Building First Home Lab for Cybersecurity Work

[Enquiries]

Hello!

I'm planning my first NAS/Home Lab Server for cybersecurity projects/testing/learning. I would love a gut check to see if I'm on the right track. I've settled on the Terramaste​r F6-424 M​ax with 2 to 4 HDD to start. I'm also thinking an NVME drive to run and store programs on that I run in Docker, running VMs, etc. I'm aiming to use Proxmox rather than the default OS on the Terramaster. Below is the link to the PCPartPicker list I put together.
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/maf119/saved/YyCs8d

I've also included the different operating systems I'll use in VMs. Am I missing anything? Is there something better? Do you have any better recommendations for a cybersecurity-specific homelab?

[ed]

Your setup for a NAS/Home Lab Server sounds great! The TerraMaster F6-424 Max is a solid choice, and starting with 2 to 4 HDDs will give you a good foundation. Running Proxmox is also a smart move for flexibility in managing your VMs.

A couple of points to consider:

NVMe Drive: When choosing your NVMe drive, make sure it has a good DWPD (Drive Writes Per Day) rating, especially since you'll be running Docker and VMs. This ensures the drive can handle the increased write operations without compromising reliability. Look for drives with at least 0.5 DWPD or higher. Some great options include the Samsung 970 Pro or 990 Pro, both of which are reliable choices.

HDDs: The Seagate Exos X18 drives are excellent for storage, and they’re designed for high reliability in NAS setups, which is great for your use case.

RAID Configuration: Depending on how you set up your drives, RAID 5 or RAID 6 will provide redundancy and data protection. Just make sure to account for the storage capacity you want, especially if you plan to expand in the future.

Power Supply: Ensure your UPS is sufficient for your setup, especially if you're going to run multiple VMs. The APC Back-UPS Pro 1500VA is a good choice.