A $25 smart plug became my home lab's most reliable emergency fix
…Be it storage upgrades or network tweaks. But of all the changes and additions I've made to my home lab, an affordable smart plug was the best upgrade I made. However…
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I wired my house with fiber instead of Cat6, and the installation was actually easier than I expected
…Related 5 things I wish I knew before upgrading my home network I didn't expect a single cable could bring my network to its knees. Cat cabling has a place in…
Stop blaming your ISP: most home networks are failing you in ways speed won't fix
…In these cases, upgrading makes sense. Related 5 router settings most people never touch that fixed my network problems Lesser-known fixes for well-known problems You're right to be wary…
I replaced Pi-hole with Unbound for a week, and the privacy upgrade wasn't the only win
…Pi-hole handled ad blocking, dnscrypt-proxy encrypted DNS traffic, and Quad9 resolved every query my network generated. I had been running this setup for a long time, and I rarely thought…
Stop blaming your ISP — where you placed your router is killing your Wi-Fi
…Until you understand that, you'll keep chasing upgrades you may actually not need at all. Related 5 router settings most people never touch that fixed my network problems Lesser-known fixes…
Cheap enterprise networking gear exposes the flaws in expensive consumer hardware
…Moreover, when you aren't chained to the ISP-provided router or an aftermarket router with paywalled features, your network security automatically upgrades to another level. You can use OPNsense or pfSense…
I thought I needed a mesh Wi-Fi setup, but a single router solved all my problems
…Related Wi-Fi 7 will not fix what's actually wrong with your home network A new router alone won't upgrade your network to Wi-Fi 7 A new setup became…
I used my spare PCIe slot for something boring, and it became my favorite PC upgrade
…Take network interface cards, for instance. On paper, you’d think they’re only useful for home servers and makeshift router machines. But in reality, they’re pretty handy for gaming machines…
I stopped buying expensive Ethernet cables after learning what actually matters
…My network performs exactly the same as it did when I was spending significantly more on premium-branded cables. Related I upgraded my home network to prosumer gear - here’s what I…
Stop ignoring your spare PCIe x1 slot — it's more useful than half the upgrades you buy
…PCIe Network Card (TX401) $100 at Amazon Related Your home lab needs better networking more than faster storage or memory Attack the biggest bottleneck of your home lab before upgrading your hardware…