On the first day of Christmas, my home lab gave to me... A Raspberry Pi in a Docker tree 🐳 Low-power ARM computing perfect for 24/7 services like Pi-hole, Home Assistant, or lightweight monitoring Two SSH keys 🔐 Public/private key pairs for secure, passwordless authentication are essential for remote server management Three Ubuntu VMs 🐧 Virtualization separates services for better security, easier troubleshooting, and snapshot recovery Four spinning drives 💾 RAID configurations provide redundancy—because backups aren't backups until you have 3 copies Five Cat-6 cables! 🎵 Gigabit ethernet infrastructure: the backbone of reliable home networking (WiFi is convenient, wired is consistent) Six containers deploying 📦 Docker containerization: isolated environments, easy updates, and reproducible configurations Seven servers proxying 🖥️ Reverse proxies (nginx, Traefik) managing traffic, SSL/TLS certificates, and subdomain routing Eight ports forwarding ➡️ Controlled external access while maintaining security always paired with proper firewall rules Nine logs rotating 📝 Automated log management prevents drive fills and maintains system performance history Ten cron jobs running ⏰ Scheduled automation: backups, updates, health checks, and maintenance tasks Eleven tickets closing 🎫 Real-world IT support experience translates directly to home lab troubleshooting skills Twelve dashboards monitoring 📊 Grafana, Portainer, Home Assistant visibility into your infrastructure is power

I'm looking for a network switch with Home Assistant monitoring capabilities, budget around $100. I'm new to homelabbing and currently have a TP-Link BE9700 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 7 Router with Cat8 cabling from the router. My office is in the basement, where I need to connect an old desktop being used as a server, two laptops, and a work computer via Ethernet. Current internet speed is 1Gbps (not fiber yet). Any recommendations?

Below are some links that I have come across that I think are good deals if you want to splurge on some home lab or home lab workstation upgrades. Let me know of other links you run across. Hopefully, we can all share and find the best deals out there. ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16GB GDDR7 OC Edition Gaming Graphics Card (PCIe 5.0, HDMI/DP 2.1, 3.125-slot, Military-Grade Components, Protective PCB Coating, axial-tech Fans): ASUS https://geni.us/s5xH Samsung SSD 9100 PRO 4TB, PCIe 5.0x4 M.2 2280, Seq. Read Speeds Up to 14,800MB/s, Best for AI Computing, Gaming, and Heavy Duty Workstations (MZ VAP4T0B/AM): SAMSUNG https://geni.us/Ux4FHT Samsung 49" Odyssey OLED (G93SC) Series Curved Gaming Monitor w QD-OLED, 240Hz, 0.03ms, DQHD, G-Sync Compatible, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro,Height Adjustable Stand,3 Yr Warranty,LS49CG932SNXZA: Samsung https://geni.us/n3uL8t KAMRUI AM21 Mini PC, AMD Ryzen 7 8745HS (8C/16T, up to 4.9GHz), 32GB DDR5 5600MHz RAM, 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 SSD, Mini Desktop Computer with Radeon 780M, USB4, Quad Display, Dual LAN, HDMI, WiFi 6 https://geni.us/eIqiw ACEMAGIC M1 Mini PC, Intel Core i9-11900H 32GB DDR4 1TB SSD, Mini Computers (4.9GHz, 8C/16T) PCIe3.0 Type-C/LAN 2.5G/HDMI/DP, 4K Triple Display 11 Pro Mini Desktop PC BT5.2/WiFi6/BT/for Home/Office https://geni.us/kd3P GEEKOM A6 Mini PC with AMD Ryzen 7 6800H, 32GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, Radeon 680M, Compact Aluminium Design Windows 11 Pro Desktop Computer with USB4/8K/Wi-Fi 6E/BT 5.2/SD Slot https://geni.us/4siJ5 Beelink SER3 Mini PC AMD Ryzen 3200U Win 11 Mini Computers, 16G DDR4 500G PCIe3.0 SSD, Dual 4K 60HZ Display, 4xUSB3.2 Home Office Business Entertainment PC https://geni.us/KLNG