I use proxmox mail gateway (PMG) for my homelab, configured to relay through my Gmail domain using smtp auth.

I’ve also used PMG at the enterprise level. Never had an issue with it.

It’s postfix underneath.

I just learned that Max streams the MotoGP races live. Thankfully we have Max as part of our can phone plan.

Y’all must be doing something wrong because HW raid has been hot garbage for at least 20years. I’ve been using software raid (mdadm, ZFS) since before 2000 and have never had a problem that could be attributed to the software raid itself, while I’ve had all kinds of horrible things go wrong with HW raid. And that holds true not just at home but professionally with enterprise level systems as a SysAdmin.

With the exception of the (now rare) bare metal windows server, or the most basic boot drive mirroring for VMware (with important datastores on NAS/SAN which are using software raid underneath, with at most some limited HW assisted accelerators) , hardly anyone has trusted hardware raid for decades.

I’m pretty sure you can make them set the modem/router to bridge mode and run your own router. If it’s cable, you can also buy your own non-router cable modem, then use whatever router you like behind it.

I’m on this very project right now.

I’ve been using option 1 for many many years. It lets me keep control of the encryption, and it’s accessible just about anywhere.

UPSes aren’t meant to keep things running for long periods of time.

If you’re trying to keep things on for hours, you need a generator. Then the UPS just needs to keep things running until the generator comes online.

I suspect it’ll be a lot cheaper to get a small generator than it would be to buy enough UPS and batteries to run things for multiple hours.

Even as someone who has disliked MS since the mid-90s, I am willing to admit they have made some good products. The Intellimouse 2.0 was one of the best mice I’ve ever used. It was my main mouse for something like a decade, and even now, almost 25 years later, it still works as a backup mouse when I need it for something in my homelab.