managed Life: a 13 hour & 28 minute presentation by FUTO software (section)

=== The asustor flashstor can be a starter server. ===

Using an Asustor as a starter server is a great idea. If you know you want a home theater PC, you’re going to buy something like this anyway; and even the low end model is powerful enough for most tasks. You can always demote it to a home theater PC down the line when/if you decide to put together a giant 200 terabyte monster like what is pictured above. like what I have pictured above.

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==== Don’t use your server as an HTPC at the same time; attack surface &amp; why you should care ====

The '''attack surface''' (or threat surface) refers to all the different points where a hacker could potentially gain unauthorized access to your system. This means that the more you install onto your machine, the greater the likelihood you turn into one of the poor schmucks in <code>/r/asustor</code> who got [https://www.reddit.com/r/asustor/top/?t=all owned by ransomware]. The more things a machine does, the larger its attack surface becomes &amp; the more opportunities attackers have to exploit vulnerabilities.

If you use the same PC for Kodi ''and'' services like Mailcow (mail server), FreePBX (phone system), Immich (photos), or Nextcloud (notes), you’re mixing a '''home theater interface''' with '''mission-critical infrastructure.''' Bad idea.

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===== Why? =====

# '''Increased Exposure:''' Running Kodi means more risk of vulnerabilities from media files, plugins, user interaction, etc. If exploited, it could compromise your entire server &amp; everything running on it.

# '''Conflicting Security Needs:''' A server for mail and photos requires high uptime, strict access control &amp; limited exposure. A home theater PC is inherently less secure because it’s meant to interact with more devices, networks, &amp; potentially risky media.
# '''Damage Scope:''' If someone hacks your Kodi system, do you really want that person having backdoor access to your email, phone, or photos? Keep the two separate &amp; isolate them for better security.

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==== Why Not Use It as a Router? ====

You might wonder, can your MiniPC double as a router since it has two Ethernet ports? These are 2.5 GbE ports, which is faster than the typical 1 GbE ports. It offers speeds of 250 to 290 MB/s. However, they use Realtek chipsets (likely the RTL8169) &amp; while you '''can''' use Realtek for a firewall, you really '''shouldn’t'''. This isn’t a meme like running your own self managed mail server. It’s just a bad idea. Don’t ever mix Realtek chipsets with FreeBSD based firewalls(which pfSense is).

<blockquote>'''IMPORTANT NOTE:''' Avoid using Realtek chipsets for firewall purposes. Stick to using your MiniPC as a home theater PC instead.
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==== Being silly: adding eight 3.5” enterprise class hard drives to the Asustor Flashstor mini-pc. ====

Let’s say you chose to use this device as a server down the line. It only has NVMe slots for solid state drives. 24 terabytes of flash storage might be too little for you. If you want to use hard drives with it, you can’t plug desktop drives directly into it; but that doesn’t mean you can’t try. :)

You can actually add eight 3.5” desktop hard drives to an asustor flashstor if you bought one with a '''USB-C 4.0 port'''. If you’re looking to expand beyond NVMe, the higher end models with USB-C ports allow this. If you wanted to go crazy, you could get the following hardware. To be clear, this is ridiculous &amp; not recommended; but there’s something fun about doing ridiculous things. The lengths I have gone through to make use of hardware I already own are great, and I feel compelled to share some of what is possible with you.

* '''USB-C to PCI Express Card enclosure''': [https://www.startech.com/en-us/usb-hubs/2tbt3-pcie-enclosure This unit] allows you to plug a desktop PCI Express card slot into a computer that has a USB-C port. This is needed since the flashstor has no PCI Express card slots fit for desktop PCI Express cards. You might have to cut a hole in it for the SATA cables to come out of.
* '''PCI Express Serial ATA card:''' [https://www.ebay.com/itm/235464441248?_skw=Intel+RS3WC080&itmmeta=01JE2DYJ39X6E1NKT2GP1AS8V9&hash=item36d2c63da0:g:CCUAAOSwV-pmX3xi&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKkYGG99u%2FPOyPVfli1VueephfY%2BGqf7itGPMgXK9xShe8TO%2F13dLnEVBooi09dW9ucYYBmmKuUWb%2Bklu5F7ZOnOqT4ElYFOD5WYW%2BEopRsmt5d%2FkPeRRw017E%2BNG9Vw314EAe2bRQy6uCoaUvPIN8kyPH9KL4MntdQwmCFrwfF5uxIhLfnNUaA9I7KetS1rB%2BFQD9R2XPt0jqfIoa6Zm5MMxsDO1uvhf7Pj1CpfOr4sI6KcjRjJGboW3btGqsWtVMbkzNJJ6gIge4pvstvwwIwf3U8WSiTkw1aDplebZRVtYQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9yh-s3wZA This] lets you plug in another 8 serial ATA desktop hard drives.
* '''Mini SAS to SATA cable, SFF-8643:''' An [https://store.supermicro.com/us_en/supermicro-minisas-hd-to-4-sata-30-60-70-70cm-cable-cbl-sast-0704.html SFF-8643 adapter cable] goes between your PCI Express SATA card and your eight hard drives. You would need two.
* '''Power Splitter''': Needed for powering multiple drives, something like the [https://www.startech.com/en-us/cables/pyo4sata startech SATA power splitter].
* '''SATA drive power supply:''' You’d now need to power those SATA drives.
** Something like [https://www.amazon.com/Warmstor-Adapter-Computer-Connector-Converter/dp/B076WZ1N4K/ref=sr_1_1?crid=37QM5VOFZAM1Q&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.at93EUUqXo4LGsFjaIg29R-3dDWigqy5MVKmMfIc25yVZWtMqLDzaSH-DHMJYveHuMrs1bMeVSNTqIfDEcuR4zNnfmb44SYNvSe9ZIwYayzkeF5ujjqWWJoOQUxT8etauoS_V66crJBIkf0DITtJN6fJdcnduzoipt7rnRagWy14VBViEpoWeBAO0Fyfht6AfmB3Xn6ymUIyFiie2_j5yQOP5wGBtK2ng7o6GjnRfvY.7fqScExFcxLobhy3oP0mk34glrLTeHSzt46MPMK8Ro4&dib_tag=se&keywords=Sata+Power+Supply&qid=1733101321&sprefix=sata+power+supply%2Caps%2C281&sr=8-1 this] could power 2 drives at a time.
** Any PC power supply that can do over 10 amps on the 12 volt rail would suffice for eight 3.5” enterprise class serial ATA hard drives, but you see why this is getting silly.
** Either you are going to have to do some research to find a sleek looking power supply that does 10 amps at 12 volts to reliably power eight 3.5” enterprise class hard drives, OR:
** Short the green PS_ON wire on a desktop PC power supply to the black wire with a paperclip to turn it on. Desktop PC power supplies only turn on when they are plugged into a desktop computer, and this would only be plugged into the drives.

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