Gear the books recommend: the parts lists from Homelab the Right Way
Every piece of hardware the Homelab the Right Way books actually name, grouped by project, with the one-line reason each book gives. The Proxmox host, networking, ZFS storage, Home Assistant radios, the turtle-tank sensor build and the media server.
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This page collects the hardware the books name, in one place, with the reason each book gives for it. Where a book names an exact product, the link goes to that product. Where a book only describes the kind of thing you need (for example "a used business mini PC" or "a reptile UVB bulb"), the link is an Amazon search for that kind of thing, and the book's rule for choosing one is written next to it. Prices change every week, so there are none here; check the listing.
The Proxmox host
- A used business mini PC (search on Amazon). Book 2 says a "tiny" or "micro" office desktop with an Intel 8th-generation or newer CPU, 16 GB of RAM and two drives "will run everything in this book with room to spare". No rack needed.
- A small SSD, 256 to 512 GB (search on Amazon). Book 2's layout puts Proxmox and the guests' virtual disks on their own small SSD, so a dead drive never takes the server and your photos at the same moment.
- A Raspberry Pi (search on Amazon). In a two-node cluster, Book 1 uses it as the QDevice: a tiny third vote so one node going down doesn't freeze the other. Book 12 suggests the same kind of always-on box for a second Uptime Kuma that watches your monitoring from outside.
- A powerline or MoCA adapter (search on Amazon). Book 1's rule is that cluster nodes are wired. If a node physically can't be, one of these is "still better than Wi-Fi".
- A UPS with a USB data port (search on Amazon). Book 12 reads it with Network UPS Tools so the Proxmox host can shut down cleanly and you get an alert when the house is on battery. Book 6 says to keep the Z-Wave stick on the same UPS, because a controller that loses power mid-write can corrupt its memory.
Networking
- A managed switch with 802.1Q VLANs (search on Amazon). Book 5's network is built from VLANs, and every managed switch asks the same three questions per VLAN: tagged, untagged, or not a member.
- A Wi-Fi access point that maps each SSID to a VLAN (search on Amazon). One Wi-Fi network per zone, each tagged with its VLAN, with client isolation on the guest network, which the firewall can't do for you.
Backups and storage
- An LSI/Broadcom 9300-series HBA in IT mode (search on Amazon). Book 17 calls a used card of this class "the common homelab choice" for ZFS, because IT mode hands every disk to ZFS directly. You only need one when you run out of SATA ports or want to pass all the disks to a TrueNAS VM.
- CMR hard drives (search on Amazon). "Use CMR drives for every ZFS pool." SMR drives can stretch a resilver from hours to days. Check the exact model number in the maker's datasheet.
- WD Red Plus 8 TB (WD80EFPX) (on Amazon). The drive model used in Book 17's example commands (pool creation, replacing a disk, expanding a RAIDZ).
- Samsung 990 PRO 2 TB NVMe (on Amazon). The NVMe drive in Book 17's examples. The book's two-pool design puts VM disks on fast SSDs and bulk data on hard drives.
- A small SSD with power-loss protection (search on Amazon). Only if you actually need a ZFS SLOG (sync writes). Book 17 is clear that for SMB copies and media "a SLOG does nothing"; when you do need one, mirror it.
- An external USB disk (search on Amazon). In Book 3's off-site options, a disk you rotate to work is best for "the thing you cannot upload". It's a fourth copy, not your only off-site one, because it depends on you remembering.
Home Assistant: Zigbee and Z-Wave
Book 6 lists the Zigbee coordinators "worth buying"; any current one works with both ZHA and Zigbee2MQTT:
- Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 (on Amazon) (formerly SkyConnect). Made by Nabu Casa; runs Zigbee or Thread firmware, not both at once.
- SONOFF ZBDongle-E (on Amazon). Same chip family as the ZBT-1; "a solid budget choice".
- SONOFF ZBDongle-P (on Amazon). Texas Instruments chip; "the long-time Zigbee2MQTT favourite".
- SMLIGHT SLZB-06 (search on Amazon) (Ethernet/PoE). The book's reliability pick for a Proxmox homelab: the radio stays out of the rack, survives a VM migration and needs no USB passthrough.
- A 1 to 2 m USB 2.0 extension cable (search on Amazon). If you use a USB stick, put it on one, away from the server case, SSDs and access points. USB 3.0 ports radiate noise right where Zigbee lives.
- Mains-powered Zigbee smart plugs (search on Amazon). Only mains-powered devices route in a Zigbee mesh, so a plug in each room between the coordinator and the far sensors is "a fine use of a plug".
For Z-Wave, Book 6 says to buy an 800-series controller for your region (better range, Long Range support, SmartStart) and names these as current examples:
Turtle tank: the water-sensor build
Book 4's sensor is plug-together: no soldering, no custom board. The book's parts list gives the exact listings:
- Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32C3, pre-soldered (on Amazon). Tiny, native USB-C, Wi-Fi, and two analog pins that keep working while Wi-Fi is on. The pre-soldered version already has its headers.
- BOJACK DS18B20 temperature sensor module kit (on Amazon). A fully submersible probe, and the kit's small adapter board has the pull-up resistor built in, so there's nothing to add.
- KEYESTUDIO TDS Meter V1 (on Amazon). Board, probe and cable in one bag, and it runs on 3.3 V.
- KEYESTUDIO Turbidity Sensor V1 (on Amazon). Board plus probe; set its switch to analog.
- HiLetgo DC 0-25 V voltage sensor module (5-pack) (on Amazon). A prebuilt 5:1 divider with screw terminals. The turbidity signal goes up to about 4.5 V and the XIAO's pins take 3.3 V, so this sits between them.
- ELEGOO 120-piece Dupont jumper wires (on Amazon). You need all three kinds (M-M, M-F, F-F), and the 120-pack has them.
- REXQualis 400-point breadboards (6-pack) (on Amazon). Used only as a power strip, so one ground pin on the XIAO can feed every board.
- A USB-C cable that carries data (search on Amazon). Not a charge-only cable, or the board won't flash.
- Optional: Zulkit ABS project boxes (on Amazon) if you have no 3D printer (they fit the XIAO and a board or two), or 10 kΩ resistors (search on Amazon) to build a 2:1 divider yourself instead of the module.
- For the printed enclosure in Chapter 8: about 100 g of ABS filament (search on Amazon).
- The turtle cam: an ESP32-CAM (AI-Thinker, OV2640) with the ESP32-CAM-MB programmer board (search on Amazon). The bare ESP32-CAM has no USB port; the MB board snaps underneath and adds one.
Turtle tank: the habitat
Book 4 is clear that this is general guidance for aquatic turtles such as sliders. Check a care sheet for your species.
- A reptile UVB bulb (5.0 or 10.0) (search on Amazon). The one new keepers skip. Without UVB a turtle can't make vitamin D3. Mount it with nothing between the bulb and the turtle (glass and most plastics block UVB), and replace it on a schedule, every 6 to 12 months depending on the bulb.
- A basking heat bulb (search on Amazon). For a basking spot of about 90 to 95 °F at the surface of the dock. Keep electronics and the turbidity probe out of its beam.
- An outlet timer (search on Amazon). Both lights on a timer, 10 to 12 hours a day.
- A submersible aquarium heater with its own thermostat (search on Amazon). Keeps the water in the 76 to 82 °F band. A heater stuck on is the emergency the sensor's alert is for.
- A stick-on aquarium thermometer (search on Amazon). Cheap, and "tells you whether the heater is lying". It's also the reference reading when you calibrate the probe.
- An aquatic turtle filter (search on Amazon). Rated for two to three times your water volume: a 20-gallon tank wants a filter sold for 40 to 60 gallons. A canister filter once the tank gets big.
- Dechlorinator (search on Amazon) for the weekly 25 to 50 percent water change.
- A liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate (search on Amazon). The cheap probes are trend meters; the test kit answers "is the water safe". You want zero, zero and under about 40 ppm.
- A 20-gallon turtle starter kit (search on Amazon). Lamp fixtures, bulbs, a thermometer and a floating dock in one box: the quickest way to get all the pieces at once. Kits usually skimp on the filter.
The media server
- An Intel CPU with integrated graphics (search on Amazon). Book 15 does all its transcoding on Intel Quick Sync: "a single Proxmox host with an Intel CPU that has integrated graphics is enough for everything here." Avoid models ending in "F" (no integrated GPU), and check Quick Sync support on Intel's spec page before you buy.
What the books say not to buy
- SMR drives for a ZFS pool, and RAID cards in "JBOD" or "passthrough" mode instead of an IT-mode HBA (Book 17).
- An Intel "F" CPU for a transcoding box (Book 15).
- A Z-Wave controller for the wrong region, or a 700-series stick on early firmware (Book 6).
- A charge-only USB-C cable for flashing (Book 4).
