I use git and commit configs/setup/scripts/etc. to it. I at least have a road map for how to get everything back this way. Testing this can be difficult, but it really depends on what you care about really.

• Testing my kopia backups of important data? that I manually test every once n’ while.
• Testing if my ZFS setup script is 100% identical to my setup? that’s not that important, as long as I have a general idea I can figure out the gaps and improve the script for the next time around. Obviously, you can spend a lot more time ensuring scripts and what not stays consistent, but it depends on what you care about!

For a lot of my service config, git has always worked well for me and I can go back to older configs if needed. You can get super specific here and save versions in git, then have something update the versions (e.g. WUD)

Most of the books I read are docs on all the fuggin homelab devices & services…wish I had time to read books at this point.

HA integrated with homekit well. I like to tinker, but hate doing interface/dashboard work. I did find an auto dashboard for HA which has made our lives easier. My long term hope is to use a voice assisstant for the rest.

Since it sounds like youre handy already, i would really dig into the dashboard side since that will dictate how easy it is for your family to use.

I think your best bet is to pick one thing that you can get a good guide for and start from there. If you really want to learn its probably better to start with a Debian or arch setup than proxmox, but that’s really going to depend on what you really care about learning.

I know it will be an unpopular opinion but you can use perplexity or Claude to help you find useful sources online if you’re striking out on your searching. Most of the time I find they do better with more obscure issues, but those should be rare if you’re following a guide

Sure supply chain attacks are a thing, but containers aren’t the issue. Any package delivery mechanism can suffer from it. Its up to you to verify those containers and/or build it yourself

This is the correct answer. There are some occasional docker containers you can use that connect to your VPN for the service you plan to use

What are those features?

Interesting info. I switched to grapheneos recently, which allows you to disable a lot of that stuff. Combining that with WG, should make a solid way to share

UI is confusing, but its a good platform to learn. there are a lot of resources for doing typical stuff (dhcp,dns, wireguard, firewall rules, etc.)

Mikrotik makes a few that are rack ready. Not sure about rack size. They are extremely customizable and pretty cheap in the grand scheme. I absolutely love mine. some things I am using it for:

• natively supports Wireguard, allowing me to keep everything private and just wireguard into my home network
• I have set up firewall rules that force all DNS through my pihole, including those pesky LG/google devices that try to bring their own hardcoded DNS servers.
• I have backed up my config to a script and literally trashed a switch a few weeks ago, bought a replacement and was up and running with the same config in <30 minutes of setup.

My one qualm with them, is their warranty service is pretty jank. The devices themselves are generally very good, but having had one die on me after 3 years, I was a little dejected I couldn’t really get it replaced (they do still offer support though). If you need a specific recommendation the RB5009 is really solid for homelab stuff. The one saving grace is the routers are pretty cheap if you know what you need…replacing them (compared to a unifi or something else) is easier? if you’re ok with that

Dunno about plexamp, but Plex has an auto-scan built in. Its disabled by default, but works like a charm. It listens for new file events and general finds things before you complete a download or copy

This is specifically related to watching their free content. You can opt out of the sale & sharing of said data, which is used to play you targeted ads when watching their free content. I am not a big fan, but this is the typical “free” TV spiel. Was there something that changed recently or is it just being recognized now?