# best NAS for Plex Media Server — 6 Months on a Portland Home Lab *By Marcus Webb — 8 years enterprise network engineering, 6-year Portland home lab* ## The Short Answer In my six years of running a four-node Proxmox cluster and testing over 200 devices in my Portland basement, the **Synology DS923 Plus**

# Sengled Zigbee Bulb Review — 6 Months on a Portland Proxmox Home Lab *By Marcus Webb — 8 years enterprise network engineering, 6-year Portland home lab* ## The Short Answer After six months of daily use in my Portland basement, the **Sengled Zigbee Bulb** offers a pragmatic entry point for those who want local

# Best Smart Plugs with Energy Monitoring — 6 Months on a Portland Proxmox Home Lab *By Marcus Webb — 8 years enterprise network engineering, 6-year Portland home lab* ## The Short Answer After six months of daily use in my basement, the **Kasa EP25 Smart Plug** remains the most reliable choice for energy monitoring,

# Apple HomeKit Ecosystem Review — 6 Months in a Portland Home Lab *By Marcus Webb — 8 years enterprise network engineering, 6-year Portland home lab* ## The Short Answer After six months of daily use in my Portland basement, the **Apple HomeKit ecosystem** remains the only choice if you want a speaker that actually