Autor: adminms
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![[HW Upgrade] FortiGate 80E -> 70G](https://www.msadura.pl/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/FoertiGate-80E-front.jpg)
[HW Upgrade] FortiGate 80E -> 70G
Hardware upgrade completed! Today, I swapped out the older FortiGate 80E for a brand new 70G at my client’s. It wasn’t just a physical replacement – I took the opportunity to completely rebuild and optimize the configuration from scratch rather than just migrating the old one. The performance jump with the new ASIC architecture is…
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The Overkill Zone: Building a 100Gbps+ vSAN ESA Micro-Data Center
If the previous Lenovo M920x build was about maximizing the potential of a 1-liter chassis, this new iteration of the homelab is about throwing absolute, unapologetic, enterprise-grade hardware into a form factor where it has absolutely no business being. Welcome to the new cluster. It is dense, it is power-hungry, and frankly, its performance metrics…
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Enterprise-Grade Email in a HomeLab: Integrating Exchange, Proxmox Mail Gateway, and FortiGate Introduction
Running an advanced, enterprise-grade homelab infrastructure requires more than just deploying virtual machines; it demands robust networking, strict security policies, and logical traffic flow. In my VMware-based environment, handling email securely and efficiently is a critical component. To achieve this, I have integrated Microsoft Exchange with Proxmox Mail Gateway (PMG), all orchestrated and protected by…
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Delicate Surgery on an Ancient Tape Library
Sometimes, IT administration feels more like being a watchmaker. Today’s patient is a very old Tandberg StorageLoader tape library that has decided to act up again. Because of its age, the mechanism is failing, and every so often, a tape gets completely jammed inside the drive. There is no software fix for this. The only…
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Mission Accomplished: The Weekend Migration is Complete!
The entire migration to the new building went smoothly, although it definitely cost us two solid all-nighters to get everything across the finish line. Moving physical hardware is only half the battle. Taking advantage of the extended maintenance window, we finally had the downtime needed to clean up some lingering technical debt. We successfully overhauled…
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The Great Weekend Server Migration
Sometimes, being an IT administrator means giving up your weekend for the greater good of the network. This weekend’s mission? Physically relocating a client’s entire server room to the building right next door. While moving across the parking lot might sound easy on paper, lifting, racking, and repatching an entire IT infrastructure within a tight…
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The „Always-On” NOC: Adding a Dedicated Zabbix Dashboard to the Homelab Rack
When I was originally shopping for a UPS, having a built-in display wasn’t even on my radar. However, after installing the Cyberpower CP2000EIPFCRM2U 1200 W, I quickly learned to appreciate it. As you can see, I now have the live power consumption of the entire server rack constantly visible. It allows me to frequently—and often…
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Transforming the Lenovo ThinkCentre M920x into the Ultimate Micro Server: A Custom Cooling Mod
The 1-liter „TinyMiniMicro” form factor has taken the homelab community by storm, but the Lenovo ThinkCentre M920x stands out as a rare, hidden gem. Unlike most 1L chassis that compromise on expandability, the M920x features a native PCIe slot and incredible power efficiency. With the right modifications, this compact machine can be upgraded into a…
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Stage Lights and Subnets: Networking the Theatrical Music Awards
Let’s take a little trip down memory lane today. I was recently looking through some old project files and found these photos from a fantastic gig: prepping the IT infrastructure for the Theatrical Music Awards at a prominent theater in Warsaw. When IT meets live entertainment, the stakes are always high. Our primary mission for…
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FortiGate HA, Rack Cleanup, and Inside the ATM Warehouse
Another day, another network transformation! Today’s mission took me to a client’s warehouse facility where they actively service payment terminals and ATMs. The primary goal of the day was to finally retire their old, faithful Cisco ASA. In its place, I deployed a robust High Availability…
Recent Posts
- [HW Upgrade] FortiGate 80E -> 70G
- The Overkill Zone: Building a 100Gbps+ vSAN ESA Micro-Data Center
- Enterprise-Grade Email in a HomeLab: Integrating Exchange, Proxmox Mail Gateway, and FortiGate Introduction
- Delicate Surgery on an Ancient Tape Library
- Mission Accomplished: The Weekend Migration is Complete!
