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Upgrading Server Storage with Automatic Partition Expansion with the use of backup image

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Recently, I executed a planned infrastructure upgrade to enhance the storage performance and storage capacity of my homelab server. The primary objective was to migrate my chosen Server Operating System from a budget 128GB NVMe SSD to a high-performance 512GB Samsung PM981 NVMe SSD installed in an HP t740 Thin Client . This migration was executed seamlessly without requiring a fresh OS reinstall, while maintaining compatibility with my Proxmox High Availability (HA) cluster infrastructure. Below is a detailed breakdown of the migration workflow, hardware considerations, and step-by-step cloning process. 1. NVMe Upgrade: SK Hynix BC711 (128GB) vs. Samsung PM981 (512GB) Hardware Analysis: Capacity and Throughput Prior to migration, I evaluated the trade-offs between the two solid-state drives: SK Hynix BC711 (128GB): Features firmware-level Power Loss Protection (PLP) ( Pyrite ). While beneficial for mitigating data-at-rest corruption during unexpected power outage...
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Case Study: Upgrading OMV Storage & Architectural Design of a Resilient Mini HA Cluster with Proxmox & NUT

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Recently, I executed a planned infrastructure upgrade to enhance the storage performance, storage capacity, and power resilience of my homelab. The primary objective was to migrate my OpenMediaVault (OMV) operating system from a budget 128GB NVMe SSD to a high-performance 512GB Samsung PM981 NVMe SSD installed in an HP t740 Thin Client , while seamlessly maintaining Proxmox High Availability (HA) and Peanut (NUT) UPS integration. Below is a detailed breakdown of the migration workflow, hardware considerations, and overall system architecture. 1. NVMe Upgrade: SK Hynix BC711 (128GB) vs. Samsung PM981 (512GB) Hardware Analysis: Power Loss Protection vs. Throughput Prior to migration, I evaluated the trade-offs between the two solid-state drives: SK Hynix BC711 (128GB): Features firmware-level Power Loss Protection (PLP) ( Pyrite ). While beneficial for mitigating data-at-rest corruption during unexpected power outages, its limited capacity and write performance becom...
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Dynamic Thermal Governance in Local AIOps: Automated GPU Offloading via n8n, Open WebUI, and Ollama

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Running local LLMs (Large Language Models) on home server infrastructure or small-form-factor GPUs offers privacy and lower latency, but passive cooling or compact GPU enclosures often face thermal throttling under heavy or sustained prompt workloads. To solve this, we can design an automated AIOps dynamic thermal governance pipeline using n8n , Open WebUI , and Ollama . This architecture intercepts user prompts, checks live GPU core temperatures via an endpoint, and intelligently routes execution to the GPU runtime or automatically falls back to a CPU runtime when heat thresholds are exceeded. Architecture & Workflow Overview [ Open WebUI ] │ (Webhook POST) ▼ [ n8n Workflow ] │ ├─► Extract Payload ├─► Check GPU Temp (HTTP GET to Exporter) ├─► Evaluate Temperature Threshold (e.g., > 60°C) │ ├───► [Temp Normal] ──► Ollama API (GPU) ──► Format Response ──┐ │ │ ...
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Stabilizing Multi-WAN Load Balancing in RouterOS v7: Fixing the "Local Subnet Blindspot"

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In our previous article , we successfully implemented a Server Name Indication (SNI) bypass mechanism using dynamic wildcard TLS matching ( tls-host="*.gov.ph" ) to stabilize session persistence for sensitive production portals like the PRC CPDAS platform. This allowed network administrators to retain aggressive multi-WAN load balancing across local client subnets without introducing authentication session drops. However, moving the policy-based routing enforcement from the firewall mangle table over to the native RouterOS v7 /routing rule lookup system introduces an unintended structural anomaly: The Local Subnet Blindspot . 1. The Symptom of the "Local Blindspot" Immediately after activating client-subnet-to-ECMP routing rules, inter-VLAN communications collapse. Clients localized within the production subnets (e.g., UniFi Management, Hotspot Bridges, or standard LANs) abruptly lose access to critical internal corporate resources. Local infrastructure assets—suc...
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