https://www.mrplanb.com Technical articles, guides, and insights on Proxmox, Kubernetes, and homelab infrastructure. en-us Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT contact@mrplanb.com (Mr.PlanB) contact@mrplanb.com (Mr.PlanB) https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/tottenham-vmware-85-percent-savings https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/tottenham-vmware-85-percent-savings Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Tottenham Hotspur says its VMware replacement cut licensing fees by more than 85%, showing why renewal economics now trigger migration projects. VMware Virtualization Migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-explore-2026-private-ai-cloud https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-explore-2026-private-ai-cloud Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT VMware Explore 2026 centered on Private AI Cloud, AI Factory, agent governance, and private-cloud economics, clarifying Broadcom's VCF strategy. VMware Broadcom AI Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-cve-2026-59346-host-escape https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-cve-2026-59346-host-escape Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT CVE-2026-59346 is a critical VMware Workstation and Fusion flaw that can let a privileged VM user execute code on the host through VMXNET3. VMware Security Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-cve-2023-54391 https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-cve-2023-54391 Sun, 13 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT CVE-2023-54391 is a Proxmox VE authentication bypass affecting old libpve-access-control builds, with real compromises reported in September 2026. Proxmox Security Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/postgresql-cve-2026-6471-postgreshell https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/postgresql-cve-2026-6471-postgreshell Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT CVE-2026-6471 lets a PostgreSQL role with REPLICATION privilege load arbitrary server-visible code, turning a backup-style account into host RCE. PostgreSQL Security Database https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-24-7-enterprise-support https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-24-7-enterprise-support Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox adds global 24/7 enterprise support on October 19, 2026, removing a major operational objection for VMware replacement projects. Proxmox Virtualization Enterprise https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubevirt-vs-proxmox-vmware-migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubevirt-vs-proxmox-vmware-migration Fri, 11 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT KubeVirt and Proxmox both offer VMware exit paths, but one converges VMs onto Kubernetes while the other keeps virtualization as the primary model. KubeVirt Proxmox VMware https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubernetes-1-37-rootless-kubelet https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubernetes-1-37-rootless-kubelet Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Kubernetes 1.37 promotes KubeletInUserNamespace to beta, letting node components run as a non-root host user and reducing breakout impact. Kubernetes Security Containers https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcom-vddk-access-vmware-migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcom-vddk-access-vmware-migration Wed, 09 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Public VDDK access changed in August 2026, breaking documented VMware migration paths and forcing teams to plan alternatives before an exit project. VMware Broadcom Migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-backup-strategy-2026 https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-backup-strategy-2026 Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT A practical Proxmox backup plan for 2026 uses PBS 4.2, offsite copies, verification, restore tests, and a recovery target you can measure. Proxmox Backup Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proton-outage-cooling-failure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proton-outage-cooling-failure Mon, 07 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Proton's August 27 outage began with a total cooling failure in Frankfurt, where room temperature rose from 21.8°C to 51.9°C in under 30 minutes. Data Center Outage Disaster Recovery https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/nvidia-ai-factory-revenue-sharing https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/nvidia-ai-factory-revenue-sharing Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Nvidia's 2026 AI cloud financing model paired take-or-pay guarantees with revenue sharing, then some deals paused amid internal competition concerns. Nvidia AI Infrastructure Data Center https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/meta-talavera-data-center-water https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/meta-talavera-data-center-water Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Meta's Talavera data center switched to dry-air cooling, cutting cooling water sharply, while 2026 documents still show different water figures. Data Center Water Sustainability https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/lidl-owner-data-center-5-6b https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/lidl-owner-data-center-5-6b Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Schwarz Group plans up to €5.6B for a 240 MW German data center by 2033, tying Lidl's owner to Europe's sovereign cloud push. Data Center Cloud Digital Sovereignty https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/germany-data-center-boom-120-projects https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/germany-data-center-boom-120-projects Thu, 03 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT A new map tracks 120 German data center projects with at least 5 GW of planned grid capacity, exposing the power and planning challenge. Data Center Germany AI Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/digital-sovereignty-open-source-hybrid-cloud https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/digital-sovereignty-open-source-hybrid-cloud Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Europe's 2026 tech sovereignty push puts open source and cloud control together. The practical test is portability, control, and a real exit path. Digital Sovereignty Open Source Cloud https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/electricity-free-datacenter-cooling https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/electricity-free-datacenter-cooling Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT A 2026 prototype used waste heat to drive solid-state cooling, but its 4.0 K device-level result is still far from datacenter deployment. Data Center Cooling AI Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ai-cybersecurity-100-companies https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ai-cybersecurity-100-companies Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT OpenAI and 100+ signatories say AI attacks will spread fast and call for stronger access control, patching, testing, and defender tools now. Cybersecurity AI Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ceph-19-2-6-upgrade-check-pg-counts-before-you-start https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ceph-19-2-6-upgrade-check-pg-counts-before-you-start Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Ceph Squid 19.2.6 is a security update worth installing, but I would not treat a large cluster like a laptop that can be patched first and investigated ... Ceph Storage Proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/openzfs-offline-dedup-is-zfs-dedup-finally-practical https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/openzfs-offline-dedup-is-zfs-dedup-finally-practical Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT OpenZFS just gained a much more practical way to deduplicate existing files on Linux: upstream master now implements `FIDEDUPERANGE` using ZFS block clo... OpenZFS ZFS Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-ve-8-eol-upgrade-to-proxmox-ve-9 https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-ve-8-eol-upgrade-to-proxmox-ve-9 Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox VE 8 is at the end of its supported life in August 2026, so most systems still on 8.x should now have an upgrade window booked for Proxmox VE 9. Proxmox Virtualization Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vdi-alternatives-after-citrix-and-vmware-price-changes https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vdi-alternatives-after-citrix-and-vmware-price-changes Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT VDI customers frustrated by Citrix or VMware related pricing should run a replacement pilot before their next renewal, but they should not assume every ... Virtualization VDI Enterprise IT https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-105-nutanix-aos-75-compatibility https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-105-nutanix-aos-75-compatibility Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT If NetBackup 10.5.0.1 stops protecting Nutanix AHV virtual machines immediately after an AOS 7.5 upgrade, check compatibility before changing credential... NetBackup Nutanix AHV https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-11-install-domain-account https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-11-install-domain-account Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A NetBackup 11 Windows installation that says the web service account does not exist should be checked against NetBackup's web server account requiremen... NetBackup Windows Server Active Directory https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-11-web-ui-errors-rbac https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-11-web-ui-errors-rbac Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A NetBackup 11 Web UI failure should first be classified as an application error or an authorization error. NetBackup RBAC Troubleshooting https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-5240-support-end-of-support https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-5240-support-end-of-support Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Official support for the NetBackup 5240 Appliance ended on October 31, 2025. NetBackup 5240 Appliance Lifecycle https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-alta-view-reporting https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-alta-view-reporting Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT If your goal is a simple report such as “show every server without a full backup in the last seven days,” do not start by building a reporting system fr... NetBackup Alta View Reporting https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-backup-failures-100-percent-success https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-backup-failures-100-percent-success Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A NetBackup environment does not need a perfect daily success percentage to be well protected. NetBackup Backup Disaster Recovery https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-cyberark-pam-console-onboarding https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-cyberark-pam-console-onboarding Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT If your organization requires the NetBackup Windows administrative console to run through CyberArk Privileged Session Manager, treat it as a desktop app... NetBackup CyberArk PAM https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-fetb-licensing-capacity-too-high https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-fetb-licensing-capacity-too-high Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A NetBackup FETB overage should be reconciled before you redesign backup policies. NetBackup Licensing Capacity Planning https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-github-nexus-consistent-backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-github-nexus-consistent-backup Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT If GitHub related services and Nexus are already protected by whole-VM NetBackup jobs but the requirement is application-consistent recovery, add an app... NetBackup GitHub Nexus Repository https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-hyper-v-error-156-snapshot-failures https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-hyper-v-error-156-snapshot-failures Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT NetBackup status 156 on Hyper-V means the snapshot operation failed, but it does not identify one universal cause. NetBackup Hyper-V Snapshots https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-mongodb-errors-6601-6625-6654 https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-mongodb-errors-6601-6625-6654 Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT NetBackup MongoDB errors 6601, 6625, and 6654 should not be treated as one generic database failure. NetBackup MongoDB Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-mysql-status-6-library-path https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-mysql-status-6-library-path Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT When a NetBackup MySQL backup ends with status 6 and the log says `MySQL library path is not present`, start with the MySQL client library configuration. NetBackup MySQL Linux https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-openshift-argocd-operator https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-openshift-argocd-operator Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Argo CD can deploy the NetBackup Kubernetes operator to OpenShift because Argo CD can render Helm charts declaratively and NetBackup documents Helm base... NetBackup OpenShift Argo CD https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-san-transport-nvme-over-fc https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-san-transport-nvme-over-fc Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A RHEL media server being able to see an NVMe over Fibre Channel datastore does not prove that NetBackup SAN transport can open VMware snapshot disks th... NetBackup VMware NVMe https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-smartcard-authentication-troubleshooting https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-smartcard-authentication-troubleshooting Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT If NetBackup basic authentication through LDAP works but smartcard authentication does not, focus on the certificate authentication path rather than reb... NetBackup Authentication Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-sql-restore-partially-successful-logs https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-sql-restore-partially-successful-logs Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A NetBackup SQL Server restore can show "partially successful" even when the database files and transaction logs appear in the expected directories. NetBackup SQL Server Restore https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-tape-restore-verify-old-media https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-tape-restore-verify-old-media Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT NetBackup tape troubleshooting has two different jobs that are easy to confuse: proving that a file appears in a backup image, and proving that old phys... NetBackup Tape Backup Disaster Recovery https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-vm-backup-vs-database-backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/netbackup-vm-backup-vs-database-backup Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT NetBackup VM backup and database backup solve different recovery problems, so the choice should start with what must be restored. NetBackup VMware Database Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/lockbit-5-europe-ransomware-resurgence https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/lockbit-5-europe-ransomware-resurgence Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT LockBit 5.0 is active again and has returned to the top tier of European ransomware activity. Ransomware LockBit Europe Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/sharepoint-cve-2026-45659-ransomware-response https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/sharepoint-cve-2026-45659-ransomware-response Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT CVE-2026-45659 has crossed the line from a SharePoint patching problem into a ransomware problem. Ransomware SharePoint Security Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/shell-clop-89gb-data-theft-claim https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/shell-clop-89gb-data-theft-claim Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Shell has confirmed that it is investigating a potential security incident after the Clop group claimed it stole 89GB of data. Ransomware Clop Data Breach Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/trezor-shipmonk-breach-13689-customers https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/trezor-shipmonk-breach-13689-customers Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A breach at Trezor shipping provider ShipMonk exposed personal data for approximately 13,689 Trezor customers. Trezor Data Breach Crypto Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/windows-update-proxmox-amd-epyc-boot-failure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/windows-update-proxmox-amd-epyc-boot-failure Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT An August 2026 Proxmox forum update reports that a Windows Server 2019 VM again stopped booting after Windows Update on an AMD EPYC host using the custo... Proxmox Windows Server AMD EPYC Troubleshooting https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/can-proxmox-replace-windows-365-small-business https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/can-proxmox-replace-windows-365-small-business Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox can replace the compute layer of a Windows 365 Cloud PC for a small business, but it does not replace the Windows 365 service around that desktop. Proxmox Windows 365 Small Business https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-gitops-5-ways-to-automate-cluster https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-gitops-5-ways-to-automate-cluster Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox GitOps works best when Git records the intended state, automation applies predictable changes, and humans still control risky operations. Proxmox GitOps Automation https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-ha-mistakes-10-failover-problems https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-ha-mistakes-10-failover-problems Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox HA fails most painfully when the cluster is technically configured for high availability but the surrounding design cannot support the failover ... Proxmox High Availability Clusters https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-storage-zfs-vs-ceph-vs-lvm-thin-vs-raid https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-storage-zfs-vs-ceph-vs-lvm-thin-vs-raid Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT For most single-node Proxmox systems, I would choose ZFS when I want local redundancy and snapshots, or LVM Thin when I want simple local block storage. Proxmox Storage ZFS Ceph https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-ve-9-tools-worth-trying-2026 https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-ve-9-tools-worth-trying-2026 Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT The most useful Proxmox tools in 2026 are the ones that remove repetitive work without hiding what they are changing. Proxmox Automation Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/slow-proxmox-restores-8-bottlenecks https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/slow-proxmox-restores-8-bottlenecks Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A slow Proxmox restore is usually a pipeline problem, not a single Proxmox setting. Proxmox Backup Veeam https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/windows-server-2025-proxmox-ve-9-2-slow-vm-fixes https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/windows-server-2025-proxmox-ve-9-2-slow-vm-fixes Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT If Windows Server 2025 feels slow on Proxmox VE 9.2 while Windows Server 2022 is responsive on the same host, do not assume you have found a Proxmox 9.2... Proxmox Windows Server Performance https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/xcp-ng-8-3-vs-proxmox-ve-9 https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/xcp-ng-8-3-vs-proxmox-ve-9 Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox VE 9 is the better default if you want integrated KVM virtualization, LXC containers, ZFS and native Ceph management in one platform. Proxmox XCP-ng Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/dayone-5b-us-ipo https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/dayone-5b-us-ipo Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT DayOne Data Centers has confidentially filed for a US initial public offering that could raise about $5 billion, according to [Bloomberg reporting](http... data centers AI infrastructure IPO https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/gunra-ransomware-us-korea-warning https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/gunra-ransomware-us-korea-warning Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT US and South Korean security agencies have issued a joint warning about Gunra ransomware, an operation that first appeared in 2025 and expanded into a r... ransomware critical infrastructure backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/openai-power-trading-data-centers https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/openai-power-trading-data-centers Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT OpenAI is recruiting a Power Trading Lead to run commodity hedging across its expanding data center power portfolio. data centers power markets AI infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/sharepoint-cve-2026-45659-ransomware https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/sharepoint-cve-2026-45659-ransomware Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT CISA has flagged Microsoft SharePoint vulnerability CVE-2026-45659 as being used in ransomware attacks, according to [BleepingComputer reporting](https:... ransomware SharePoint backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ai-agents-kubernetes-kagent-openchoreo https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ai-agents-kubernetes-kagent-openchoreo Tue, 11 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A pair of open source projects highlighted by the Cloud Native Sydney community this August captures an important shift in Kubernetes. Kubernetes AI agents platform engineering https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ai-homelab-proxmox-kubernetes-200gb-ceph https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ai-homelab-proxmox-kubernetes-200gb-ceph Tue, 11 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A homelab shared on Reddit this August combines three Proxmox hosts, 36 physical CPU cores, 192 GB of DDR5 memory, four ASUS GX10 systems used as Kubern... Proxmox Kubernetes AI homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/deadlock-ransomware-backup-recovery https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/deadlock-ransomware-backup-recovery Tue, 11 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Microsoft's August 10, 2026 analysis of DeadLock describes an emerging financially motivated ransomware operation built around a Rust encryptor and dece... ransomware backup disaster recovery https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-hosting-automation-whmcs https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-hosting-automation-whmcs Tue, 11 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT ModulesGarden is now listed by Proxmox as a Solution Provider, bringing fresh attention to something hosting companies have been building around Proxmox... Proxmox WHMCS hosting automation https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-ultimate-learning-lab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-ultimate-learning-lab Tue, 11 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A recent discussion in the Proxmox community asked a simple question: can Proxmox be the ultimate learning lab? Proxmox homelab infrastructure learning https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-support-six-months-too-long https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-support-six-months-too-long Mon, 10 Aug 2026 01:20:42 GMT A six month backup support case is too long when the unresolved problem keeps breaking normal protection workflows. Veeam Backup Support https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/natural-language-query-infrastructure-monitoring-operations-data https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/natural-language-query-infrastructure-monitoring-operations-data Sat, 08 Aug 2026 20:14:51 GMT How an AI assistant turns plain questions into queries on monitoring, CMDB, alarm and cost data, with source attribution, permissions and approval limits. AI Operations Monitoring AIOps https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/why-is-gpu-utilization-low https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/why-is-gpu-utilization-low Sat, 08 Aug 2026 11:28:26 GMT Low GPU utilization usually means the accelerator is waiting for something. GPU Performance AI Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/network-topology-application-topology-business-impact-infrastructure-failures https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/network-topology-application-topology-business-impact-infrastructure-failures Sat, 08 Aug 2026 10:53:28 GMT How network and application topology trace a failed switch, server or GPU up to affected services, down to root causes, and across to owners. Topology IT Operations Impact Analysis https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/manage-dedicated-circuits-private-network-links-between-data-centers https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/manage-dedicated-circuits-private-network-links-between-data-centers Sat, 08 Aug 2026 10:31:40 GMT How to manage private lines between data centers: circuit inventory, contracts, latency and loss monitoring, backup paths, failover, alarms and cost. Network Operations Dedicated Circuits Data Center https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/remote-kvm-out-of-band-control-reduce-data-center-visits https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/remote-kvm-out-of-band-control-reduce-data-center-visits Wed, 05 Aug 2026 02:29:14 GMT How BMC remote KVM, power control and hardware telemetry let engineers diagnose and recover servers remotely and go onsite only for real repairs. Out-of-Band Management Remote KVM Data Center Operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/securely-share-expensive-gpu-infrastructure-multiple-teams-tenants https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/securely-share-expensive-gpu-infrastructure-multiple-teams-tenants Wed, 05 Aug 2026 01:41:50 GMT How to share GPU clusters across teams and tenants: tenant and project boundaries, quotas, priorities, GPU slicing, metering, audit and vendor access. GPU Multi-Tenant AI Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-locked-files-checkpoint-failures https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-locked-files-checkpoint-failures Tue, 04 Aug 2026 09:39:01 GMT Locked backup files and failed Hyper-V checkpoint cleanup can turn one Veeam problem into several stuck jobs. Veeam Hyper-V Troubleshooting https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/difference-cmdb-dcim-itom-aiops-cloud-management-platforms https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/difference-cmdb-dcim-itom-aiops-cloud-management-platforms Mon, 03 Aug 2026 23:10:58 GMT How CMDB, DCIM, ITOM, AIOps and cloud management platforms differ, where they overlap, and which system should own which infrastructure data. CMDB DCIM ITOM AIOps Cloud Management https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-failover-cluster-backup-copy-duplication https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-failover-cluster-backup-copy-duplication Mon, 03 Aug 2026 07:42:31 GMT Cluster backup problems become expensive quickly when shared storage is copied as though every node owns a separate copy. Veeam Windows Server Clusters https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/rag-enterprise-knowledge-bases-chunking-vectorization-retrieval-testing https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/rag-enterprise-knowledge-bases-chunking-vectorization-retrieval-testing Sat, 01 Aug 2026 03:45:54 GMT How enterprise RAG runs as an operation: chunking, vectorization, hit rate, matched samples and retrieval testing kept separate from the model. RAG Knowledge Base Enterprise AI https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/manage-server-warranties-maintenance-contracts-vendors-spare-parts https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/manage-server-warranties-maintenance-contracts-vendors-spare-parts Fri, 31 Jul 2026 02:57:34 GMT Organizations can manage server warranties, maintenance contracts, vendors, and spare parts in one system by linking them to the same asset identity. IT Asset Management Maintenance Data Center https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/what-is-an-ai-data-center https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/what-is-an-ai-data-center Thu, 30 Jul 2026 02:48:19 GMT An AI data center is a data center designed to turn accelerated computing into AI training, inference, and model services. AI Infrastructure Data Center GPU https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/in-band-vs-out-of-band-monitoring https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/in-band-vs-out-of-band-monitoring Wed, 29 Jul 2026 04:30:57 GMT In band monitoring sees what is happening through the running operating system and software stack, while out of band monitoring sees physical hardware t... Monitoring Out of Band IT Operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/correlate-raw-infrastructure-alarms-single-actionable-incident https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/correlate-raw-infrastructure-alarms-single-actionable-incident Wed, 29 Jul 2026 03:44:31 GMT How to group raw infrastructure alarms into one incident using object identity, time windows, topology, shared workloads, history and rules. AIOps Incident Management Alert Correlation https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/what-is-out-of-band-management https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/what-is-out-of-band-management Tue, 28 Jul 2026 13:07:34 GMT Out of band management is a way to monitor and control physical hardware through a management path that does not depend on the server's normal operating... Out of Band BMC Server Management https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/gpu-resource-pooling-kubernetes https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/gpu-resource-pooling-kubernetes Tue, 28 Jul 2026 10:14:01 GMT How Kubernetes schedules GPUs with device plugins and DRA, and how Kueue quotas, resource classes, topology and health checks turn them into a shared pool. Kubernetes GPU Scheduling AI Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-bloatware-complexity-ui-website https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-bloatware-complexity-ui-website Tue, 28 Jul 2026 09:57:29 GMT Veeam has not suddenly stopped being a capable backup product, but several administrator discussions show a growing complexity problem around it. Veeam Backup User Experience https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/self-service-infrastructure-governance-approval-controls https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/self-service-infrastructure-governance-approval-controls Tue, 28 Jul 2026 08:28:18 GMT How to offer self-service infrastructure through standard resource specs, quotas, permissions, dynamic approvals, automatic execution and audit. Self Service Infrastructure Automation Governance https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-security-cves-exposed-backup-servers https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-security-cves-exposed-backup-servers Mon, 27 Jul 2026 16:02:44 GMT Veeam security problems in 2026 make one point very clear: patching the backup server is necessary, but patching alone does not define whether the backu... Veeam Backup Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/manage-multi-vendor-gpu-npu https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/manage-multi-vendor-gpu-npu Sun, 26 Jul 2026 01:40:23 GMT The clean way to manage GPUs and NPUs from multiple vendors is to separate the problem into layers: physical discovery, health normalization, resource a... GPU NPU Kubernetes AI Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-restore-mistake-hit-production https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-restore-mistake-hit-production Thu, 23 Jul 2026 20:42:13 GMT A Veeam restore intended for development hit production because one hosts-file entry pointed the dev database name at the production IP. Veeam Restore Disaster Recovery https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/track-infrastructure-costs-departments-projects-applications-customers https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/track-infrastructure-costs-departments-projects-applications-customers Tue, 21 Jul 2026 23:49:28 GMT How to attribute GPU hours, Token usage, energy and storage to projects and tenants, then roll costs up to departments, applications and customers. FinOps Cost Allocation Infrastructure Operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/monitor-gpu-health-ecc-temperature-power-degraded-cards https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/monitor-gpu-health-ecc-temperature-power-degraded-cards Mon, 20 Jul 2026 21:43:03 GMT Monitor GPU health per card: ECC errors, temperature, power and clocks, how to define a degraded accelerator, and how health should drive scheduling. GPU Monitoring AI Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/map-business-applications-servers-containers-databases-network-storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/map-business-applications-servers-containers-databases-network-storage Mon, 20 Jul 2026 21:11:15 GMT How to build a service graph that links business applications to containers, servers, databases, network devices and storage, and keep it current. Service Mapping CMDB Application Topology https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/what-to-monitor-cdu-liquid-cooling-loop-distribution-branch https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/what-to-monitor-cdu-liquid-cooling-loop-distribution-branch Mon, 20 Jul 2026 12:42:59 GMT What to monitor in a CDU, liquid cooling loop and distribution branch: temperatures, flow, pressure, valves, leaks, collection health and rack mapping. CDU Liquid Cooling Data Center https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/measure-toil-reduction-sre-infrastructure-operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/measure-toil-reduction-sre-infrastructure-operations Mon, 20 Jul 2026 05:53:03 GMT How to measure toil reduction in SRE and infrastructure operations with task frequency, manual minutes, exception handling, MTTR and SLO guardrails. SRE Toil Automation https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/showback-versus-chargeback-it-ai-infrastructure-cost-management https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/showback-versus-chargeback-it-ai-infrastructure-cost-management Sun, 19 Jul 2026 03:25:10 GMT Showback and chargeback compared for IT and AI infrastructure: GPU hours, Token metering, idle and shared cost, and when to make cost reports binding. FinOps Showback Chargeback https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/compare-cost-utilization-gpu-accelerator-models https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/compare-cost-utilization-gpu-accelerator-models Sat, 18 Jul 2026 22:14:47 GMT Compare GPU and accelerator models on the same workload: card-hour cost, completion time, task success, power, Token output, SLOs and idle rate. GPU Accelerator Cost Optimization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-s3-sobr-tiering-failures https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-s3-sobr-tiering-failures Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:16:51 GMT Veeam S3 and SOBR tiering failures can persist even when the obvious network tests look healthy. Veeam S3 SOBR https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/manage-ai-agents-workflows-intent-routing-multi-agent-collaboration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/manage-ai-agents-workflows-intent-routing-multi-agent-collaboration Thu, 16 Jul 2026 13:18:58 GMT How to run AI agents as managed services: inventory, orchestration workflows, intent routing with safe fallback, multi-agent planning and metrics. AI Agents Agent Orchestration Enterprise AI https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/developers-request-compute-without-manual-provisioning https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/developers-request-compute-without-manual-provisioning Wed, 15 Jul 2026 09:07:52 GMT How developers can request GPU and compute resources through standard specifications, quota checks, approval, health-aware scheduling and automation. Compute Provisioning Developer Platform https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/monitor-hardware-without-operating-system-production-network https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/monitor-hardware-without-operating-system-production-network Tue, 14 Jul 2026 14:29:35 GMT How out-of-band BMC monitoring over Redfish, IPMI and vendor APIs keeps hardware visible when the operating system or production network fails. Out-of-Band Monitoring Hardware Monitoring BMC https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/error-budgets-releases-prioritize-reliability-work https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/error-budgets-releases-prioritize-reliability-work Tue, 14 Jul 2026 10:04:36 GMT Use SLO error budgets as a release gate: 30-day rolling windows, fast and slow burn alerts, freeze thresholds, and how to prioritize reliability work. SRE Error Budget Reliability https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-static-ip-ui-bug-migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-static-ip-ui-bug-migration Mon, 13 Jul 2026 06:17:08 GMT A reported Veeam migration failed at one of the simplest possible steps: entering a static IPv4 address. Veeam Networking Troubleshooting https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ai-assistants-alarms-work-orders-runbooks-infrastructure-documents-it-operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ai-assistants-alarms-work-orders-runbooks-infrastructure-documents-it-operations Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:09:49 GMT How an AI operations assistant combines alarms, work orders, runbooks, architecture documents and live monitoring data, and where its authority stops. AI Assistant AIOps IT Operations Knowledge Base https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-v13-upgrade-migration-problems https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-v13-upgrade-migration-problems Sat, 11 Jul 2026 22:22:03 GMT Veeam V13 is upgradeable for existing customers as of August 2026, but the path to that point explains why administrators found the transition confusing. Veeam Upgrade Migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/manage-bmc-configuration-multi-vendor-servers https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/manage-bmc-configuration-multi-vendor-servers Sat, 11 Jul 2026 19:29:18 GMT Enterprises can safely manage BMC configuration across different server vendors by separating policy from vendor-specific implementation. BMC Out-of-Band Management Server Management https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/gpu-quotas-reservations-priorities-preemption-when-to-use https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/gpu-quotas-reservations-priorities-preemption-when-to-use Sat, 11 Jul 2026 10:14:29 GMT GPU quotas, reservations, priorities, and preemption solve four different scheduling problems. GPU Scheduling AI Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/reduce-alert-fatigue-without-missing-critical-infrastructure-incidents https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/reduce-alert-fatigue-without-missing-critical-infrastructure-incidents Sat, 11 Jul 2026 03:49:37 GMT Enterprises can reduce alert fatigue without missing critical infrastructure incidents by changing how alarms are organized, not by simply deleting or s... AIOps Alert Management Infrastructure Operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-immutable-backups-trust https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-immutable-backups-trust Fri, 10 Jul 2026 20:05:43 GMT Veeam immutable backups deserve substantial trust as one layer of ransomware recovery, but they should not be treated as an invincible final copy. Veeam Backup Ransomware https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/canary-rollout-infrastructure-operations-reduce-risk https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/canary-rollout-infrastructure-operations-reduce-risk Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:32:41 GMT What a canary rollout is in infrastructure operations, how to pick and size the canary group, set success criteria, and stop or roll back safely. Canary Rollout Change Management Infrastructure Automation https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-pricing-smb-renewal-nas-licensing https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-pricing-smb-renewal-nas-licensing Fri, 10 Jul 2026 10:27:07 GMT Veeam pricing can jump dramatically when an SMB moves from an older socket based purchase into a different workload or capacity model. Veeam Licensing SMB https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/forecast-compute-storage-network-power-cooling-capacity https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/forecast-compute-storage-network-power-cooling-capacity Wed, 08 Jul 2026 18:07:27 GMT How to forecast compute, storage, network, power and cooling capacity with deployment profiles, reservations, growth scenarios and lead times. Capacity Planning Infrastructure Operations Forecasting https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/build-it-operations-knowledge-base-incidents-alarms-runbooks-postmortems https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/build-it-operations-knowledge-base-incidents-alarms-runbooks-postmortems Tue, 07 Jul 2026 15:29:39 GMT How to turn incident tickets, alarms, runbooks, postmortems and architecture documents into a versioned, permission-aware operations knowledge base. Knowledge Base IT Operations AIOps https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/peak-off-peak-electricity-pricing-reduce-infrastructure-costs https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/peak-off-peak-electricity-pricing-reduce-infrastructure-costs Mon, 06 Jul 2026 07:59:39 GMT How to shift flexible AI and batch workloads into off-peak tariff windows, calculate the saving, and protect SLOs, deadlines and capacity along the way. Energy Management AI Infrastructure Scheduling https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/model-evaluation-datasets-fine-tuning-deployment-enterprise-model-operations-wor https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/model-evaluation-datasets-fine-tuning-deployment-enterprise-model-operations-wor Sun, 05 Jul 2026 19:52:04 GMT How dataset versions, fine-tuning tasks, evaluation evidence and deployment templates connect into one traceable enterprise model operations workflow. Model Operations Fine Tuning Model Evaluation https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/prevent-dangerous-commands-production-infrastructure-automation https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/prevent-dangerous-commands-production-infrastructure-automation Sat, 04 Jul 2026 23:21:23 GMT How blacklists, approved script versions, scoped permissions, canary runs, rollback and two-person approval stop automation running dangerous commands. Infrastructure Automation Change Management SRE https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/checkmk-alternatives https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/checkmk-alternatives Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Checkmk alternatives compared for 2026: Zabbix, Prometheus + Grafana, LibreNMS, Nagios Core, Icinga2, Datadog and PRTG, and which fits each scenario. Checkmk Monitoring Zabbix Nagios Prometheus https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/does-qemu-limit-proxmox-virtual-machine-performance https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/does-qemu-limit-proxmox-virtual-machine-performance Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT QEMU adds some overhead to every Proxmox virtual machine, but it is rarely the main reason a workload performs poorly. Proxmox Virtualization Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/librenms-alternatives https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/librenms-alternatives Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT LibreNMS alternatives compared for 2026: Zabbix for wider scope, Checkmk for auto-discovery, PRTG and SolarWinds for support, Observium and Prometheus. LibreNMS Monitoring Zabbix Network Monitoring SNMP https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/librenms-vs-commercial-monitoring-tools https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/librenms-vs-commercial-monitoring-tools Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT LibreNMS vs Datadog vs LogicMonitor: what commercial network monitoring adds, what self-hosted LibreNMS really costs, and when free is enough. LibreNMS Datadog LogicMonitor Monitoring Network Monitoring https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/librenms-vs-prometheus https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/librenms-vs-prometheus Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT LibreNMS vs Prometheus: SNMP auto-discovery for network gear vs Kubernetes-native metrics with exporters and Grafana, and which to pick for each job. LibreNMS Prometheus Monitoring Network Monitoring SNMP https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/nginx-proxy-manager-vs-traefik-on-proxmox-which-reverse-proxy-should-you-choose https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/nginx-proxy-manager-vs-traefik-on-proxmox-which-reverse-proxy-should-you-choose Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A reverse proxy gives applications running on Proxmox consistent domain names, HTTPS certificates and a controlled path from users to internal services. Proxmox Containers Virtualization Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/opennms-vs-zabbix https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/opennms-vs-zabbix Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT OpenNMS vs Zabbix for 2026: provisioning at scale, NOC alarm correlation, community size, editions and cost, and which fits carriers or general IT. OpenNMS Zabbix Monitoring Network Monitoring SNMP https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/pi-hole-vs-adguard-home-on-proxmox-which-dns-blocker-is-better https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/pi-hole-vs-adguard-home-on-proxmox-which-dns-blocker-is-better Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Pi hole and AdGuard Home can block advertising, tracking and unwanted domains across an entire network. Proxmox Containers Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/plex-vs-jellyfin-on-proxmox-which-media-server-is-better https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/plex-vs-jellyfin-on-proxmox-which-media-server-is-better Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Plex and Jellyfin can turn a Proxmox server into a centralized platform for streaming movies, television programs, music and other personal media. Proxmox Containers Storage Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/prometheus-vs-zabbix https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/prometheus-vs-zabbix Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Prometheus vs Zabbix in 2026: pull vs push, Kubernetes fit, alerting, dashboards and storage, and which tool suits cloud-native or traditional setups. Prometheus Zabbix Monitoring Kubernetes DevOps https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-ve-version-history-upgrade-paths https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-ve-version-history-upgrade-paths Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A running reference for Proxmox VE major versions, their Debian bases, known rough edges, and the one-major-at-a-time upgrade path to 9.2. Proxmox Version History Upgrade Guide Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/qemu-vs-kvm-in-proxmox-what-is-the-difference https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/qemu-vs-kvm-in-proxmox-what-is-the-difference Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT QEMU and KVM are frequently discussed as competing virtualization technologies, but that comparison is misleading. Proxmox Containers Virtualization Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/should-you-run-opnsense-on-proxmox-in-production https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/should-you-run-opnsense-on-proxmox-in-production Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Running OPNsense as a virtual machine on Proxmox can be a reliable production design. Proxmox Virtualization Storage Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/should-you-run-pi-hole-in-lxc-or-a-vm-on-proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/should-you-run-pi-hole-in-lxc-or-a-vm-on-proxmox Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Pi hole needs very little processing power, memory or storage, making it an ideal service to host on Proxmox. Proxmox Containers Virtualization Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/should-you-run-plex-in-lxc-or-a-vm-on-proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/should-you-run-plex-in-lxc-or-a-vm-on-proxmox Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Plex Media Server can run successfully in either a Proxmox LXC container or a virtual machine. Proxmox Containers Virtualization Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/should-you-run-the-ubiquiti-unifi-network-application-on-proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/should-you-run-the-ubiquiti-unifi-network-application-on-proxmox Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Running the Ubiquiti UniFi Network Application on Proxmox can be an efficient way to manage access points, switches and other UniFi network devices with... Proxmox Containers Virtualization Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/state-of-homelab-monitoring-2026 https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/state-of-homelab-monitoring-2026 Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT What homelabbers and small IT teams search for, compare and adopt for monitoring in 2026, based on real search demand instead of vendor marketing. Monitoring Zabbix LibreNMS Prometheus Checkmk Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/unifi-controller-vs-unifi-cloudkey-should-you-host-unifi-on-proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/unifi-controller-vs-unifi-cloudkey-should-you-host-unifi-on-proxmox Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A UniFi network needs a management system to adopt access points, configure switches, collect statistics and apply network policies. Proxmox Containers Virtualization Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/zabbix-pros-and-cons https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/zabbix-pros-and-cons Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The pros and cons of Zabbix in 2026: what it does well, where it struggles, and which teams should or shouldn't choose it. Zabbix Monitoring Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/zabbix-vs-grafana https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/zabbix-vs-grafana Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Zabbix vs Grafana explained: why this isn't really a head-to-head, how they pair together, and where Checkmk vs Grafana fits the same pattern. Zabbix Grafana Checkmk Monitoring Dashboards https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/automatic-incident-postmortems-alarms-timelines-work-orders-remediation https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/automatic-incident-postmortems-alarms-timelines-work-orders-remediation Fri, 03 Jul 2026 21:38:23 GMT Incident postmortems can be generated automatically when the incident-response system captures the evidence while the incident is happening. Incident Management Postmortem SRE https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/hot-cold-data-tiering-storage-cost-performance https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/hot-cold-data-tiering-storage-cost-performance Thu, 02 Jul 2026 18:59:01 GMT How to tier hot and cold data by access pattern and check throughput, IOPS, latency and recall so cheaper storage does not slow applications or training. Storage Data Tiering Infrastructure Operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/automatic-semi-automatic-manual-remediation-it-operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/automatic-semi-automatic-manual-remediation-it-operations Tue, 30 Jun 2026 11:23:43 GMT Automatic, semi automatic, and manual remediation differ mainly in who is allowed to authorize and execute the recovery action. Remediation Automation IT Operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/centrally-monitor-server-fans-power-supplies-disks-memory-pcie https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/centrally-monitor-server-fans-power-supplies-disks-memory-pcie Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:36:34 GMT Monitor fans, power supplies, disks, memory, PCIe cards and GPUs centrally with BMC telemetry, a common component model, correlation and repair links. Hardware Monitoring Server Management Data Center Operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/automate-data-center-operations-approvals-permissions-rollback-audit https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/automate-data-center-operations-approvals-permissions-rollback-audit Fri, 26 Jun 2026 04:29:47 GMT Enterprises can automate data center operations safely by separating observation from change and separating low-risk actions from high-risk ones. Automation Data Center IT Operations Governance https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/solarwinds-2026-price-hike-has-customers-asking-the-one-question-vendors-fear-most-why-are-we-still-paying https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/solarwinds-2026-price-hike-has-customers-asking-the-one-question-vendors-fear-most-why-are-we-still-paying Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A SolarWinds renewal jumped from $7,900 to $19,936 with a three-year push. Customers compare notes on pushback, support, Zabbix quotes and leaving. Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/solarwinds-customers-are-furious-the-subscription-shift-feels-less-like-progress-and-more-like-a-shakedown https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/solarwinds-customers-are-furious-the-subscription-shift-feels-less-like-progress-and-more-like-a-shakedown Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT SolarWinds seems to be dropping perpetual licenses. Customers share renewal hikes, negotiation tactics, HCO math and the alternatives they weigh. Cloud Observability Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/solarwinds-customers-are-getting-the-2026-renewal-shock-and-the-anger-is-no-longer-quiet https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/solarwinds-customers-are-getting-the-2026-renewal-shock-and-the-anger-is-no-longer-quiet Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The story starts with a call that probably sounded routine at first. https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/solarwinds-thinks-it-can-pull-a-broadcom-but-customers-aren-t-buying-the-bluff https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/solarwinds-thinks-it-can-pull-a-broadcom-but-customers-aren-t-buying-the-bluff Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT SolarWinds customers react to forced three-year subscriptions and big renewal hikes by weighing Zabbix, PRTG and LogicMonitor as ways out. VMware Virtualization Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/detect-stranded-capacity-power-cooling-network-storage-constraints https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/detect-stranded-capacity-power-cooling-network-storage-constraints Thu, 25 Jun 2026 21:21:15 GMT How to find stranded data center capacity by comparing free space, power, cooling, network and storage headroom against a real deployment profile. Capacity Planning Data Center AI Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/is-terraform-the-best-way-to-manage-proxmox-infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/is-terraform-the-best-way-to-manage-proxmox-infrastructure Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Terraform is one of the most effective tools for creating repeatable Proxmox infrastructure. Proxmox Kubernetes Containers Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/opnsense-vs-pfsense-on-proxmox-which-virtual-firewall-is-better https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/opnsense-vs-pfsense-on-proxmox-which-virtual-firewall-is-better Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Running a firewall as a Proxmox virtual machine can reduce hardware requirements and make network services easier to back up, migrate and restore. Proxmox Virtualization Storage Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/portainer-vs-proxmox-container-management-which-gives-you-more-control https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/portainer-vs-proxmox-container-management-which-gives-you-more-control Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Portainer and Proxmox both provide graphical interfaces for managing containers, but they control different layers of infrastructure. Proxmox Kubernetes Containers Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/should-you-run-portainer-in-lxc-or-a-vm-on-proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/should-you-run-portainer-in-lxc-or-a-vm-on-proxmox Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Running Docker and Portainer in a Proxmox LXC container or a VM, compared on isolation, resources, storage, backups, upgrades and clustering. Proxmox Containers Storage Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/should-you-run-traefik-in-docker-lxc-or-a-vm-on-proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/should-you-run-traefik-in-docker-lxc-or-a-vm-on-proxmox Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Traefik can run in several ways on Proxmox. Proxmox Containers Virtualization Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/traefik-vs-nginx-proxy-manager-on-proxmox-which-is-easier https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/traefik-vs-nginx-proxy-manager-on-proxmox-which-is-easier Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Running several applications on Proxmox usually creates a routing problem. Proxmox Containers Virtualization Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-in-docker-sounds-wrong-which-is-exactly-why-everyone-couldn-t-look-away https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-in-docker-sounds-wrong-which-is-exactly-why-everyone-couldn-t-look-away Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A project runs Proxmox VE inside a Docker container as a test playground. The homelab crowd reacted with memes, real worries about nesting, and curiosity. Proxmox Kubernetes Containers Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-kernel-6-14-just-got-cut-loose-and-homelab-admins-are-feeling-the-floor-move https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-kernel-6-14-just-got-cut-loose-and-homelab-admins-are-feeling-the-floor-move Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox ended support for kernel 6.14. Homelab users weigh DMAR passthrough bugs, NVIDIA driver builds and kernel pinning before moving to 6.17 or 7.0. Proxmox Containers Storage Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-homelab-debate-got-ugly-because-incusos-hit-a-nerve https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-homelab-debate-got-ugly-because-incusos-hit-a-nerve Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT An IncusOS test on Proxmox sparked a heated debate over security defaults, immutable updates, backups, and whether polished posts are now suspect. Proxmox Virtualization Backup Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/glusterfs-was-supposed-to-be-dead-then-someone-dragged-it-back-into-proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/glusterfs-was-supposed-to-be-dead-then-someone-dragged-it-back-into-proxmox Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox 9 dropped GlusterFS and a community plugin brought it back. The debate over maintenance, enterprise support, Ceph and what the revival can't fix. Proxmox Virtualization Storage Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-doesn-t-need-a-truenas-killer-it-needs-a-storage-story-that-makes-sense https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-doesn-t-need-a-truenas-killer-it-needs-a-storage-story-that-makes-sense Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Should Proxmox build a ZFS-first storage appliance for PVE? The case for filling the gap between local ZFS and Ceph, and why it could become a trap. Proxmox Kubernetes VMware Containers https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-proxmox-installer-didn-t-fail-that-monster-pc-probably-did https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-proxmox-installer-didn-t-fail-that-monster-pc-probably-did Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A Proxmox USB that works on one Z790 PC but panics on an i9-14900K build points to hardware. BIOS defaults, XMP, RAM tests and a methodical debug plan. Proxmox Storage Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/this-tiny-tmnt-homelab-is-cute-until-you-realize-it-s-a-full-production-pipeline https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/this-tiny-tmnt-homelab-is-cute-until-you-realize-it-s-a-full-production-pipeline Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A two-node TMNT-themed homelab on HP EliteDesk minis running Proxmox, k3s, ArgoCD, Longhorn, Traefik and Cloudflare Tunnel, and what it teaches. Proxmox Kubernetes Containers Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/reduce-gpu-fragmentation-ai-workload-scheduling https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/reduce-gpu-fragmentation-ai-workload-scheduling Sun, 21 Jun 2026 09:37:31 GMT GPU fragmentation can be reduced by managing accelerators as structured resource pools instead of a flat card count. GPU Scheduling AI Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ansible-vs-terraform-for-proxmox-automation-which-should-you-use https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ansible-vs-terraform-for-proxmox-automation-which-should-you-use Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Manually creating Proxmox virtual machines works well when an environment contains a few stable workloads. Proxmox Containers Storage Cloud https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/can-ansible-fully-automate-a-proxmox-cluster https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/can-ansible-fully-automate-a-proxmox-cluster Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT What Ansible can automate in a Proxmox VE cluster, from node setup and cluster joins to VMs, storage, backups and firewalls, and what still needs a human. Proxmox Containers Storage Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-vs-xcp-ng-which-open-source-hypervisor-is-better https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-vs-xcp-ng-which-open-source-hypervisor-is-better Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Choosing between Proxmox VE and XCP ng is difficult because both platforms solve the same central problem: running and managing virtual machines without... Proxmox VMware Containers Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/should-you-choose-xcp-ng-or-proxmox-for-a-vmware-migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/should-you-choose-xcp-ng-or-proxmox-for-a-vmware-migration Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Leaving VMware involves more than selecting another hypervisor. Proxmox VMware Containers Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/terraform-vs-manual-proxmox-deployment-which-is-more-reliable https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/terraform-vs-manual-proxmox-deployment-which-is-more-reliable Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Creating a virtual machine manually through the Proxmox interface can feel more reliable than using Terraform. Proxmox Containers Storage Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/cmdb-connect-servers-gpus-containers-applications-services-owners https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/cmdb-connect-servers-gpus-containers-applications-services-owners Sat, 20 Jun 2026 22:55:50 GMT How to model servers, GPUs, containers, applications, business services and owners in a CMDB with typed relationships for impact, scheduling and cost. CMDB IT Operations AI Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/complete-asset-lifecycle-procurement-deployment-maintenance-retirement https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/complete-asset-lifecycle-procurement-deployment-maintenance-retirement Sat, 20 Jun 2026 09:15:36 GMT How to run one hardware asset record through procurement, acceptance, deployment, maintenance, optimization and retirement so no history gets lost. Asset Lifecycle IT Asset Management Data Center https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/a-stack-of-cheap-lenovos-and-a-raspberry-pi-turned-into-the-perfect-homelab-rabbit-hole https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/a-stack-of-cheap-lenovos-and-a-raspberry-pi-turned-into-the-perfect-homelab-rabbit-hole Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Auction Lenovo mini PCs and a Raspberry Pi 5 become a homelab cluster: Proxmox vs CloudStack, CEPH or NAS storage, high availability and useful services. Proxmox Containers Storage Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-8-to-9-went-so-smoothly-it-made-people-suspicious-of-their-own-anxiety https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-8-to-9-went-so-smoothly-it-made-people-suspicious-of-their-own-anxiety Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Real Proxmox VE 8 to 9 upgrade reports: what pve8to9 caught, why simple nodes sailed through, and where clusters, LXC hacks and NICs still broke. Proxmox Containers Storage Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-became-a-symbol-in-europe-s-messy-fight-to-take-tech-back https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-became-a-symbol-in-europe-s-messy-fight-to-take-tech-back Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A call to vote for Proxmox on goeuropean.org turned into a debate over tracking, Cloudflare, TLS termination and what European tech sovereignty means. Proxmox Containers Virtualization Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-datacenter-manager-1-1-feels-like-the-missing-pane-of-glass-but-not-everyone-needs-the-window https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-datacenter-manager-1-1-feels-like-the-missing-pane-of-glass-but-not-everyone-needs-the-window Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox Datacenter Manager 1.1 landed with the kind of quiet announcement that sounds boring until you realize how many people have been waiting for exa... Proxmox Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-finally-has-an-official-mobile-app-and-half-the-community-somehow-missed-it https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-finally-has-an-official-mobile-app-and-half-the-community-somehow-missed-it Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox VE Companion, the official iOS and Android app: cluster setup, console access, trust questions, and how it compares with ProxMate and ProxMobo. Proxmox Virtualization Backup Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-kernel-updates-are-exhausting-but-ignoring-them-feels-even-worse https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-kernel-updates-are-exhausting-but-ignoring-them-feels-even-worse Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why Proxmox kernel updates keep coming, from container escape fixes to update fatigue, and how rollback, staged rollouts and Ansible make them bearable. Proxmox Containers Storage Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-mail-gateway-9-1-is-a-boring-release-in-the-best-possible-way https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-mail-gateway-9-1-is-a-boring-release-in-the-best-possible-way Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox Mail Gateway 9.1 brings Debian 13.5, quarantine seen status, on-demand image loading and encrypted backups to Proxmox Backup Server. Proxmox Storage Backup Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/pve-electrified-is-the-kind-of-proxmox-mod-that-starts-a-ui-knife-fight https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/pve-electrified-is-the-kind-of-proxmox-mod-that-starts-a-ui-knife-fight Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT PVE-electrified is not trying to be subtle. Proxmox Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-gtx-1080-ti-still-has-the-vram-but-the-future-has-moved-on-without-it https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-gtx-1080-ti-still-has-the-vram-but-the-future-has-moved-on-without-it Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The GTX 1080 Ti refuses to die gracefully. Proxmox Containers Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/virtual-os-museum-on-proxmox-is-retro-heaven-with-a-network-gremlin-hiding-inside https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/virtual-os-museum-on-proxmox-is-retro-heaven-with-a-network-gremlin-hiding-inside Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Running the Virtual OS Museum on Proxmox: importing the VDI, ZFS sizing traps, nesting in a Debian VM, and why its emulated network can hijack your LAN. Proxmox Virtualization Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/identify-underused-servers-gpus-expensive-infrastructure-resources https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/identify-underused-servers-gpus-expensive-infrastructure-resources Wed, 17 Jun 2026 19:50:00 GMT How to find underused servers, GPUs, storage and circuits by comparing allocation, utilization, power, bottlenecks, reservations and service role. Resource Optimization GPU Data Center Operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/standardized-service-catalogs-infrastructure-ai-services https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/standardized-service-catalogs-infrastructure-ai-services Wed, 17 Jun 2026 10:53:12 GMT How to turn compute, bare metal, storage, network, model deployment and API requests into catalog items with owners, quotas, approvals and metering. Service Catalog Infrastructure MaaS https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/unified-operations-cockpit-data-centers-cloud-networks-ai-infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/unified-operations-cockpit-data-centers-cloud-networks-ai-infrastructure Wed, 17 Jun 2026 01:46:57 GMT How to build one operations cockpit for data centers, cloud, networks and AI that reuses existing metrics and drills down to the records behind them. Operations Cockpit IT Operations AI Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/measure-ai-infrastructure-cost-gpu-hour-token-project-tenant-model https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/measure-ai-infrastructure-cost-gpu-hour-token-project-tenant-model Tue, 16 Jun 2026 11:34:00 GMT Companies can measure AI infrastructure cost by combining resource metering and service metering under the same ownership model. AI Infrastructure FinOps GPU Token Metering https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/auditable-change-management-process-infrastructure-operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/auditable-change-management-process-infrastructure-operations Mon, 15 Jun 2026 14:46:21 GMT How to make every infrastructure change traceable, from request and impact review through approval, execution, validation, rollback and audit logs. Change Management IT Operations Audit https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/automatically-escalate-incidents-engineer-no-response https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/automatically-escalate-incidents-engineer-no-response Mon, 15 Jun 2026 11:44:06 GMT How to auto-escalate incidents through a four-level on-call chain with per-level timeouts, live rosters, substitutes, notification records and handover. Incident Management On-Call Escalation https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/infrastructure-operations-dashboard-kpis https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/infrastructure-operations-dashboard-kpis Mon, 15 Jun 2026 07:34:55 GMT The five KPI groups for an infrastructure operations dashboard (supply, efficiency, service quality, cost and consumption) and what to measure in each. KPI Infrastructure Operations Operations Dashboard https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/amazon-s-water-number-looks-huge-until-the-real-fight-starts https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/amazon-s-water-number-looks-huge-until-the-real-fight-starts Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Amazon's data centers used 2.5 billion gallons of water. Why the figure set off a fight over agriculture comparisons, local impact and big tech trust. Storage Cloud https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/data-center-workers-are-getting-tired-of-being-the-internet-s-villain https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/data-center-workers-are-getting-tired-of-being-the-internet-s-villain Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Data center workers describe conspiracy posts, threats and hiding their jobs, while residents raise real concerns about tax deals, power and water. Cloud https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/he-got-the-data-center-job-now-comes-the-part-nobody-puts-in-the-offer-letter https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/he-got-the-data-center-job-now-comes-the-part-nobody-puts-in-the-offer-letter Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A 21-year-old landed a Microsoft contract data center technician role. Advice on tailored resumes, contract-to-hire odds, travel and building leverage. Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/he-was-hired-as-a-data-center-tech-then-they-tried-to-turn-him-into-the-whole-it-department https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/he-was-hired-as-a-data-center-tech-then-they-tried-to-turn-him-into-the-whole-it-department Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A data center tech was pushed into running networks, firewalls and Citrix for 2,000 users on salary with no support. Readers said: get out and interview. Cloud https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-ai-data-center-boom-feels-like-1999-with-hotter-chips-and-a-shorter-fuse https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-ai-data-center-boom-feels-like-1999-with-hotter-chips-and-a-shorter-fuse Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Is the AI data center boom a replay of the 1999 fiber bubble? GPU depreciation, power limits, token demand and who survives an overbuild. Cloud https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-ai-data-center-race-just-turned-into-a-power-race-and-nobody-looks-ready https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-ai-data-center-race-just-turned-into-a-power-race-and-nobody-looks-ready Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A $295 billion AI data center buildout is the kind of number that makes everyone stop pretending this is just another infrastructure cycle. Storage Backup Cloud https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-data-center-panic-is-getting-loud-weird-and-exhausting https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-data-center-panic-is-getting-loud-weird-and-exhausting Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why data center panic is growing: myths about edge sites replacing data centers by 2030, privacy gadgets that still use the cloud, and real local concerns. Storage Backup Cloud https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-data-center-panic-is-overblown-but-the-bill-is-still-coming https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-data-center-panic-is-overblown-but-the-bill-is-still-coming Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The phrase “data-center panic” sounds like something cooked up by people who just discovered the cloud has walls, wires, and utility bills. Storage Backup Cloud Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-free-data-center-course-everyone-was-desperate-to-find https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-free-data-center-course-everyone-was-desperate-to-find Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Schneider Electric's free Data Center Certified Associate learning path: what it covers, how to find it, and why beginners were so glad to see it shared. Cloud Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/service-gateway-automatic-traffic-switch-unhealthy-model-inference-service https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/service-gateway-automatic-traffic-switch-unhealthy-model-inference-service Sun, 14 Jun 2026 14:57:24 GMT How a model service gateway detects unhealthy channels, routes to approved fallbacks, keeps Token metering and rate limits intact, and switches back. API Gateway Inference Reliability https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/business-service-management-vs-infrastructure-monitoring https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/business-service-management-vs-infrastructure-monitoring Sun, 14 Jun 2026 02:36:57 GMT What business service management adds to infrastructure monitoring: service health scores, topology, SLOs, ownership and impact-based incident priority. Business Service Management IT Operations Monitoring https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/automate-hardware-health-inspections-data-center https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/automate-hardware-health-inspections-data-center Sat, 13 Jun 2026 18:49:13 GMT How to replace manual data center checks with scheduled hardware inspections, exception reports, and work orders for the findings that need action. Hardware Monitoring Automation Data Center https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/configuration-drift-current-environment-approved-baseline https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/configuration-drift-current-environment-approved-baseline Sat, 13 Jun 2026 02:22:47 GMT How infrastructure teams compare discovered firmware, components, location and settings with an approved baseline and turn drift into traceable changes. Configuration Drift CMDB Infrastructure Operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/manage-api-keys-rate-limits-quotas-routing-fallback-ai-model-services https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/manage-api-keys-rate-limits-quotas-routing-fallback-ai-model-services Fri, 12 Jun 2026 19:36:33 GMT Organizations can manage API keys, rate limits, quotas, routing, and fallback by placing those controls at a unified model-service gateway. API Gateway MaaS AI Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/sre-mttd-mttr-slo-error-budgets-burn-rate-ai-infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/sre-mttd-mttr-slo-error-budgets-burn-rate-ai-infrastructure Fri, 12 Jun 2026 17:43:33 GMT How MTTD, MTTR, SLOs, error budgets and burn rate apply to AI inference, training and infrastructure, with formulas, example targets and dashboard metrics. SRE SLO AI Infrastructure Reliability https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/root-cause-analysis-topology-time-series-historical-incidents-configuration-rela https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/root-cause-analysis-topology-time-series-historical-incidents-configuration-rela Fri, 12 Jun 2026 05:52:35 GMT How root cause analysis combines topology, time-series metrics, historical incidents and configuration relationships into an explainable result. Root Cause Analysis AIOps CMDB https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/measure-automated-remediation-operational-efficiency https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/measure-automated-remediation-operational-efficiency Fri, 12 Jun 2026 04:59:24 GMT Metrics that show whether automated remediation improves IT operations: MTTR, MTTD, toil, rollback and recurrence, SLOs, and L1 to L3 risk tiers. Automation SRE IT Operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/calculate-idle-infrastructure-cost-optimization-recommendations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/calculate-idle-infrastructure-cost-optimization-recommendations Tue, 09 Jun 2026 16:11:15 GMT How to measure idle infrastructure time, price it with card-hour and energy costs, classify the cause and turn it into optimization recommendations. FinOps Resource Optimization Energy Management https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/what-is-maas-model-repositories-inference-api-gateway-token-metering https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/what-is-maas-model-repositories-inference-api-gateway-token-metering Tue, 09 Jun 2026 14:53:39 GMT MaaS, or Model as a Service, turns an AI model into an operable service that applications can call through a controlled interface. MaaS AI Infrastructure Inference API Gateway https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/connect-hardware-health-applications-business-services-proactive-operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/connect-hardware-health-applications-business-services-proactive-operations Mon, 08 Jun 2026 16:35:30 GMT How CMDB relationships link hardware warnings to workloads, services, owners and redundancy so teams can prioritize and repair before a failure. Business Service Management Hardware Health Proactive Operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-quietly-dropped-an-ios-app-and-homelab-owners-are-feeling-weirdly-seen https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-quietly-dropped-an-ios-app-and-homelab-owners-are-feeling-weirdly-seen Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Homelab reactions to the official Proxmox VE Companion iOS app: plain but useful cluster, log and console access, a low-key launch and security caution. Proxmox Storage Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/detect-hardware-degradation-before-complete-server-failure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/detect-hardware-degradation-before-complete-server-failure Sun, 07 Jun 2026 22:30:51 GMT Which signals reveal degrading server hardware while it is still online, from ECC and temperature trends to PSU redundancy loss, and what to do next. Hardware Health Predictive Operations Data Center Operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/automatic-recovery-training-jobs-gpu-server-failure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/automatic-recovery-training-jobs-gpu-server-failure Sun, 07 Jun 2026 22:11:02 GMT How AI infrastructure recovers training jobs after a GPU or server failure: detection, checkpoints, isolating bad cards, replacement capacity, validation. AI Infrastructure Training Fault Tolerance https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/track-hardware-configuration-changes-keep-cmdb-accurate https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/track-hardware-configuration-changes-keep-cmdb-accurate Sun, 07 Jun 2026 06:16:46 GMT How to keep CMDB hardware data accurate with out of band collection, component level comparison, change records, snapshots and source authority rules. CMDB Hardware Management Asset Management https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/manage-rack-space-u-positions-power-density-expansion-capacity https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/manage-rack-space-u-positions-power-density-expansion-capacity Sun, 07 Jun 2026 03:23:36 GMT Why free U positions are not deployable capacity, and how to plan racks around power headroom, cooling, network ports, reservations and growth forecasts. Data Center Capacity Planning Rack Management https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/automatically-discover-maintain-hardware-asset-inventories https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/automatically-discover-maintain-hardware-asset-inventories Fri, 05 Jun 2026 18:15:08 GMT How data centers keep hardware inventories accurate with automatic discovery, stable identifiers, reconciliation and change history. Asset Management CMDB Data Center https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/automated-bare-metal-provisioning-physical-servers-os-gpu-drivers-monitoring-age https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/automated-bare-metal-provisioning-physical-servers-os-gpu-drivers-monitoring-age Mon, 01 Jun 2026 11:44:36 GMT How automated bare metal provisioning discovers and validates servers, installs the OS and GPU drivers, enables monitoring, and admits nodes to the pool. Bare Metal Automation GPU Provisioning https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-s-vcf-9-1-requirements-feel-like-a-door-slamming-shut-on-smaller-labs https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-s-vcf-9-1-requirements-feel-like-a-door-slamming-shut-on-smaller-labs Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT VCF 9.1's Service Runtime reportedly needs 40 vCPU and 82GB RAM at its smallest size. Why home labs and smaller shops are rethinking the upgrade. VMware Containers Cloud Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/total-cost-of-ownership-gpu-ai-infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/total-cost-of-ownership-gpu-ai-infrastructure Sun, 31 May 2026 12:54:08 GMT What goes into GPU and AI infrastructure TCO: hardware, card hours, energy, network, storage, maintenance, idle capacity and cost per Token. AI Infrastructure TCO FinOps https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/calculate-pue-wue-gpu-energy-cost-per-token https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/calculate-pue-wue-gpu-energy-cost-per-token Sat, 30 May 2026 12:22:02 GMT How to calculate PUE, WUE, GPU energy and energy cost per Token, with worked formulas, measurement boundaries and shared GPU cost allocation. PUE WUE Energy AI Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/it-operations-handover-checklist https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/it-operations-handover-checklist Sat, 30 May 2026 08:23:53 GMT A five-confirmation IT operations handover checklist covering open incidents, active changes, service risk, on-call ownership and pending work. IT Operations On-Call Handover https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/manage-firmware-versions-compliance-thousands-servers https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/manage-firmware-versions-compliance-thousands-servers Fri, 29 May 2026 13:53:11 GMT How to track firmware versions, set baselines by hardware class, measure compliance and stage safe batch upgrades across thousands of servers. Firmware Server Management Compliance https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/how-aiops-reduces-alarm-noise-root-causes-business-impact https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/how-aiops-reduces-alarm-noise-root-causes-business-impact Thu, 28 May 2026 18:41:47 GMT How AIOps groups alarms, suppresses downstream noise, uses topology and timelines to find root causes, and maps failures to business impact. AIOps IT Operations Root Cause Analysis https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ai-content-safety-prompt-injection-pii-masking-model-service-audit-logs https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ai-content-safety-prompt-injection-pii-masking-model-service-audit-logs Thu, 28 May 2026 18:01:56 GMT How to build AI content safety into the model path: inbound and outbound inspection, prompt injection policy, PII masking and append-only audit logs. AI Security Content Safety Audit https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kernel-7-0-broke-the-containers-and-suddenly-the-easy-upgrade-didn-t-feel-so-easy https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kernel-7-0-broke-the-containers-and-suddenly-the-easy-upgrade-didn-t-feel-so-easy Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT After a kernel 7.0 upgrade, a Proxmox host booted its VM but no LXC containers. The logs, the community debate, and the package reinstall that fixed it. Proxmox Containers Virtualization Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/press-update-and-pray-the-proxmox-9-2-upgrade-has-admins-excited-nervous-and-already-checking-their-backups https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/press-update-and-pray-the-proxmox-9-2-upgrade-has-admins-excited-nervous-and-already-checking-their-backups Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT What admins report about Proxmox VE 9.2 and kernel 7.0: GPU and vGPU passthrough, ZFS changes, NIC renames, driver issues and when to upgrade. Proxmox Containers Storage Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-9-2-is-here-and-the-homelab-crowd-is-already-arguing-about-what-better-should-mean https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-9-2-is-here-and-the-homelab-crowd-is-already-arguing-about-what-better-should-mean Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox 9.2 didn’t arrive quietly. Proxmox Kubernetes VMware Containers https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-9-2-landed-and-the-real-fight-is-over-how-much-power-the-ui-should-have https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-9-2-landed-and-the-real-fight-is-over-how-much-power-the-ui-should-have Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox 9.2 didn’t just show up as another version number. Proxmox Kubernetes VMware Containers https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-lxc-vs-vm-debate-is-really-about-fear-control-and-how-much-isolation-helps-you-sleep-at-night https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-lxc-vs-vm-debate-is-really-about-fear-control-and-how-much-isolation-helps-you-sleep-at-night Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT The question sounded innocent: when should someone use an LXC, and when should they use a VM? Proxmox Containers Storage Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-proxmox-8-2-7-to-9-2-upgrade-sounds-simple-until-you-remember-it-s-six-servers-and-a-backup-box https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-proxmox-8-2-7-to-9-2-upgrade-sounds-simple-until-you-remember-it-s-six-servers-and-a-backup-box Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Planning a Proxmox 8.2.7 to 9.2 upgrade on a six-node cluster plus PBS: go to latest 8.x first, run pve8to9, and roll through one node at a time. Proxmox Storage Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/previous-incidents-remediation-history-future-troubleshooting https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/previous-incidents-remediation-history-future-troubleshooting Sun, 24 May 2026 13:10:32 GMT How work orders, raw alarms, timelines, postmortems and remediation results from past incidents help engineers troubleshoot new ones faster. Incident Management AIOps Knowledge Management https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/high-density-gpu-data-center-power-rack-cooling-liquid-cooling https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/high-density-gpu-data-center-power-rack-cooling-liquid-cooling Sun, 24 May 2026 11:37:03 GMT High density GPU data centers should manage capacity as a set of simultaneous physical constraints, not as a count of empty racks. Data Center Power Liquid Cooling GPU https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/identify-idle-underutilized-overcommitted-infrastructure-resources https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/identify-idle-underutilized-overcommitted-infrastructure-resources Sun, 24 May 2026 08:19:10 GMT How to spot idle, underutilized and overcommitted infrastructure by comparing allocation, real use, queued work, service quality and idle reasons. Resource Optimization Infrastructure Operations Utilization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/monitor-manage-server-power-device-rack-data-center https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/monitor-manage-server-power-device-rack-data-center Sat, 23 May 2026 14:15:10 GMT Organizations can monitor and manage server power consumption by building a hierarchy from individual devices to racks, zones, and the full data center. Energy Management Data Center Server Power https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-vmware-exit-problem-backups-downtime-and-all-the-stuff-nobody-put-on-the-slide-deck https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-vmware-exit-problem-backups-downtime-and-all-the-stuff-nobody-put-on-the-slide-deck Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why leaving VMware is harder than converting VMs: backups, snapshots, vendor appliances, maintenance windows and support gaps that migration plans skip. VMware Migration Backups Downtime Proxmox Hyper-V https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-moment-a-40gb-s-storage-beast-hit-the-wall-then-grew-even-bigger https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-moment-a-40gb-s-storage-beast-hit-the-wall-then-grew-even-bigger Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT A five-node Ceph cluster doing 40 GB/s reads and 2 million IOPS added a sixth NVMe node with no downtime. What smooth storage scaling depends on. Storage Ceph NVMe https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/safely-automate-batch-patching-firmware-configuration-scripts https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/safely-automate-batch-patching-firmware-configuration-scripts Wed, 20 May 2026 14:32:19 GMT How to automate patching, firmware upgrades, configuration changes and scripts safely with baselines, canaries, staged rollout, stop rules and rollback. Automation Patching Firmware Configuration Management https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-storage-platform-that-looked-ready-until-operators-started-living-with-it https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-storage-platform-that-looked-ready-until-operators-started-living-with-it Sun, 17 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT HPE Alletra MP B10000 operators describe stable data delivery but unfinished management, failover and support workflows that wear teams down. Storage HPE https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/liquid-cooling-monitoring-high-density-data-centers https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/liquid-cooling-monitoring-high-density-data-centers Sat, 16 May 2026 17:28:55 GMT How to monitor liquid cooling as one chain: CDUs, distribution branches, temperature, flow, pressure, leak detection, alerts and valve control. Liquid Cooling Data Center Monitoring https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/automated-configuration-backups-rollback-infrastructure-change-risk https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/automated-configuration-backups-rollback-infrastructure-change-risk Fri, 15 May 2026 23:50:53 GMT How pre-change backups, config comparison, known-good baselines, canary rollout and tested rollback reduce infrastructure change risk. Configuration Backup Rollback Infrastructure Automation https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/compare-energy-efficiency-data-center-zones-cooling-technologies https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/compare-energy-efficiency-data-center-zones-cooling-technologies Tue, 12 May 2026 02:42:42 GMT How to compare data center zones and cooling types fairly: same boundary and period, PUE with WUE, IT load, workload mix, density and reliability. Energy Efficiency PUE Cooling https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vast-data-s-ai-os-has-people-asking-one-brutal-question-is-this-real-infrastructure-or-just-ai-theater https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vast-data-s-ai-os-has-people-asking-one-brutal-question-is-this-real-infrastructure-or-just-ai-theater Sun, 10 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Storage operators debate VAST Data's AI OS: agents, vector search and RAG on one platform, lock-in fears, and which enterprises actually need it. Storage VAST Data Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/rdma-roce-infiniband-packet-loss-storage-ai-training https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/rdma-roce-infiniband-packet-loss-storage-ai-training Sat, 09 May 2026 19:53:31 GMT Why distributed AI training slows down: how RDMA, InfiniBand, RoCE, packet loss, latency and storage leave GPUs waiting, and how to trace the cause. RDMA RoCE InfiniBand AI Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/nobody-trusts-vmware-anymore-and-that-might-be-the-real-collapse-no-one-saw-coming https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/nobody-trusts-vmware-anymore-and-that-might-be-the-real-collapse-no-one-saw-coming Tue, 05 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT After Broadcom's price hikes, engineers still praise VMware's software but no longer trust the vendor, and Proxmox, OpenShift and Kubernetes gain ground. Proxmox Kubernetes VMware Containers https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-weird-little-secret-behind-hpe-msa-and-dell-powervault-sometimes-your-different-storage-array-isn-t-that-different https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-weird-little-secret-behind-hpe-msa-and-dell-powervault-sometimes-your-different-storage-array-isn-t-that-different Sat, 02 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT HPE MSA, Dell PowerVault ME5 and Lenovo DS share Seagate (Dot Hill) roots. What really differs: support, licensing, firmware and approved drives. Storage Dell HPE Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/golden-cages-and-quiet-regret-why-walking-away-from-data-centers-feels-impossible-until-it-isn-t https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/golden-cages-and-quiet-regret-why-walking-away-from-data-centers-feels-impossible-until-it-isn-t Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Data center workers weigh good pay against work that doesn't fit: why most stay, some plan an exit, and a few leave and say they've never been happier. Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/i-thought-i-didn-t-understand-docker-turns-out-everyone-else-is-arguing-about-the-wrong-thing https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/i-thought-i-didn-t-understand-docker-turns-out-everyone-else-is-arguing-about-the-wrong-thing Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why questions about Docker, Hyper-V and WSL get mismatched answers: containers, virtualization and abstraction are layers people keep mixing up. Containers Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/it-depends-is-not-an-answer-the-quiet-chaos-behind-one-simple-vm-question https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/it-depends-is-not-an-answer-the-quiet-chaos-behind-one-simple-vm-question Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Host or generic CPU type for a VM? Forum answers split on performance, Windows vs Linux behavior, live migration and licensing, and why testing wins. Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubernetes-quiet-security-revolution-is-here-and-it-might-break-everything-before-it-fixes-anything https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubernetes-quiet-security-revolution-is-here-and-it-might-break-everything-before-it-fixes-anything Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Kubernetes user namespaces reached general availability after six years. What they do for container security, and the storage and kernel issues users hit. Kubernetes Containers Storage Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubernetes-wants-you-to-move-on-from-ingress-yet-gateway-api-feels-like-a-puzzle-nobody-asked-for https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubernetes-wants-you-to-move-on-from-ingress-yet-gateway-api-feels-like-a-puzzle-nobody-asked-for Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why Kubernetes Gateway API frustrates operators moving off Ingress: extra controllers and CRDs, version management, and the case for staying outside core. Kubernetes Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/six-years-of-silence-explodes-into-one-feature-that-could-quietly-rewrite-kubernetes-security-forever https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/six-years-of-silence-explodes-into-one-feature-that-could-quietly-rewrite-kubernetes-security-forever Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT User namespaces are now GA in Kubernetes after six years. What they change for container security, and the file mapping and storage issues early users hit. Kubernetes Containers Storage Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/your-digital-life-will-outlive-you-and-you-re-probably-handling-it-completely-wrong https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/your-digital-life-will-outlive-you-and-you-re-probably-handling-it-completely-wrong Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT What happens to self-hosted notes and archives after you die: why most people land on encryption, where killswitch scripts fail, and splitting your data. Storage Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/your-homelab-just-became-enterprise-tech-overnight-and-not-everyone-is-ready-for-it https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/your-homelab-just-became-enterprise-tech-overnight-and-not-everyone-is-ready-for-it Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT A new partnership brings autoscaling browser workspaces and zero-trust access to a homelab virtualization stack, and the community is split on what it means. VMware Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/two-vmax-cabinets-one-painful-truth-some-enterprise-storage-was-never-meant-to-be-reborn https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/two-vmax-cabinets-one-painful-truth-some-enterprise-storage-was-never-meant-to-be-reborn Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT What to do with two retired EMC Symmetrix VMAX arrays: why repurposing fails, and where resale, trade-in, parts and recycling still make sense. Storage Dell Ceph https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/microvms-might-kill-your-containers-and-that-s-exactly-why-people-are-excited https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/microvms-might-kill-your-containers-and-that-s-exactly-why-people-are-excited Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT MicroVMs inside Proxmox are forcing people to rethink the old container-versus-VM debate by offering a lighter path to isolation with real caveats. MicroVMs Proxmox Containers Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-re-finally-leaving-but-at-what-cost-the-raw-messy-reality-of-breaking-up-with-vmware https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-re-finally-leaving-but-at-what-cost-the-raw-messy-reality-of-breaking-up-with-vmware Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT A grounded look at early VMware exit projects, where networking mistakes, TPM gaps, and encryption tradeoffs turn migration plans into real-world friction. VMware Migration Virtualization HPE Morpheus Infrastructure Strategy https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/it-was-supposed-to-be-fine-inside-the-vmware-renewal-rollercoaster-no-one-can-predict https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/it-was-supposed-to-be-fine-inside-the-vmware-renewal-rollercoaster-no-one-can-predict Sat, 18 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT VMware renewal stories now range from manageable to brutal, exposing how pricing, bundling, and negotiation leverage vary wildly across customers. VMware Renewal Licensing Enterprise IT Infrastructure Costs https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/i-replaced-my-workstation-with-a-vm-and-somehow-it-didn-t-fall-apart https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/i-replaced-my-workstation-with-a-vm-and-somehow-it-didn-t-fall-apart Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Running Siemens NX in a VM with Intel Arc Pro B50 passthrough and Moonlight or Parsec streaming: what broke, what fixed it, and why some keep bare metal. GPU Passthrough Virtual Workstation Proxmox Remote Access https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/msft-s-7-billion-ai-gamble-feels-bigger-than-tech-it-feels-like-the-start-of-something-you-can-t https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/msft-s-7-billion-ai-gamble-feels-bigger-than-tech-it-feels-like-the-start-of-something-you-can-t Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Microsoft's Fairwater buildout is more than a flashy data center expansion. It signals a shift toward industrial-scale intelligence infrastructure with real consequences for power, concentration, and access. AI Infrastructure Microsoft Data Centers GPU Clusters https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-diy-san-rabbit-hole-one-engineer-asked-how-modern-storage-really-works-and-the-answer-got-complicated-fast https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-diy-san-rabbit-hole-one-engineer-asked-how-modern-storage-really-works-and-the-answer-got-complicated-fast Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT An engineer tries to build a dual-controller NVMe SAN, and the thread explains fencing, active-active limits, multipath and why arrays cost so much. Storage NetApp Dell HPE NVMe https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/here-s-your-full-blog-with-the-cta-integrated-naturally-at-the-end https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/here-s-your-full-blog-with-the-cta-integrated-naturally-at-the-end Wed, 15 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT AI data centers need more than new gigawatts. Volatile GPU loads strain the grid, so power visibility and software control matter as much as capacity. AI Infrastructure Data Centers Power Grid Energy https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-vmware-exit-trap-why-companies-are-quietly-gambling-on-a-one-year-escape-from-broadcom https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-vmware-exit-trap-why-companies-are-quietly-gambling-on-a-one-year-escape-from-broadcom Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Some companies weigh signing three-year VMware deals just to cancel after one. The contract gamble, the closing window, and the fine print that can bite. VMware Broadcom Licensing Enterprise Strategy https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/you-don-t-need-proxmox-backup-server-until-the-day-you-really-really-do https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/you-don-t-need-proxmox-backup-server-until-the-day-you-really-really-do Mon, 13 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox Backup Server looks optional at first, then earns its place once deduplication, backup visibility and worst-case recovery planning come into play. Proxmox Backup Server Backups Disaster Recovery Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/80-failure-rate-and-support-still-has-no-answer-when-a-major-release-feels-like-a-gamble https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/80-failure-rate-and-support-still-has-no-answer-when-a-major-release-feels-like-a-gamble Sat, 11 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT When installs fail 80% of the time and support has no answer, a major release stops feeling like progress and turns into an operational gamble. Veeam Upgrades Support Windows Server https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-blamed-veeam-for-everything-until-we-realized-the-real-problem-wasn-t-the-software https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-blamed-veeam-for-everything-until-we-realized-the-real-problem-wasn-t-the-software Sat, 11 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Six months of Veeam S3 backup failures spark a debate: is the software broken, is the setup to blame, and are Cohesity, Nakivo, Druva or Rubrik better? Veeam Troubleshooting S3 Backups Operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-knew-this-was-coming-the-quiet-collapse-of-vmware-loyalty-turns-into-a-high-stakes-exit https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-knew-this-was-coming-the-quiet-collapse-of-vmware-loyalty-turns-into-a-high-stakes-exit Sat, 11 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why longtime VMware customers are finally planning exits, what makes Proxmox appealing, and why large migrations are as strategic as they are technical. VMware Exit Proxmox Migration Strategy Enterprise Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-re-done-with-veeam-the-breaking-point-that-turns-it-loyalty-into-burnout https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-re-done-with-veeam-the-breaking-point-that-turns-it-loyalty-into-burnout Fri, 10 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Recurring Veeam S3 backup failures and slow support push some IT teams to burnout. Why opinions split, and how Cohesity, Rubrik, Nakivo and Druva fit in. Veeam Support S3 Backups IT Burnout https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/it-says-something-is-broken-but-won-t-tell-you-what-the-silent-failure-that-turns-upgrades-into- https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/it-says-something-is-broken-but-won-t-tell-you-what-the-silent-failure-that-turns-upgrades-into- Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT A vague unsupported OS agents warning sent an admin auditing everything, the upgrade then failed, and the warning turned out to be only advisory. Veeam Upgrades Troubleshooting Visibility https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/128gb-of-ram-and-it-still-eats-everything-when-backup-software-starts-fighting-your-infrastructu https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/128gb-of-ram-and-it-still-eats-everything-when-backup-software-starts-fighting-your-infrastructu Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why a Veeam backup proxy on a 128GB server kept eating memory while jobs dragged for days, even after the admin added another proxy server. Veeam Performance Memory Usage Backup Proxies https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/50-000-vms-and-one-bitter-goodbye-the-quiet-chaos-behind-a-vmware-exit-no-one-wanted https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/50-000-vms-and-one-bitter-goodbye-the-quiet-chaos-behind-a-vmware-exit-no-one-wanted Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Moving 50,000 VMs from VMware to Hyper-V: conversion tools, cleanup scripts, Veeam restores, costs and the tradeoffs that pile up at enterprise scale. VMware Hyper-V Migration Enterprise Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-800-a-month-tape-vault-nobody-wants-to-explain-anymore https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-800-a-month-tape-vault-nobody-wants-to-explain-anymore Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT A company pays $800 a month to vault 400 LTO tapes it may not be able to read. Retention policy, migration sampling, legal risk and who should decide. Storage Tape Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-cra-panic-is-real-why-some-teams-are-calm-and-others-feel-like-they-re-drowning https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-cra-panic-is-real-why-some-teams-are-calm-and-others-feel-like-they-re-drowning Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why the Cyber Resilience Act feels manageable for some teams and overwhelming for others, and how scope, ownership and evidence discipline shape that. Cyber Resilience Act Compliance Product Security Governance https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/if-it-s-only-10-vms-why-are-we-even-paying-the-quiet-revolt-against-enterprise-backup-thinking https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/if-it-s-only-10-vms-why-are-we-even-paying-the-quiet-revolt-against-enterprise-backup-thinking Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Small, disposable infrastructure makes teams question paid backup: Community Edition limits, licensing worries, and rebuilding from code instead. Veeam Community Edition Enterprise Backup Cloud Migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/this-one-zabbix-feature-is-quietly-turning-monitoring-tools-into-automation-engines https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/this-one-zabbix-feature-is-quietly-turning-monitoring-tools-into-automation-engines Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Zabbix webhook media types push alerts into tickets, workflows and two-way integrations, with JavaScript logic that can speed things up or add chaos. Zabbix Automation Webhooks Incident Response https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/your-server-in-your-pocket-sounds-amazing-until-you-realize-what-you-re-actually-trusting https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/your-server-in-your-pocket-sounds-amazing-until-you-realize-what-you-re-actually-trusting Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT ProxMan brings full Proxmox control to Android, from backups to VNC, and its closed source client splits admins over convenience versus trust. Proxmox Mobile Management Security Homelab Tools https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ai-just-took-over-zabbix-and-not-everyone-is-ready-for-what-comes-next https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ai-just-took-over-zabbix-and-not-everyone-is-ready-for-what-comes-next Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT How an MCP server exposing 220 Zabbix API tools turns monitoring into conversation, and the trust, safety and staffing worries it raises. Zabbix AI Monitoring Automation Infrastructure Operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/fresh-os-clean-install-still-broken-when-even-starting-over-doesn-t-save-you https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/fresh-os-clean-install-still-broken-when-even-starting-over-doesn-t-save-you Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT A full wipe-and-reinstall should have ended the problem, but a core Veeam service still refuses to stay up, turning a clean slate into another dead end. Veeam Windows Server Troubleshooting Backup Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/thinking-about-using-manageengine https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/thinking-about-using-manageengine Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Where ManageEngine works and where it adds friction: patch reliability, uneven support, cloud workflows, hidden time costs, permissions and alternatives. ManageEngine IT Operations Endpoint Management ITSM https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/it-s-just-7-vms-why-are-we-still-paying-for-this-the-uncomfortable-truth-about-backup-in-a-cloud https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/it-s-just-7-vms-why-are-we-still-paying-for-this-the-uncomfortable-truth-about-backup-in-a-cloud Sun, 05 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT As on-prem footprints shrink, teams are questioning whether full enterprise backup stacks still make sense for a handful of rebuildable virtual machines. Veeam Community Edition Cloud Backup Strategy https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/1-500-vms-one-wrong-move-the-brutal-reality-of-escaping-vmware-without-breaking-everything https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/1-500-vms-one-wrong-move-the-brutal-reality-of-escaping-vmware-without-breaking-everything Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Migrating 1,500 VMs off VMware sounds automatable until storage bottlenecks, Windows driver issues, and downtime tradeoffs expose the true blast radius. VMware Migration Proxmox Automation vSAN https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-backups-are-there-so-why-can-t-i-use-them-when-recovery-feels-just-out-of-reach https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-backups-are-there-so-why-can-t-i-use-them-when-recovery-feels-just-out-of-reach Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT After a backup server rebuild, VM backups map back to new jobs cleanly while imported agent backups stay visible but cannot be mapped to any job. Veeam Recovery Agent Backups Disaster Recovery https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/this-zabbix-widget-update-quietly-fixes-what-monitoring-dashboards-have-been-getting-wrong-for-y https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/this-zabbix-widget-update-quietly-fixes-what-monitoring-dashboards-have-been-getting-wrong-for-y Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT What the Zabbix Host Overview widget update adds: configurable host badges, per-metric thresholds, sparklines and drill-down to Latest data. Zabbix Dashboards Observability UX https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/everything-worked-until-it-didn-t-the-hidden-fragility-of-simple-upgrades-in-backup-infrastructu https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/everything-worked-until-it-didn-t-the-hidden-fragility-of-simple-upgrades-in-backup-infrastructu Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT A clean backup upgrade to PostgreSQL left agents unverified and assignments failing while status showed healthy. The culprit turned out to be antivirus. Veeam Upgrades PostgreSQL Backup Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/this-zabbix-module-quietly-exposes-how-much-money-your-infrastructure-is-burning https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/this-zabbix-module-quietly-exposes-how-much-money-your-infrastructure-is-burning Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT A Zabbix FinOps module turns 30 days of metrics into waste scores and right-sizing advice, raising the trade-off between cost savings and operational risk. Zabbix FinOps Infrastructure Cost Capacity Planning https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-tried-to-replace-veeam-and-realized-backup-isn-t-just-a-tool-it-s-a-trade-off-you-can-t-escap https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-tried-to-replace-veeam-and-realized-backup-isn-t-just-a-tool-it-s-a-trade-off-you-can-t-escap Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Replacing a heavyweight backup platform sounds appealing until the trade-offs show up in restore depth, pricing, and the daily realities MSPs live with. Veeam MSP Backup Strategy Cove https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/did-they-just-kill-it-overnight-the-quiet-panic-around-vmware-photon-s-disappearing-act https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/did-they-just-kill-it-overnight-the-quiet-panic-around-vmware-photon-s-disappearing-act Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why broken VMware Photon OS links set off panic, how the move to Broadcom-hosted URLs changed the picture, and why unannounced moves erode trust. VMware Photon OS Broadcom Linux Distribution Platform Trust https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-asked-for-a-price-and-got-silence-instead-how-support-delays-quietly-push-customers-away https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-asked-for-a-price-and-got-silence-instead-how-support-delays-quietly-push-customers-away Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT A small non-profit waited months for a socket to VUL licensing quote with renewal 30 days away, and the thread shows how that silence erodes trust. Veeam Support Pricing Customer Experience https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/datadog-log-cost-panic-isnt-just-a-meme-its-a-warning-shot-for-the-whole-industry https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/datadog-log-cost-panic-isnt-just-a-meme-its-a-warning-shot-for-the-whole-industry Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Shock over Datadog log bills shows teams still want rich visibility but have less patience for opaque or runaway pricing, as alternatives gain ground. Datadog Logs Observability Cloud https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/this-simple-zabbix-tool-just-exposed-how-broken-server-tuning-really-is https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/this-simple-zabbix-tool-just-exposed-how-broken-server-tuning-really-is Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT ZabbixTune generates zabbix_server.conf from your hosts, items and hardware. Where it helps, where it falls short, and the AI debate it started. Zabbix Server Tuning Performance Monitoring https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-re-a-small-customer-why-does-it-feel-like-nobody-cares-the-slow-death-of-trust-in-enterprise- https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-re-a-small-customer-why-does-it-feel-like-nobody-cares-the-slow-death-of-trust-in-enterprise- Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT A small non-profit waited months for a VUL licensing quote. Why slow answers and opaque pricing hit small customers hardest and erode trust in the vendor. Veeam Support Enterprise Software Customer Trust https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-storage-admin-isn-t-dead-but-the-job-is-losing-its-old-skin-fast https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-storage-admin-isn-t-dead-but-the-job-is-losing-its-old-skin-fast Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT How AI interfaces, automation and data growth are reshaping the storage admin role, which tasks go first, and which skills keep admins valuable. Storage NetApp Pure Storage Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-stayed-loyal-too-long-the-quiet-shift-from-intel-to-amd-that-s-rewriting-the-data-center-play https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-stayed-loyal-too-long-the-quiet-shift-from-intel-to-amd-that-s-rewriting-the-data-center-play Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why long-loyal Intel shops are reevaluating AMD, where licensing economics complicate the story, and how data center buying habits are shifting. AMD EPYC Intel Data Center Hardware Licensing Economics https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/everybody-wants-monitoring-without-the-pain-and-thats-why-this-market-keeps-breaking-hearts https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/everybody-wants-monitoring-without-the-pain-and-thats-why-this-market-keeps-breaking-hearts Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT A broader discussion about monitoring-tool frustration shows why buyers keep bouncing between expensive convenience, cheaper toil, and the fantasy of getting both without tradeoffs. Monitoring Datadog SaaS Operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmwares-lower-tiers-keep-disappearing-and-thats-making-every-it-manager-look-over-the-fence https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmwares-lower-tiers-keep-disappearing-and-thats-making-every-it-manager-look-over-the-fence Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT A late-March VMware renewal discussion showed how smaller and midsize buyers increasingly feel like Broadcom is telling them to pay much more or get out. VMware Broadcom IT Management Renewal https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/if-new-relic-is-fading-datadog-isnt-automatically-the-happy-ending https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/if-new-relic-is-fading-datadog-isnt-automatically-the-happy-ending Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT As teams rethink older observability vendors like New Relic, buyers are questioning Datadog and the premium platform model on cost, trust and fatigue. Datadog New Relic Observability SRE https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/stuck-waiting-for-proxmox-9-2-the-frustration-of-chasing-kernels-in-a-moving-target-world https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/stuck-waiting-for-proxmox-9-2-the-frustration-of-chasing-kernels-in-a-moving-target-world Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why users chasing newer kernels for ROCm, drivers, or bug fixes keep colliding with Proxmox's slower upstream release cadence. Proxmox Kernel Linux Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmug-used-to-feel-like-a-gateway-drug-for-vmware-now-it-feels-like-an-obituary https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmug-used-to-feel-like-a-gateway-drug-for-vmware-now-it-feels-like-an-obituary Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT A March thread on cheap VMware licenses for personal use shows how badly Broadcom has damaged an old on-ramp for future practitioners. VMware VMUG Broadcom Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/your-ssd-isn-t-safe-just-because-it-s-new-the-firmware-gamble-most-homelab-users-ignore https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/your-ssd-isn-t-safe-just-because-it-s-new-the-firmware-gamble-most-homelab-users-ignore Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why SSD firmware gets ignored until it causes real pain, and how homelab users balance risk, complacency, and low-level storage maintenance. SSD Firmware Homelab Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/your-two-node-cluster-is-a-trap-the-brutal-truth-about-proxmox-quorum-no-one-explains https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/your-two-node-cluster-is-a-trap-the-brutal-truth-about-proxmox-quorum-no-one-explains Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why two-node Proxmox clusters create false confidence, how quorum really behaves, and what admins miss when they expect HA without a third vote. Proxmox Clusters Quorum High Availability https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-datadog-line-item-thats-quietly-eating-modern-infrastructure-budgets https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-datadog-line-item-thats-quietly-eating-modern-infrastructure-budgets Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why Datadog observability spend is easy to underestimate and hard to unwind, and how engineering, finance and cheaper alternatives shape the debate. Datadog Cloud Costs FinOps Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/your-snapshots-aren-t-broken-your-assumptions-are-the-5tb-shock-that-exposes-a-hidden-zfs-trap https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/your-snapshots-aren-t-broken-your-assumptions-are-the-5tb-shock-that-exposes-a-hidden-zfs-trap Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why a 60GB ZFS snapshot in Proxmox can eat 5TB when thin provisioning is off, and why enabling it later won't fix existing disks. ZFS Snapshots Storage Proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-vmware-exit-door-is-crowded-and-thats-making-every-renewal-look-even-uglier https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-vmware-exit-door-is-crowded-and-thats-making-every-renewal-look-even-uglier Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT A March discussion on VMware customers cutting usage by 2028: many want out, but migration pain keeps them paying and sharpens every renewal. VMware Broadcom Migration Alternatives https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vast-buying-red-stapler-feels-like-a-cloud-pivot-with-a-giant-question-mark-attached https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vast-buying-red-stapler-feels-like-a-cloud-pivot-with-a-giant-question-mark-attached Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why VAST Data's Red Stapler acquisition split the storage crowd: control plane value for hyperscalers versus fears of yet another AI and cloud pivot. Storage VAST Data NetApp Pure Storage Ceph Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/you-re-mounting-it-wrong-the-nfs-mistake-that-keeps-breaking-homelabs https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/you-re-mounting-it-wrong-the-nfs-mistake-that-keeps-breaking-homelabs Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT A practical breakdown of the NFS mistakes that confuse homelab users, especially when they expect shared storage to behave like a local VM disk. NFS Homelab Storage Proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/stop-overengineering-your-homelab-the-quiet-war-over-ssh-keys-no-one-talks-about https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/stop-overengineering-your-homelab-the-quiet-war-over-ssh-keys-no-one-talks-about Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why a simple question about SSH keys in homelabs turns into a debate over control, convenience, automation, and how much engineering is too much. SSH Homelab Automation Linux https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/somebody-built-an-open-source-datadog-rival-and-the-loudest-reaction-was-finally https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/somebody-built-an-open-source-datadog-rival-and-the-loudest-reaction-was-finally Fri, 20 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why a self-hosted Datadog and Sentry alternative drew relief from buyers tired of observability pricing, and the operational tradeoffs skeptics raised. Datadog Open Source Monitoring SaaS https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmwares-end-of-support-clock-is-quietly-becoming-its-own-kind-of-ransom-note https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmwares-end-of-support-clock-is-quietly-becoming-its-own-kind-of-ransom-note Fri, 20 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT March arguments over vSphere 8 support timelines show VMware customers being forced into long-term bets on a vendor they no longer fully trust. VMware Broadcom EOS Support https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/that-one-curl-command-could-own-your-server-the-quiet-fear-behind-proxmox-setup-scripts https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/that-one-curl-command-could-own-your-server-the-quiet-fear-behind-proxmox-setup-scripts Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why convenience scripts feel irresistible in Proxmox homelabs, and why experienced admins stay wary of blindly running curl-piped setup commands as root. Proxmox Security Scripts Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/am-i-screwed-the-moment-a-homelab-turns-into-a-data-loss-horror-story https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/am-i-screwed-the-moment-a-homelab-turns-into-a-data-loss-horror-story Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT A power outage, failing NVMe reads, and unsupported repair tooling turned one homelab recovery attempt into a blunt lesson about backups and storage risk. Homelab Data Loss Storage Backups https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-finally-shut-it-down-the-quiet-messy-and-emotional-breakup-between-enterprises-and-vmware https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-finally-shut-it-down-the-quiet-messy-and-emotional-breakup-between-enterprises-and-vmware Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why enterprises are planning a VMware exit: a 50% price increase, contract fatigue, messy weekend migrations, Proxmox tests and security trade-offs. VMware Virtualization Enterprise IT Migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcoms-core-count-rules-are-turning-vmware-renewals-into-absurd-theater https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcoms-core-count-rules-are-turning-vmware-renewals-into-absurd-theater Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT A March thread about reducing VMware core counts exposed a maddening new reality: using less infrastructure does not always mean paying less. VMware Broadcom Core Licensing VCF https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-day-a-three-node-cluster-refused-to-trust-itself https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-day-a-three-node-cluster-refused-to-trust-itself Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT A plain-English breakdown of why a three-node cluster shuts down or panics after losing quorum, even when one host can still run every VM. Proxmox High Availability Clusters Quorum https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/when-a-cluster-loses-its-mind-the-harsh-reality-behind-three-node-high-availability https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/when-a-cluster-loses-its-mind-the-harsh-reality-behind-three-node-high-availability Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why a three-node HA cluster can panic when two nodes disappear, and how quorum and split-brain protection shape that behavior. Proxmox High Availability Clusters Quorum https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/why-self-hosted-datadog-alternatives-suddenly-feel-less-like-a-hobby-and-more-like-an-exit-plan https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/why-self-hosted-datadog-alternatives-suddenly-feel-less-like-a-hobby-and-more-like-an-exit-plan Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Self-hosted Datadog alternatives are drawing teams tired of billing anxiety. What they gain in control, and the operational load they take on. Datadog SigNoz Self-Hosted Observability https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-moment-someone-called-unraid-enterprise-storage-and-the-room-got-very-quiet https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-moment-someone-called-unraid-enterprise-storage-and-the-room-got-very-quiet Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT A 30-person company debates Unraid vs TrueNAS for business storage, and root login, audit logs, support and scaling decide what counts as enterprise. Storage NetApp Pure Storage Dell HPE Unraid https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/datadog-in-an-outage-still-feels-powerful-so-why-do-buyers-sound-so-torn https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/datadog-in-an-outage-still-feels-powerful-so-why-do-buyers-sound-so-torn Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Recent debate around Datadog shows a familiar split: teams trust it in incidents, but many no longer trust how much pain comes with keeping that trust. Datadog Incidents SRE Monitoring https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/when-vmware-costs-go-full-horror-movie-even-the-alternatives-start-looking-beautiful https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/when-vmware-costs-go-full-horror-movie-even-the-alternatives-start-looking-beautiful Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT A March VMware pricing thread shows admins weighing Broadcom-era costs against migration pain, as Proxmox, Hyper-V and KVM stop sounding like downgrades. VMware Broadcom Costs Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/cve-2026-22039-how-an-admission-controller-vulnerability-turned-kubernetes-namespaces-into-a-security-illusion https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/cve-2026-22039-how-an-admission-controller-vulnerability-turned-kubernetes-namespaces-into-a-security-illusion Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Just saw this nasty Kyverno CVE that's a perfect example of why I'm skeptical of admission controllers with god-mode RBAC. Kubernetes Security Tooling https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/i-built-this-because-i-was-tired-of-opening-the-web-ui-the-tiny-macos-app-that-made-proxmox-admi https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/i-built-this-because-i-was-tired-of-opening-the-web-ui-the-tiny-macos-app-that-made-proxmox-admi Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT ProxmoxBar, a macOS menu bar app for monitoring and controlling Proxmox VMs, and how home lab admins reacted with praise, bug reports and feature requests. Proxmox macOS Homelab Tools https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/i-upgraded-my-servers-from-a-bus-ride-the-surprisingly-smooth-reality-of-a-proxmox-7-9-upgrade https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/i-upgraded-my-servers-from-a-bus-ride-the-surprisingly-smooth-reality-of-a-proxmox-7-9-upgrade Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT A long-delayed Proxmox 7 to 9 upgrade, started from a bus, went far smoother than expected. Why Debian-based upgrades work and where they still break. Proxmox Upgrade Homelab Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/if-it-ain-t-broke-don-t-fix-it-or-should-you https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/if-it-ain-t-broke-don-t-fix-it-or-should-you Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox 8 homelab users debate upgrading to 9: security support windows, easy upgrade tooling, Docker images in LXC, RAID-Z expansion, or waiting for 9.1. Proxmox Upgrade Security Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/my-network-used-to-look-like-this-the-nostalgia-and-reality-behind-a-homelab-diagram https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/my-network-used-to-look-like-this-the-nostalgia-and-reality-behind-a-homelab-diagram Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT An old ExcaliDraw homelab diagram shows a bigger setup of DL380 servers and 10-gig gear, and how real life reshaped it into a Portainer cluster. Homelab Networking Infrastructure Proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-small-proxmox-feature-that-quietly-fixed-one-of-homelab-s-most-annoying-problems https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-small-proxmox-feature-that-quietly-fixed-one-of-homelab-s-most-annoying-problems Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox 9's NIC name override feature solves a deeply familiar homelab headache by making interface naming less fragile after harmless hardware changes. Proxmox Networking Homelab Linux https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/wait-you-shouldn-t-disable-root-the-surprisingly-confusing-reality-of-hardening-a-proxmox-server https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/wait-you-shouldn-t-disable-root-the-surprisingly-confusing-reality-of-hardening-a-proxmox-server Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why standard Linux hardening advice clashes with Proxmox: SSH keys, root login in clusters, disk encryption tradeoffs and three camps of Proxmox security. Proxmox Security Hardening Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/datadog-fatigue-why-so-many-teams-sound-one-renewal-away-from-snapping https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/datadog-fatigue-why-so-many-teams-sound-one-renewal-away-from-snapping Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Datadog users sound worn out by pricing, packaging and renewal fights, even when they like the product. Why that fatigue matters for the vendor. Datadog Renewal SRE Observability https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/oreillys-cilium-up-and-running-out-now https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/oreillys-cilium-up-and-running-out-now Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Nicolas Vibert, Filip Nikolic, and James Laverack spent the last year pouring over Cilium's kernel magic to it accessible to everyone. Kubernetes Cilium https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmwares-cheapest-path-keeps-vanishing-and-small-teams-are-running-out-of-road https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmwares-cheapest-path-keeps-vanishing-and-small-teams-are-running-out-of-road Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT vSphere Standard subscriptions and the vSphere 8 end of support leave small VMware shops unsure the lower tier will last, and some are planning an exit. VMware Broadcom SMB vSphere https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/datadog-jobs-look-amazing-until-you-see-the-salary https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/datadog-jobs-look-amazing-until-you-see-the-salary Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT A 115K OTE Datadog solutions engineer offer in Europe started a debate about pay, the interview process, culture, office days and turnover. Datadog Observability Careers Compensation https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/engineers-are-quietly-abandoning-elk-and-building-their-own-observability-stacks https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/engineers-are-quietly-abandoning-elk-and-building-their-own-observability-stacks Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why teams are moving off ELK toward modular stacks built on OpenTelemetry, OpenSearch, Jaeger and Vector, and what the cost and benchmark debates say. Observability ELK OpenTelemetry OpenSearch https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/everyone-wants-observability-but-nobody-knows-where-to-start https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/everyone-wants-observability-but-nobody-knows-where-to-start Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Teams buy observability tools before learning the concept. The theory, a hands-on learning path with OpenTelemetry, and how it differs from monitoring. Observability Monitoring Telemetry SRE https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/inside-vertiv-the-quiet-reality-of-working-in-the-data-center-infrastructure-giant https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/inside-vertiv-the-quiet-reality-of-working-in-the-data-center-infrastructure-giant Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT What working at Vertiv is like, from people in the field: heavy travel and workload for UPS technicians, decent culture in some offices, and fast learning. Vertiv Data Center Infrastructure Careers https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-300k-observability-question-is-ai-actually-fixing-incidents-or-just-selling-better-dashboard https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-300k-observability-question-is-ai-actually-fixing-incidents-or-just-selling-better-dashboard Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Engineers weigh Dynatrace, Datadog and the Grafana LGTM stack on AI root-cause analysis, pricing and MTTR, and ask if premium AI observability pays off. Observability AI Datadog Dynatrace https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-observability-treasure-hunt-why-engineers-still-don-t-know-what-metrics-their-systems-actual https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-observability-treasure-hunt-why-engineers-still-don-t-know-what-metrics-their-systems-actual Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Modern stacks emit thousands of metrics, yet engineers struggle to find which ones exist and where they come from. A public metric registry tries to help. Observability Metrics Prometheus OpenTelemetry https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/there-is-no-best-observability-platform-and-engineers-know-it https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/there-is-no-best-observability-platform-and-engineers-know-it Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why engineers won't name one best observability platform: Datadog, AWS and Azure tooling, the Grafana open stack, OpenTelemetry and their tradeoffs. Observability Monitoring Tooling OpenTelemetry https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/two-days-left-on-vmware-and-suddenly-every-bad-option-looks-real https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/two-days-left-on-vmware-and-suddenly-every-bad-option-looks-real Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT A March panic thread about expiring vSphere licenses shows how VMware's new economics turn routine planning at small teams into last-minute survival math. VMware Broadcom Migration Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/yaml-is-breaking-observability-the-quiet-crisis-inside-opentelemetry-pipelines https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/yaml-is-breaking-observability-the-quiet-crisis-inside-opentelemetry-pipelines Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT As OpenTelemetry pipelines grow more complex, YAML is turning from simple configuration into a source of fragility, ambiguity, and operational drag. Observability OpenTelemetry YAML DevOps https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/datadog-bill-shock-is-turning-observability-into-a-budget-horror-show https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/datadog-bill-shock-is-turning-observability-into-a-budget-horror-show Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why Datadog bills feel unpredictable: usage drift, finance vs engineering fights, customer discipline, and what buyers now want from observability pricing. Datadog Observability Pricing FinOps https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/once-your-vmware-license-expires-the-door-doesnt-just-close-it-slams https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/once-your-vmware-license-expires-the-door-doesnt-just-close-it-slams Sun, 08 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT A March thread about expired vSphere support captures the new VMware reality: old licenses no longer feel like a safety net, they feel like a countdown. VMware Broadcom Support Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/yubihsm-2-cert-manager-hardware-signed-tls-certificates-on-kubernetes https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/yubihsm-2-cert-manager-hardware-signed-tls-certificates-on-kubernetes Sun, 08 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT I built a cert-manager external issuer that signs TLS certificates using a private key inside a YubiHSM 2. Kubernetes Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/datadog-sales-pressure-turns-monitoring-into-a-door-to-door-nightmare https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/datadog-sales-pressure-turns-monitoring-into-a-door-to-door-nightmare Sat, 07 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Online complaints about relentless Datadog outreach show how a monitoring tool can lose goodwill long before the product itself loses relevance. Datadog Observability Sales DevOps https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-netapp-vast-lawsuit-is-the-kind-of-storage-drama-that-makes-buyers-freeze https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-netapp-vast-lawsuit-is-the-kind-of-storage-drama-that-makes-buyers-freeze Sat, 07 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT NetApp claims an ex-CTO built a secret cloud platform later sold to VAST Data. Why that legal risk slows storage deals, especially with cloud providers. Storage VAST Data NetApp Pure Storage Dell HPE https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcom-s-ruthless-ai-power-play-record-profits-a-100-billion-chip-bet-and-the-vmware-shockwave https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcom-s-ruthless-ai-power-play-record-profits-a-100-billion-chip-bet-and-the-vmware-shockwave Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Broadcom's latest quarter signals an aggressive AI-era strategy built on custom silicon, networking dominance, and a high-impact VMware licensing reset. Broadcom AI VMware Semiconductors Enterprise IT https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-renewal-sticker-shock-is-pushing-loyal-customers-to-the-edge https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-renewal-sticker-shock-is-pushing-loyal-customers-to-the-edge Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT A fresh wave of VMware renewal complaints shows how pricing shock has turned routine infrastructure budgeting into a yearly panic attack. VMware Broadcom Licensing Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/flux-cd-deep-dive-architecture-crds-and-mental-models https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/flux-cd-deep-dive-architecture-crds-and-mental-models Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT An r/kubernetes thread on how Flux CD controllers and CRDs map to manual commands, Flux Operator bootstrap, and how commenters compare Flux with ArgoCD. Kubernetes Flux CD https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-hidden-performance-trap-in-proxmox-how-a-recommended-cpu-setting-quietly-slowed-an-entire-wi https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-hidden-performance-trap-in-proxmox-how-a-recommended-cpu-setting-quietly-slowed-an-entire-wi Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT A Proxmox Windows RDS server felt slow while metrics looked fine. Host CPU mode triggered speculation mitigations; x86-64-v3 fixed memory latency. Proxmox VMware Migration Performance https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-hidden-problem-waiting-for-teams-that-replace-vmware-automation https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-hidden-problem-waiting-for-teams-that-replace-vmware-automation Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Moving from VMware to Proxmox leaves no Aria Automation portal. How teams replace self-service VM provisioning with Ansible, AWX, CloudBolt or scripts. Proxmox VMware Migration Automation https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-vmware-exit-door-is-getting-crowded-why-so-many-companies-are-suddenly-looking-at-proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-vmware-exit-door-is-getting-crowded-why-so-many-companies-are-suddenly-looking-at-proxmox Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT A VMware on SAN to Proxmox and Ceph migration talk in Belgium, and why Broadcom's licensing changes have so many companies weighing VMware alternatives. Proxmox VMware Migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/where-s-vmotion-the-question-that-reveals-the-real-learning-curve-when-moving-from-vmware-to-pro https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/where-s-vmotion-the-question-that-reveals-the-real-learning-curve-when-moving-from-vmware-to-pro Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT What VMware admins find when moving to Proxmox: live migration without DRS, SDN VNets vs Open vSwitch, Linux bridges, PCIe passthrough and Ceph. Proxmox VMware Migration Automation Performance https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/new-policy-sharing-new-kubernetes-tools-must-be-in-the-weekly-thread https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/new-policy-sharing-new-kubernetes-tools-must-be-in-the-weekly-thread Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Hi all. Kubernetes AWS Tooling Community https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/when-the-cloud-caught-fire-the-day-objects-took-down-amazon-s-uae-region-and-shook-devops-faith https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/when-the-cloud-caught-fire-the-day-objects-took-down-amazon-s-uae-region-and-shook-devops-faith Mon, 02 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT A fire caused by objects striking an AWS data center in the UAE disrupted ME-CENTRAL-1 services and reopened the multi-AZ vs multi-region debate. AWS Cloud DevOps https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/windows-server-finally-got-serious-about-nvme-and-storage-people-still-don-t-trust-it-yet https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/windows-server-finally-got-serious-about-nvme-and-storage-people-still-don-t-trust-it-yet Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Windows Server 2025 native NVMe benchmarks impressed storage admins, but NVMe-oF gaps, QA worries and Microsoft's focus keep them wary of production. Storage NVMe https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/i-just-wanted-a-simple-backup-how-a-kopia-error-turned-into-a-blinkdisk-love-story-and-a-lesson- https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/i-just-wanted-a-simple-backup-how-a-kopia-error-turned-into-a-blinkdisk-love-story-and-a-lesson- Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT A Kopia repository server path error on a two-device home lab led to a switch to BlinkDisk. What went wrong, and why the simpler tool fit better. Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/is-vmware-dying https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/is-vmware-dying Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT VMware admins fear for their careers as prices rise and companies migrate. What the numbers say, and why virtualization and automation skills carry over. Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/uninstall-it-now-the-huntarr-panic-that-shook-truenas-and-sparked-a-supply-chain-wake-up-call https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/uninstall-it-now-the-huntarr-panic-that-shook-truenas-and-sparked-a-supply-chain-wake-up-call Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT How the Huntarr app was pulled from the TrueNAS catalog within minutes, and what the scare says about trusting FOSS, Docker images and curated catalogs. Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/you-can-t-have-it-both-ways-the-hard-truth-about-sharing-a-single-gpu-between-vms-and-lxc-in-pro https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/you-can-t-have-it-both-ways-the-hard-truth-about-sharing-a-single-gpu-between-vms-and-lxc-in-pro Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why a GPU passed through to a Proxmox VM cannot also serve LXC containers, and the setups that do work: VM passthrough, host-shared LXC, or vGPU. Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/your-local-dns-filter-is-probably-being-bypassed-right-now-and-you-don-t-even-know-it https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/your-local-dns-filter-is-probably-being-bypassed-right-now-and-you-don-t-even-know-it Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT How DoH, DoT, hardcoded resolvers and apps bypass AdGuard Home, and how NAT redirects, port blocks and a local 8.8.8.8 claw back DNS control. Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/free-isn-t-free-anymore-the-brutal-reality-of-updating-esxi-8-0u3e-to-8-0u3h-without-paying-a-ce https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/free-isn-t-free-anymore-the-brutal-reality-of-updating-esxi-8-0u3e-to-8-0u3h-without-paying-a-ce Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why free ESXi users may not be entitled to patch 8.0U3e to 8.0U3h, and how Broadcom portal access now decides which updates you can legally apply. ESXi VMware Licensing Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ibm-s-31-billion-gut-punch-is-ai-finally-cracking-big-blue-s-unbreakable-moat https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ibm-s-31-billion-gut-punch-is-ai-finally-cracking-big-blue-s-unbreakable-moat Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT IBM lost $31B in a day; here is what that move may signal about AI disruption, legacy moat durability, and market overreaction risk. IBM AI Stock Market Enterprise Tech https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-anatomy-of-modern-kubernetes-data-protection-securing-kubevirt-workloads-at-enterprise-scale-in-2026 https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-anatomy-of-modern-kubernetes-data-protection-securing-kubevirt-workloads-at-enterprise-scale-in-2026 Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Enterprise-grade KubeVirt backup in 2026 depends on Kubernetes-native APIs, CSI snapshots, dependency graph awareness, and zero-trust architecture. Kubernetes KubeVirt Backup Enterprise Security Data Protection https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/you-think-three-developers-and-ai-can-replace-vmware-the-brutal-reality-facing-every-next-big-vi https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/you-think-three-developers-and-ai-can-replace-vmware-the-brutal-reality-facing-every-next-big-vi Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT A hard look at what it takes to build a credible VMware alternative beyond licensing frustration and early prototypes. VMware Virtualization KVM Startup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/truenas-25-10-2-is-here-and-it-s-the-kind-of-update-that-quietly-saves-you-from-disaster https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/truenas-25-10-2-is-here-and-it-s-the-kind-of-update-that-quietly-saves-you-from-disaster Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT A practical breakdown of TrueNAS 25.10.2 fixes that prevent upgrade failures, SMB migration issues, and NFS edge-case instability. TrueNAS ZFS Storage Release Notes https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/truenas-isn-t-paywalling-your-nas-but-the-trust-crack-is-already-there https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/truenas-isn-t-paywalling-your-nas-but-the-trust-crack-is-already-there Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT An analysis of the v26.04 paywall debate, what TrueNAS staff actually clarified, and why trust perception still matters. TrueNAS Open Source Licensing Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/why-etcd-breaks-at-scale-in-kubernetes https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/why-etcd-breaks-at-scale-in-kubernetes Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT This r/kubernetes discussion unpacked why etcd breaks at scale in kubernetes and the practical tradeoffs engineers surfaced around it, with the original post linking out to lear... Kubernetes etcd https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/can-we-get-an-ai-megathread https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/can-we-get-an-ai-megathread Sat, 21 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT In the last couple of hours alone I’ve seen 3 threads advertising vibecoded slop. Kubernetes AI Community https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/btrfs-inside-proxmox-vms-smart-flexibility-or-a-cow-on-cow-trap-waiting-to-happen https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/btrfs-inside-proxmox-vms-smart-flexibility-or-a-cow-on-cow-trap-waiting-to-happen Fri, 20 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT BTRFS inside Proxmox VMs can be great for snapshots and subvolumes, but CoW on CoW, especially on a ZFS host, can add IO overhead and fragmentation risk. Proxmox BTRFS ZFS Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/i-m-a-machinist-not-it-the-raw-frustrated-brilliant-reality-of-wiring-cncs-into-a-proxmox-server https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/i-m-a-machinist-not-it-the-raw-frustrated-brilliant-reality-of-wiring-cncs-into-a-proxmox-server Fri, 20 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT A machinist moves CNC file transfers off one fragile shop PC with Proxmox, a private LAN and a central FTP server that every mill and PC can reach. Proxmox CNC Networking Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/your-25gbe-dream-is-slamming-into-a-wall-the-brutal-truth-about-my-3-node-ceph-cluster https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/your-25gbe-dream-is-slamming-into-a-wall-the-brutal-truth-about-my-3-node-ceph-cluster Fri, 20 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT A 3-node Proxmox and Ceph lab with enterprise NVMe and 25GbE hit a ceiling in benchmarks. Why network saturation and cluster size set the limit. Ceph Proxmox 25GbE Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-most-dangerous-storage-question-isn-t-ssd-vs-hard-drive-it-s-why-you-trust-one-disk-at-all https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-most-dangerous-storage-question-isn-t-ssd-vs-hard-drive-it-s-why-you-trust-one-disk-at-all Thu, 19 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT SSD vs hard drive for important 24/7 data: flash wear, unpowered HDDs, why replication is not backup, and why no single disk deserves your trust. Storage Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/can-we-let-it-lapse-the-risky-vmware-renewal-question-no-one-wants-to-answer-too-late https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/can-we-let-it-lapse-the-risky-vmware-renewal-question-no-one-wants-to-answer-too-late Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT A practical view of VMware support lapse risk, perpetual rights, and timing decisions around VVF subscription moves. VMware Licensing VVF Strategy https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/from-pve-5-to-9-what-happens-when-legacy-infrastructure-refuses-to-let-go https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/from-pve-5-to-9-what-happens-when-legacy-infrastructure-refuses-to-let-go Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Moving fragile, business-critical workloads from Proxmox VE 5 to 9, covering NAS backup bottlenecks, i440FX to Q35 risk and safe migration tactics. Proxmox Migration Legacy Infrastructure Windows 7 Backup Strategy Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/hpe-s-morpheus-gamble-why-it-teams-are-torn-between-escaping-vmware-and-walking-into-another-tra https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/hpe-s-morpheus-gamble-why-it-teams-are-torn-between-escaping-vmware-and-walking-into-another-tra Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why teams evaluating HPE Morpheus as a VMware exit are split between promising lab results and production trust gaps. HPE Morpheus KVM VMware Alternatives https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/it-shows-up-but-won-t-pass-through-the-esxi-usb-wifi-trap-that-catches-everyone https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/it-shows-up-but-won-t-pass-through-the-esxi-usb-wifi-trap-that-catches-everyone Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why USB WiFi passthrough on ESXi often fails even when devices appear in lsusb and quirks are configured. ESXi USB Passthrough Networking Troubleshooting https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/it-works-but-it-feels-wrong-the-real-way-to-run-a-java-monolith-on-kubernetes-without-breaking-y https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/it-works-but-it-feels-wrong-the-real-way-to-run-a-java-monolith-on-kubernetes-without-breaking-y Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT A practical production guide to running a Java monolith on Kubernetes without fragile NodePort duct tape. Kubernetes DevOps Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubernetes-isn-t-your-load-balancer-it-s-the-puppet-master-pulling-the-strings https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubernetes-isn-t-your-load-balancer-it-s-the-puppet-master-pulling-the-strings Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT How Kubernetes Services, Ingress controllers, MetalLB and service meshes split the work of load balancing, and where TLS terminates in production. Kubernetes DevOps Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/minio-repo-archived-spent-2-days-testing-k8s-s3-compatible-alternatives-helm-docker https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/minio-repo-archived-spent-2-days-testing-k8s-s3-compatible-alternatives-helm-docker Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT After the MinIO repo was archived, an r/kubernetes user compared Garage, SeaweedFS, RustFS, Ceph and Minimus, and commenters challenged the Ceph claims. Kubernetes Security Storage Helm https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-invisible-expired-certificate-in-vcenter-and-why-you-can-t-see-it-in-certificate-management https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-invisible-expired-certificate-in-vcenter-and-why-you-can-t-see-it-in-certificate-management Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why the data-encipherment cert alert appears in vCenter even when Certificate Management looks healthy. VMware vCenter Certificates Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-post-is-basically-asking https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-post-is-basically-asking Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT A grounded take on when CPU limits help, when they hurt, and how to choose based on workload behavior. Kubernetes DevOps Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/this-one-s-almost-always-a-resolution-scaling-mismatch-issue-not-an-actual-fullscreen-bug https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/this-one-s-almost-always-a-resolution-scaling-mismatch-issue-not-an-actual-fullscreen-bug Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT A quick troubleshooting sequence for VMware fullscreen corner gaps caused by display scaling mismatch. VMware Display Troubleshooting Desktop https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-have-2-000-service-accounts-and-no-one-knows-who-owns-them-the-multi-cloud-iam-crisis-nobody- https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-have-2-000-service-accounts-and-no-one-knows-who-owns-them-the-multi-cloud-iam-crisis-nobody- Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why unmanaged machine identities across AWS, Azure, and GCP become a security and governance crisis at scale. Kubernetes DevOps Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-thought-kubernetes-would-save-us-the-production-failures-no-one-puts-on-the-conference-slides https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/we-thought-kubernetes-would-save-us-the-production-failures-no-one-puts-on-the-conference-slides Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT A field report on real Kubernetes production failures and the human factors that trigger them. Kubernetes DevOps Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/gallium-xcpng-edge-shift-vmware-alternatives https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/gallium-xcpng-edge-shift-vmware-alternatives Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why XCP-ng and KVM-based Gallium are gaining ground as VMware alternatives for edge sites and mid-sized teams, and the migration trade-offs involved. VMware XCP-ng Gallium KVM Edge Computing Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/what-kubernetes-feature-looked-great-on-paper-but-hurt-you-in-prod https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/what-kubernetes-feature-looked-great-on-paper-but-hurt-you-in-prod Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT there are features in Kubernetes that look amazing on paper. Kubernetes Production https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/this-valentine-with-kubernetes https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/this-valentine-with-kubernetes Sun, 15 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT This r/kubernetes discussion unpacked this valentine with kubernetes! and the practical tradeoffs engineers surfaced around it, with the original post linking out to i.redd.it. Kubernetes Community https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubernetes-the-very-hard-way https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubernetes-the-very-hard-way Fri, 13 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT This r/kubernetes discussion unpacked kubernetes the (very) hard way and the practical tradeoffs engineers surfaced around it, with the original post linking out to labs.iximiuz... Kubernetes https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/two-node-clusters-fibre-channel-vmware-proxmox-migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/two-node-clusters-fibre-channel-vmware-proxmox-migration Fri, 13 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT A team moving 10 VMware clusters and 21 hosts to Proxmox works through quorum, Fibre Channel LVM, MPIO, thin provisioning and VM conversion steps. VMware Proxmox Migration Fibre Channel Storage Enterprise https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/running-postgresql-in-kubernetes https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/running-postgresql-in-kubernetes Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Is it true that stateful programs are better run on a separate machine than in Kubernetes? Kubernetes PostgreSQL https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/s3-b2-wasabi-real-cost-cheap-cloud-storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/s3-b2-wasabi-real-cost-cheap-cloud-storage Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT S3, B2 and Wasabi compared for media teams moving 15TB+ a month, where egress fees, archive tiers and restore frequency outweigh price per terabyte. Cloud Storage AWS S3 Backblaze B2 Wasabi Media Workflows https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-storage-refresh-that-starts-as-netapp-vs-pure-vs-dell-and-ends-as-a-fight-over-your-future-self https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-storage-refresh-that-starts-as-netapp-vs-pure-vs-dell-and-ends-as-a-fight-over-your-future-self Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Storage decisions have a way of pretending they’re about hardware. Storage NetApp Pure Storage Dell HPE Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/zabbix-vs-librenms-k12-network-monitoring https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/zabbix-vs-librenms-k12-network-monitoring Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Zabbix vs LibreNMS for K-12 networks: setup time, auto-discovery, alert noise at 3,500 devices, and which one fits a small IT team's staffing. Zabbix LibreNMS Monitoring K-12 Networking https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/microsoft-365-mfa-forcing-admins-breaking-workflows https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/microsoft-365-mfa-forcing-admins-breaking-workflows Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Microsoft's mandatory MFA for 365 admin accounts is breaking legacy scripts, service accounts and break-glass access, and forcing overdue cleanups. Microsoft 365 MFA Security Sysadmin Cloud https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcom-vmware-partial-renewals-trap https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcom-vmware-partial-renewals-trap Mon, 09 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Broadcom's refusal to allow partial VMware renewals forces all-or-nothing choices: renew everything upfront for years, or rush a risky migration. VMware Broadcom Licensing Enterprise IT Migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/looking-for-a-replacement-for-minio-s3-made-easy-with-garage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/looking-for-a-replacement-for-minio-s3-made-easy-with-garage Mon, 09 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT garage-operator v0.1.x brings Garage, a lightweight self-hosted S3 store, to Kubernetes with GitOps CRDs, COSI support and multi-cluster federation. Kubernetes Storage Production https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/aws-load-balancer-controller-adds-general-availability-support-for-kubernetes-gateway-api https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/aws-load-balancer-controller-adds-general-availability-support-for-kubernetes-gateway-api Sun, 08 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT This r/kubernetes discussion unpacked aws load balancer controller adds general availability support for kubernetes gateway api and the practical tradeoffs engineers surfaced ar... Kubernetes AWS https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/traefik-proxmox-provider-homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/traefik-proxmox-provider-homelab Sun, 08 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT A new Traefik provider plugin reads labels from Proxmox VM and container notes, bringing Docker-style automatic routing to homelabs without manual config. Proxmox Traefik Homelab Networking Open Source https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/esxi-to-ahv-nutanix-ce-homelab-rebuild https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/esxi-to-ahv-nutanix-ce-homelab-rebuild Sat, 07 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT A homelab move from aging VMware 6.7 to Nutanix Community Edition: the smooth install, AHV's different feel, and a painless Nutanix Move migration. Nutanix VMware AHV Homelab Migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/tailscale-real-world-uses-nas-streaming https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/tailscale-real-world-uses-nas-streaming Sat, 07 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Real Tailscale uses: NAS access from anywhere, exit nodes for sports blackouts, private media streaming, homelabs and remote sites without port forwarding. Tailscale VPN Networking Homelab Self-Hosting https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-end-of-kubernetes-ingress-nginx-your-march-2026-migration-playbook https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-end-of-kubernetes-ingress-nginx-your-march-2026-migration-playbook Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT kubernetes/ingress-nginx reaches end of life in March 2026. How to audit your clusters and weigh migration options such as Traefik or Gateway API. Kubernetes Security Ingress https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/helm-in-production-hard-won-lessons-and-gotchas https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/helm-in-production-hard-won-lessons-and-gotchas Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT This r/kubernetes discussion unpacked helm in production: hard-won lessons and gotchas and the practical tradeoffs engineers surfaced around it, with the original post linking o... Kubernetes Helm Production https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/immich-proxmox-lxc-stability-gamble https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/immich-proxmox-lxc-stability-gamble Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT One homelabber's Immich install in a Proxmox LXC broke after host reboots. What the community found about LXC, Docker in LXC, and a full VM running Docker. Proxmox LXC Immich Docker Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/top-5-zabbix-alternatives-enterprise-management https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/top-5-zabbix-alternatives-enterprise-management Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Zabbix alternatives compared for 2026: CloudSino for hardware control, Prometheus for Kubernetes, Datadog for SaaS observability, PRTG for SMBs and more. Zabbix Monitoring Enterprise Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubediagrams-0-7-0-is-out https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubediagrams-0-7-0-is-out Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT KubeDiagrams 0.7.0 generates Kubernetes architecture diagrams from manifests, Helm charts, helmfiles and live clusters, with CRD support and a web app. Kubernetes Helm Tooling https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/lose-root-password-vmware-esxi-one-way-door https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/lose-root-password-vmware-esxi-one-way-door Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Modern ESXi has no recovery path for a lost root password. Why VMware designed it that way, and how to reinstall while preserving VMFS datastores and VMs. VMware ESXi Security Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/escaping-vmware-windows-boot-proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/escaping-vmware-windows-boot-proxmox Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Windows VMs moved from VMware to Proxmox VE often hit INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE. How a VirtIO dummy disk fixes it, plus Corosync and big disk traps. Proxmox VMware Windows Migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/deduplication-nightmares-tar-slows-down https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/deduplication-nightmares-tar-slows-down Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why TAR archives and deduplication on appliances like Cohesity clash, and which options help: DAR, Bacula, split archives and no pre-compression. Backup Deduplication Storage Cohesity TAR https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/rancher-price-kubernetes-dashboard https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/rancher-price-kubernetes-dashboard Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Rancher gave platform teams one calm login for twenty clusters. Then the Rancher price jumped after SUSE, and there's still no obvious replacement. Kubernetes Rancher SUSE DevOps Enterprise https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/what-actually-goes-wrong-in-kubernetes-production https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/what-actually-goes-wrong-in-kubernetes-production Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Kubernetes admins share real production failures: undersized subnets, an etcd collapse from a misassigned apiserver pool, DockerHub limits and Windows. Kubernetes Tooling Production https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-to-nutanix-migration-lessons https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-to-nutanix-migration-lessons Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT IT pros who moved from VMware to Nutanix AHV share what they found with Nutanix Move, CVM performance, licensing costs, support and daily management. VMware Nutanix Migration AHV HCI https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-vsphere-license-expired-now-what https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-vsphere-license-expired-now-what Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT When a vSphere subscription expires, VMs keep running, but stopped VMs won't start and snapshots and backups can fail. Then come the compliance letters. VMware Licensing Broadcom vSphere Compliance https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/zabbix-alternative-commercial-upgrade-data-center https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/zabbix-alternative-commercial-upgrade-data-center Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Zabbix gathers metrics well but can't reach a dead OS or track assets. Here is when data centers need out-of-band control, an automated CMDB and support. Zabbix Monitoring Data Center Infrastructure Management Enterprise IT https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/docker-lxc-vs-vms-proxmox-debate-2026 https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/docker-lxc-vs-vms-proxmox-debate-2026 Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox LXC vs VM vs Docker in LXC: how isolation, overhead, upgrade breakage and official support compare, and why the debate never settles. Docker LXC Proxmox VMs Containers Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/prometheus-counters-aren-t-broken-but-they-re-breaking-teams-who-treat-them-like-datadog https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/prometheus-counters-aren-t-broken-but-they-re-breaking-teams-who-treat-them-like-datadog Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why counter semantics confuse teams during Datadog to Prometheus migrations, and the query patterns that avoid silent misreads. Prometheus Counters Datadog Metrics https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/mixing-ram-sizes-proxmox-server-settled https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/mixing-ram-sizes-proxmox-server-settled Mon, 26 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Mixing RAM sizes and speeds on a Proxmox server works if you balance memory channels, accept the slowest stick's speed, mind ranks and XMP, and test it. Proxmox Hardware RAM Memory Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ceph-starwind-synology-storage-turducken https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ceph-starwind-synology-storage-turducken Sun, 25 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT A Proxmox homelab story about chasing HA bulk storage with Ceph, StarWind VSAN and Synology, and why letting each tool do its own job won out. Proxmox Ceph Storage High Availability StarWind Synology https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/clawdbot-proxmox-practical-guide https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/clawdbot-proxmox-practical-guide Sun, 25 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT How to run Clawdbot, a self-hosted AI agent, on Proxmox VE: LXC gotchas, systemd workarounds, Docker alternatives, and security hardening. Proxmox AI Clawdbot Self-Hosted LXC Docker Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/pvesphere-proxmox-tool-skepticism https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/pvesphere-proxmox-tool-skepticism Sun, 25 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT PveSphere launched as a production-ready multi-cluster manager for Proxmox VE. The community answered with cautious optimism, jokes and hard questions. PveSphere Proxmox Multi-Cluster Infrastructure Open Source https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-200tb-tape-killer-everyone-wants-to-believe-in-but-storage-people-have-seen-this-movie-before https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-200tb-tape-killer-everyone-wants-to-believe-in-but-storage-people-have-seen-this-movie-before Sat, 24 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT HoloMEM claims a 200TB holographic cartridge that drops into LTO autoloaders. Why storage veterans want demos, pricing and proof before they believe it. Storage Tape Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/why-proxmox-migration-failed-not-proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/why-proxmox-migration-failed-not-proxmox Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Failed Proxmox migrations usually trace back to VMware era habits: uncapped ZFS ARC, Ceph on 1GbE and misaligned disks, not to Proxmox itself. Proxmox VMware Migration ZFS Ceph Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/how-one-team-slashed-prometheus-memory-from-60gb-to-20gb-and-exposed-the-silent-cardinality-cris https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/how-one-team-slashed-prometheus-memory-from-60gb-to-20gb-and-exposed-the-silent-cardinality-cris Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT A real case study on cutting Prometheus memory usage from 60GB to 20GB by identifying toxic labels and reclaiming scrape reliability. Prometheus Cardinality SRE Monitoring https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcom-vmware-3k-to-21k-small-it-teams https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcom-vmware-3k-to-21k-small-it-teams Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT VMware renewals are hitting small IT teams with 7x price increases. For many the math no longer works, and the move to Proxmox and Hyper-V is speeding up. VMware Broadcom Licensing Migration Proxmox Hyper-V https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/fix-slow-ci-pipeline-qa-not-hardware https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/fix-slow-ci-pipeline-qa-not-hardware Tue, 20 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT A team cut its CI pipeline from 58 to 14 minutes by tiering tests, parallelizing, fixing flaky tests and tracking retries instead of buying hardware. DevOps CI/CD Testing QA Pipeline Optimization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ceph-starwind-ha-storage-proxmox-middle-ground https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ceph-starwind-ha-storage-proxmox-middle-ground Sun, 18 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why highly available Samba or NFS storage in Proxmox is hard, comparing Ceph, CephFS, StarWind VSAN, clustered filesystems and a plain NAS. proxmox ceph storage high-availability starwind nas https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/prometheus-how-we-slashed-memory-usage-and-discovered-our-dashboards-were-the-real-problem https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/prometheus-how-we-slashed-memory-usage-and-discovered-our-dashboards-were-the-real-problem Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT A step-by-step breakdown of reducing Prometheus memory pressure by auditing high-cardinality metrics and fixing expensive dashboard query habits. Prometheus Grafana Cardinality Performance https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-ha-maintenance-mode-cluster-ice https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-ha-maintenance-mode-cluster-ice Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT A rack power upgrade became a cluster-wide reboot storm because HA was never put into maintenance mode, a step Proxmox still has no GUI button for. proxmox high-availability clustering maintenance corosync https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/tape-storage-was-supposed-to-be-dead-then-someone-showed-up-with-50pb-and-a-reality-check https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/tape-storage-was-supposed-to-be-dead-then-someone-showed-up-with-50pb-and-a-reality-check Fri, 16 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT A closed site with 50PB on IBM TS4500 tape weighs VAST Data, IBM ESS, Ceph and TrueNAS for its aging Tier 1, and why tape still earns its place. Storage Tape VAST Data Ceph NVMe Backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/because-real-heroes-build-their-own-exporters-and-sometimes-that-s-exactly-the-right-move https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/because-real-heroes-build-their-own-exporters-and-sometimes-that-s-exactly-the-right-move Tue, 13 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Building a custom exporter can be the fastest path to useful observability when critical systems lack stable community integrations. Prometheus Exporters Monitoring Engineering https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/blackwell-proxmox-nvidia-drivers-refuse-load https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/blackwell-proxmox-nvidia-drivers-refuse-load Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Blackwell GPUs on Proxmox 9.1: Nvidia's open kernel driver compiles but won't load. Kernel downgrades, VFIO conflicts, and why some hosts need a reinstall. Proxmox Nvidia Blackwell GPU Linux Drivers https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/s3-storage-boxes-vps-proxmox-backup-2026 https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/s3-storage-boxes-vps-proxmox-backup-2026 Sun, 11 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Wasabi vs Backblaze B2 vs Hetzner Storage Box for Proxmox Backup Server in 2026: real monthly costs, egress fees, and reliability tradeoffs compared. Proxmox Backup PBS S3 Storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-san-vmware-exit-problem https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-san-vmware-exit-problem Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Leaving VMware for Proxmox? A SAN-backed cluster won't behave the same way, and that gap in expectations catches many teams flat-footed. Proxmox VMware SAN Storage Migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/why-i-recommend-native-prometheus-instrumentation-over-opentelemetry-and-why-that-title-sparked- https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/why-i-recommend-native-prometheus-instrumentation-over-opentelemetry-and-why-that-title-sparked- Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT A focused argument for native Prometheus metrics instrumentation in specific scenarios, with clear boundaries on where OpenTelemetry remains the better fit. Prometheus OpenTelemetry Instrumentation Metrics https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/windows-11-proxmox-performance-broken https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/windows-11-proxmox-performance-broken Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Windows 11 VMs on Proxmox with hybrid Intel CPUs run far below host speed. Pinning, Hyper-V flags, CPU type and a 24H2 regression are all suspects. Proxmox Windows 11 Virtualization KVM Performance https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-power-failure-initramfs-boot https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-power-failure-initramfs-boot Fri, 09 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT A power outage turned into a week-long debugging session when initramfs refused to mount the root filesystem. Here's what went wrong and how to fix it. Proxmox Linux Boot Troubleshooting Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-120pb-storage-question-that-makes-every-just-use-open-source-answer-feel-suddenly-expensive https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/the-120pb-storage-question-that-makes-every-just-use-open-source-answer-feel-suddenly-expensive Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT A 120PB HPC and AI storage decision for quant research: DDN, open-source Lustre, DeepSeek 3FS, NetApp or VAST, and why support and staffing decide it. Storage Tape VAST Data NetApp Pure Storage Dell https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/why-did-tesla-move-to-clickhouse-instead-of-scaling-thanos-and-what-that-actually-says-about-pro https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/why-did-tesla-move-to-clickhouse-instead-of-scaling-thanos-and-what-that-actually-says-about-pro Wed, 07 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why large teams sometimes choose ClickHouse over Thanos or Cortex, and what that decision reveals about architecture, cost, and query patterns at scale. Prometheus Thanos ClickHouse Observability https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/10-proxmox-mistakes-avoid https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/10-proxmox-mistakes-avoid Mon, 05 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT 10 common Proxmox mistakes, from ZFS RAM planning and RAIDZ for VMs to HA quorum, backups and Docker on the host, and how to avoid each one. Proxmox Virtualization ZFS Home Lab Best Practices https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/monitoring-my-homelab-became-a-second-job-and-i-m-not-even-getting-paid https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/monitoring-my-homelab-became-a-second-job-and-i-m-not-even-getting-paid Sun, 04 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT A practical look at monitoring stack sprawl in homelabs and how to simplify alerting, dashboards, and ownership before observability becomes busywork. Homelab Monitoring Prometheus Proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/migrating-200-vms-proxmox-networking-problem https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/migrating-200-vms-proxmox-networking-problem Sat, 27 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Why large VMware to Proxmox migrations succeed or fail on networking: hardcoded IPs, traffic flows, VLANs, MAC-bound licenses and careful batching. Proxmox VMware Migration Networking Enterprise https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-multi-tenant-self-service-cloud-rbac-sdn https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-multi-tenant-self-service-cloud-rbac-sdn Fri, 26 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT How pools, RBAC and per-project SDN zones let teams self-manage VMs in the Proxmox GUI on one node, without root and without seeing each other's resources. proxmox multi-tenant sdn rbac self-service https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/stop-touching-every-device-the-smarter-way-to-funnel-snmp-traps-into-zabbix-at-scale https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/stop-touching-every-device-the-smarter-way-to-funnel-snmp-traps-into-zabbix-at-scale Fri, 26 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT How centralized SNMP trap ingestion and template-driven routing reduce drift and scale Zabbix monitoring across large fleets. Zabbix SNMP Scalability Monitoring https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/holy-proxmox-jesus-three-node-cluster-data-center https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/holy-proxmox-jesus-three-node-cluster-data-center Thu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT A three-node Proxmox cluster with 4.5TB of RAM and hundreds of CPU cores drew attention once readers saw it was serious production infrastructure. proxmox cluster enterprise infrastructure amd-epyc https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-update-strategy-ansible-prayer https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-update-strategy-ansible-prayer Wed, 24 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT A look at how homelabbers actually keep Proxmox, LXCs, and VMs updated, from elegant automation to hopeful reboots. proxmox updates ansible homelab automation https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/running-sessions-shell-hack-proxmox-ssh https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/running-sessions-shell-hack-proxmox-ssh Sun, 21 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT A simple .bashrc trick to remind you about running screen and tmux sessions when working on remote Proxmox systems via SSH. Proxmox SSH Linux Shell Productivity https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/midsize-business-proxmox-migration-savings https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/midsize-business-proxmox-migration-savings Fri, 19 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT A 500-employee business moved from VMware to Proxmox. Six months in: mostly positive, sometimes frustrating, and about 25% of what VMware and Dell quoted. Proxmox VMware Migration Enterprise Cost Savings https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/eight-years-of-silence-and-finally-a-juniper-ex-template-that-understands-virtual-chassis https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/eight-years-of-silence-and-finally-a-juniper-ex-template-that-understands-virtual-chassis Thu, 18 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT A modernized Juniper EX template adds Virtual Chassis discovery and member-level visibility for real production monitoring. Zabbix Juniper Templates Network Monitoring https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ai-didnt-kill-devops-stakes-higher https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ai-didnt-kill-devops-stakes-higher Wed, 17 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT AI speeds up DevOps work, including the mistakes. Where AI helps, where it adds risk in production, and why humans must stay in the loop. AI DevOps Automation Kubernetes Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-pros-ditching-platform-2025 https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-pros-ditching-platform-2025 Tue, 16 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT 2025 is shaping up as a major VMware migration year, with many long-time operators evaluating alternatives for cost and control. VMware Proxmox Broadcom Virtualization Migration Hyper-V https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/citrix-to-proxmox-accidental-upgrade-worked https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/citrix-to-proxmox-accidental-upgrade-worked Sun, 14 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT After company politics upended his XenServer work, one Citrix engineer moved to Proxmox VE and found the CLI, GPU passthrough and clustering just worked. Proxmox Citrix VMware Virtualization Migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/virtiofs-best-thing-not-using-proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/virtiofs-best-thing-not-using-proxmox Sun, 14 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT VirtIOFS shares host folders and ZFS datasets with Proxmox VMs more simply than Samba or NFS. Use cases, Windows issues and 150MB/s vs 1.5GB/s performance. Proxmox VirtIOFS Virtualization File Sharing ZFS https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-subscription-worth-it-paywall-stability https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-subscription-worth-it-paywall-stability Thu, 11 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Is Proxmox subscription worth it? Breakdown of enterprise repo benefits, socket pricing, support value, and when no-subscription is still enough. proxmox virtualization licensing homelab enterprise https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/your-12-hour-alert-summary-is-nice-but-here-s-why-it-s-missing-the-most-important-problems https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/your-12-hour-alert-summary-is-nice-but-here-s-why-it-s-missing-the-most-important-problems Thu, 11 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Why 12-hour event summaries miss long-running active incidents, and how to merge history and current problem state correctly. Zabbix Alerting Automation Operations https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kasm-workspaces-proxmox-vdi-setup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kasm-workspaces-proxmox-vdi-setup Tue, 09 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Explore how Kasm Workspaces paired with Proxmox VE offers a browser-based, scalable, and free VDI alternative to Citrix and VMware Horizon. Proxmox VDI Kasm Citrix Virtualization Self-Hosting https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/clusterfcked-kubernetes-admin-stories https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/clusterfcked-kubernetes-admin-stories Mon, 08 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Kubernetes admins share war stories: SELinux mandates from the CEO, vendor add-ons, Vault and ESO without docs, and homelab crash loops. Kubernetes DevOps SRE Cloud Native War Stories https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/zabbix-server-running-no-login-common-mistakes https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/zabbix-server-running-no-login-common-mistakes Mon, 08 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Zabbix server running and the frontend loads, but login fails? Check credentials, MySQL port 3306, Docker localhost, SELinux, sockets and logs. Zabbix Monitoring Troubleshooting MySQL Linux https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcom-five-year-licensing-virtualization-market https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcom-five-year-licensing-virtualization-market Sun, 07 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Broadcom's push for five-year VMware contracts is accelerating migration planning and long-term budgeting decisions across the virtualization market. VMware Broadcom Licensing VCF Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcom-vmware-3k-to-47k-shockwave https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcom-vmware-3k-to-47k-shockwave Thu, 04 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT A VMware Essentials renewal jumped from $3K to $47K. Why Broadcom's pricing is pushing teams toward Proxmox, Hyper-V, XCP-NG and Nutanix AHV. VMware Broadcom Proxmox Hyper-V Migration Licensing https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/minio-maintenance-mode-s3-alternatives https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/minio-maintenance-mode-s3-alternatives Thu, 04 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT MinIO's open-source version went into maintenance mode, then got archived. Why users are angry, and how Garage, SeaweedFS, RustFS and Ceph compare. MinIO S3 Object Storage Self-Hosting Garage SeaweedFS Ceph https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-licensing-maze-16-72-96-cores https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-licensing-maze-16-72-96-cores Thu, 04 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Broadcom docs say 16 cores per socket, reps quote a 72-core minimum, and some report 96 for vSphere 8. What admins are seeing, including the EEA exception. VMware Broadcom Licensing Enterprise Migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/apt-upgrade-vs-dist-upgrade-proxmox-trap https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/apt-upgrade-vs-dist-upgrade-proxmox-trap Tue, 02 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Why apt upgrade left a Proxmox 8 host half upgraded to Proxmox 9, what people tried to repair it, and why dist-upgrade is the safe command. proxmox debian apt system-administration upgrades homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubernetes-1-35-security-first-release https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubernetes-1-35-security-first-release Tue, 02 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Kubernetes 1.35 drops cgroup v1, hardens Kubelet certificate validation, adds constrained impersonation and turns on user namespaces by default. kubernetes security k8s containers devops cgroups rbac https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcom-cncf-donation-damage-control https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcom-cncf-donation-damage-control Sun, 30 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Broadcom donated a Kubernetes tool to CNCF, but community response remains mixed due to recent platform and licensing changes. broadcom vmware kubernetes cncf open-source bitnami harbor https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-enterprise-gotchas-vmware-admins https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-enterprise-gotchas-vmware-admins Sat, 29 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT What VMware admins run into when moving to Proxmox: storage design, Ceph hardware, AMD Epyc NUMA, Windows licensing, networking, HA and Oracle. proxmox vmware migration enterprise storage ceph networking numa https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/state-of-ai-2025-pilots-transformation https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/state-of-ai-2025-pilots-transformation Sat, 29 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT 88% of organizations use AI but only a third are scaling it. How high performers differ: transformative goals, workflow redesign, agents and investment. ai enterprise transformation scaling agents workforce innovation https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/zero-downtime-deploys-without-kubernetes https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/zero-downtime-deploys-without-kubernetes Sat, 29 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Zero-downtime deploys without Kubernetes: load balancers, blue-green, symlink releases, SIGTERM draining, Docker setups and safe database migrations. kubernetes deployment devops infrastructure best-practices load-balancing https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/remote-proxmox-zero-inbound-access https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/remote-proxmox-zero-inbound-access Fri, 28 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT How homelabbers reach a Proxmox host with no inbound access using WireGuard, Tailscale, Cloudflare Tunnel, NATed VNets and a remote KVM with power control. proxmox networking vpn wireguard tailscale homelab remote-access https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/home-lab-spaghetti-monster-proxmox-chaos https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/home-lab-spaghetti-monster-proxmox-chaos Thu, 27 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox home labs start clean and turn into spaghetti. Users share how documentation, naming, IaC and backup retention bring them back under control. Proxmox Home Lab Documentation Best Practices https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/unraid-manager-app-ios-release https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/unraid-manager-app-ios-release Thu, 27 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT A solo developer released the free Unraid Manager app for iOS. What users like, the early bugs, API key setup tips and why Android users are still waiting. unraid mobile-app ios home-lab api https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ecc-vs-non-ecc-ram-proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ecc-vs-non-ecc-ram-proxmox Wed, 26 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT ECC vs non-ECC RAM for Proxmox: how often bit flips happen, why Ceph checksums can't catch them, and when ECC is worth paying for in a homelab or business. proxmox hardware ram ecc homelab business https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-9-1-upgrade-kernel-panic-network-gpu https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-9-1-upgrade-kernel-panic-network-gpu Wed, 26 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Users report kernel panics, netdev crashes on Mellanox NICs and iGPU trouble with Frigate after upgrading to Proxmox 9.1, plus rollback advice. Proxmox Troubleshooting Kernel GPU Networking https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/manufacturing-it-vcf-minimal-deployment https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/manufacturing-it-vcf-minimal-deployment Tue, 25 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT How mid-sized manufacturers can run a minimal VCF 9 deployment: skipping NSX and vSAN, VLAN-backed port groups, VCF Edge and the shelfware approach. VMware VCF Manufacturing NSX vSAN Broadcom https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-nutanix-ahv-backup-registration-failure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/veeam-nutanix-ahv-backup-registration-failure Mon, 24 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Veeam deploys its proxy to a 3-node Nutanix AHV cluster, then refuses to register it. Port checks, cert theories and Reddit advice from the meltdown. Nutanix AHV Veeam Backup Troubleshooting Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ecs-to-eks-kubernetes-migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ecs-to-eks-kubernetes-migration Sun, 23 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Moving from ECS to EKS is a common progression with real complexity. This guide covers common migration issues and how teams handle them. Kubernetes AWS ECS EKS Cloud Migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ram-linux-mint-proxmox-memory-management https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ram-linux-mint-proxmox-memory-management Sun, 23 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Maxing out RAM in a 3-node Proxmox cluster came down to too many desktop VMs. What the community said about LXC, ballooning and headless servers. Proxmox RAM LXC Linux Mint Memory Management Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/lxc-docker-proxmox-9-1-questions https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/lxc-docker-proxmox-9-1-questions Thu, 20 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox VE 9.1 adds OCI image support for LXC containers. Answers on Docker-in-LXC fixes, TPM changes, other new features and upgrade stability. Proxmox LXC Docker Virtualization Containers https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-9-1-oci-containers-docker-reality https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-9-1-oci-containers-docker-reality Thu, 20 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox 9.1 turns OCI images into LXC containers. Homelabbers like it for small single-app services, but updates, networking and Compose are awkward. Proxmox Docker LXC Containers OCI https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/inside-cloudflare-worst-outage-2019 https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/inside-cloudflare-worst-outage-2019 Wed, 19 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT How a ClickHouse permissions change doubled a Bot Management feature file and caused Cloudflare's biggest outage since 2019 on November 18, 2025. Cloudflare Outage Internet Infrastructure Bot Management ClickHouse DNS https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-ve-9-1-release-whats-new https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-ve-9-1-release-whats-new Wed, 19 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox VE 9.1 adds LXC from OCI images, vTPM in qcow2, a nested-virt flag, SDN status views and kernel 6.17, which has known Dell and vGPU issues. Proxmox VE Release Kernel LXC TPM SDN Upgrade https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/cost-effective-ceph-homelab-builds https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/cost-effective-ceph-homelab-builds Tue, 18 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Real homelab Ceph builds from Optiplex mini-PCs to Supermicro servers at $75 to $250 per node, plus the networking, storage and noise tradeoffs to expect. Ceph Home Lab Storage Distributed Storage Cost Optimization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/usb-vs-sata-pbs-storage-debate https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/usb-vs-sata-pbs-storage-debate Tue, 18 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Running Proxmox Backup Server as a VM after downsizing: SATA pass-through vs USB drives, virtual disks, the 3-2-1 rule and what one homelabber chose. Proxmox PBS Storage USB SATA Backup Virtualization Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/oracle-linux-vmware-enterprises-test-switch https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/oracle-linux-vmware-enterprises-test-switch Mon, 17 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT After Broadcom's 300% VMware price hike, an enterprise tested Oracle's OLVM as a replacement and hit missing features, licensing risk and ecosystem gaps. VMware Oracle Linux OLVM Virtualization Broadcom Enterprise Migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/redundant-dns-home-vpn-privacy-setup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/redundant-dns-home-vpn-privacy-setup Mon, 17 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT A home DNS build with two Pi-hole and Unbound nodes, a Keepalived virtual IP and VPN routing, plus the trade-offs to weigh before copying it. DNS Pi-hole Unbound VPN Home Lab Privacy https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubecost-vs-opencost-kubernetes-cost-monitoring https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubecost-vs-opencost-kubernetes-cost-monitoring Sun, 16 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Kubecost vs OpenCost in real clusters: OpenCost UI timeouts at scale, Kubecost's 15-day free tier and IBM ownership, and why teams build their own tools. Kubernetes Cost Monitoring Kubecost OpenCost FinOps https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vcf-takeover-vmware-pricing-market https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vcf-takeover-vmware-pricing-market Sun, 16 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT VMware VCF pricing shift explained: why costs jumped, which customers are most affected, and how teams are evaluating migration options. VMware VCF Broadcom Licensing Pricing Enterprise https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/why-enterprises-ban-docker-devs-workarounds https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/why-enterprises-ban-docker-devs-workarounds Sun, 16 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Why banks and other regulated enterprises ban Docker on developer machines, and how dev teams cope with Podman, shared clusters and older workflows. Docker Containers Enterprise Security Podman https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/opsgenie-alternatives-devops-alerting-tools-2025 https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/opsgenie-alternatives-devops-alerting-tools-2025 Sat, 15 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Why DevOps teams are leaving Opsgenie and where they go: Incident.io, Datadog On-Call, FireHydrant, Rootly, JSM Alerts and smaller alerting tools. DevOps Monitoring Opsgenie Incident Management Alerting SRE https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-ai-integration-sysadmin-response https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-ai-integration-sysadmin-response Sat, 15 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT VMware launched Intelligent Assist, an AI chatbot in vDefend. Why sysadmins distrust AI in production and where VMware AI could still earn a place. VMware AI vDefend Infrastructure Sysadmin Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ingress-nginx-retiring-kubernetes-favorites https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ingress-nginx-retiring-kubernetes-favorites Fri, 14 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Ingress-NGINX retires in March 2026. Where Kubernetes operators are moving: Traefik, Envoy Gateway, Cilium, Istio, Contour, HAProxy and cloud balancers. Kubernetes Ingress Networking Gateway API Traefik Envoy Cilium Istio NGINX https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-licensing-harsh-reality-2026 https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-licensing-harsh-reality-2026 Thu, 13 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT VMware licensing in 2026 explained: per-core pricing impact, budget math for small IT teams, and practical alternatives after Broadcom changes. VMware Licensing Broadcom vSphere Cost Management IT Budget Hypervisor https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/aws-backup-native-eks-support https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/aws-backup-native-eks-support Mon, 10 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT AWS Backup now supports Amazon EKS natively, backing up cluster state and persistent volumes without custom scripts or Velero. What users think so far. AWS EKS Kubernetes Backup AWS Backup Disaster Recovery DevOps Cloud https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/docker-lxc-ticking-time-bomb-proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/docker-lxc-ticking-time-bomb-proxmox Mon, 10 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox homelabbers compare running Docker in LXC containers vs VMs: kernel panics, privileged vs unprivileged LXCs, backups, and hybrid setups. Docker LXC Proxmox Containers Virtualization Security https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/hycu-veeam-cohesity-catalogic-nutanix-backup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/hycu-veeam-cohesity-catalogic-nutanix-backup Mon, 10 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT HYCU vs Veeam vs Cohesity vs Catalogic for Nutanix backup: real operator feedback on restore speed, complexity, and total cost for smaller teams. Nutanix Backup HYCU Veeam Cohesity Catalogic Disaster Recovery AHV https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ceph-cluster-crash-bad-api-call https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ceph-cluster-crash-bad-api-call Sun, 09 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT One bad curl request crashed every Ceph monitor in a Proxmox homelab. How the admin rebuilt the monitor store from OSDs, and the API validation lesson. Ceph Storage API Disaster Recovery Proxmox Debugging https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/cloud-first-regret-later-it-pros-migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/cloud-first-regret-later-it-pros-migration Sun, 09 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT IT pros explain why cloud migrations often cost more: lift and shift, hidden fees, OPEX accounting, when cloud pays off, and de-cloudification. Cloud Migration AWS Azure Cost Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/goodbye-vmware-kubernetes-kubevirt-virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/goodbye-vmware-kubernetes-kubevirt-virtualization Sat, 08 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT After Broadcom's licensing changes, engineers share why they left VMware for Kubernetes with KubeVirt, what it cost, and what they gained in control. VMware Kubernetes KubeVirt Broadcom Virtualization Migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/no-budget-enterprise-drives-proxmox-ssd-wearout https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/no-budget-enterprise-drives-proxmox-ssd-wearout Sat, 08 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox SSD wearout guide: reduce write amplification, tune ZFS, and extend consumer drive life when enterprise SSDs are out of budget. Proxmox SSD Storage ZFS Hardware Performance https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/when-virtual-infrastructure-becomes-hostage-vvf-vcf-saga https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/when-virtual-infrastructure-becomes-hostage-vvf-vcf-saga Fri, 07 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Broadcom is phasing out vSphere Foundation for VMware Cloud Foundation, pricing out smaller teams. The costs, tradeoffs and alternatives they weigh. VMware VCF VVF Broadcom Virtualization vSphere https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/fork-it-till-you-make-it-kubernetes-backup-drama https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/fork-it-till-you-make-it-kubernetes-backup-drama Thu, 06 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Broadcom now owns Velero, and Kubernetes users are weighing a fork. What the community fears, the alternatives it is testing, and how to prepare. Kubernetes Velero Backup Broadcom Open Source CNCF https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-dc-migration-saga-active-directory-mess https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-dc-migration-saga-active-directory-mess Wed, 05 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Domain controllers restored from VMware into Proxmox lost their NIC. How admins got back in with VirtIO and E1000, and why rebuilding a DC beats restoring. Proxmox Active Directory Migration VMware Domain Controller Networking https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/six-grand-twelve-drives-one-dream-200tb-server-portfolio https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/six-grand-twelve-drives-one-dream-200tb-server-portfolio Wed, 05 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT An IT support tech built a 200TB Proxmox and TrueNAS homelab for about six grand to prove his skills, and turned the build into a living resume. Homelab TrueNAS Proxmox ZFS Storage Career Self-hosting https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/claude-copilot-chaos-ai-hollowing-tech-teams https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/claude-copilot-chaos-ai-hollowing-tech-teams Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT An AI coding trial turned into a reason to cut DevOps hiring, and engineers on Reddit say juniors and the talent pipeline are paying for it. AI Claude Copilot DevOps Career Management Automation https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/layoffs-lies-ai-excuse-ibm-holiday-gift-workers https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/layoffs-lies-ai-excuse-ibm-holiday-gift-workers Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT A critical look at IBM layoffs, AI transformation messaging, and how cost pressure is affecting technology teams. IBM Layoffs AI Corporate Economy Jobs https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/podman-vs-docker-better-paper-losing-practice https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/podman-vs-docker-better-paper-losing-practice Mon, 03 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Podman is rootless, daemonless and secure, yet Docker still dominates. Why compatibility gaps, docs, Compose vs Quadlets and stability keep Docker ahead. Podman Docker Containers DevOps Rootless Compose https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/tailscale-was-down-again https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/tailscale-was-down-again Mon, 03 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT A Tailscale control plane outage left users locked out of the admin console, raised status page doubts and sent some toward Headscale and backup VPNs. Tailscale VPN Self-hosting Headscale Outage Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ceph-ha-minimum-viable-cluster-smbs https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ceph-ha-minimum-viable-cluster-smbs Sun, 02 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT The smallest Proxmox HA cluster that makes sense with Ceph, from 2-node setups with a QDevice to the 3 to 5 node builds the community recommends for SMBs. Ceph Proxmox High Availability SMB Storage Clustering https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-ssd-vanishing-reboot-issues https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-ssd-vanishing-reboot-issues Sun, 02 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Why an NVMe SSD keeps vanishing from a Proxmox server, and the community fixes that worked: ASPM, PCIe lanes, card seating, cooling and power cables. Proxmox Hardware Troubleshooting NVMe SSD https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/rdp-linux-beginners-debian-ubuntu https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/rdp-linux-beginners-debian-ubuntu Sun, 02 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Which Linux distros and desktops work best for RDP in a Proxmox home lab: Debian with XFCE, Ubuntu, Zorin, Xubuntu and more, plus tips on xrdp and VNC. Linux RDP Proxmox Debian Ubuntu Remote Access https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/helper-scripts-hidden-risks-proxmox-community https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/helper-scripts-hidden-risks-proxmox-community Sat, 01 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Why the Proxmox community is split on helper scripts: fast installs for busy homelabbers versus trust, security and learning concerns, plus a middle path. Proxmox Security Automation Homelab Community https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/legacy-cpu-performance-proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/legacy-cpu-performance-proxmox Fri, 31 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Can a 14-year-old dual Xeon still run Windows 11? Homelabbers weigh Proxmox against bare metal and share how they get value from aging hardware. Proxmox Hardware Virtualization Homelab Performance https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/mariadb-operator-25-10-stateful-kubernetes https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/mariadb-operator-25-10-stateful-kubernetes Fri, 31 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT MariaDB Operator 25.10 brings GA async replication, automated failover and snapshot-based replica recovery to stateful database workloads on Kubernetes. Kubernetes MariaDB Database Operators Stateful Workloads https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/p2v-ahv-without-move-2025 https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/p2v-ahv-without-move-2025 Fri, 31 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Nutanix Move can't convert physical servers to AHV. The community playbook: VirtIO drivers first, then Veeam or Clonezilla, VMDK imports and partner tools. Nutanix AHV P2V Virtualization Migration VirtIO Veeam https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/unraid-7-2-0-game-changer https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/unraid-7-2-0-game-changer Thu, 30 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Unraid 7.2.0 adds a responsive mobile WebGUI, one-drive ZFS RAIDZ expansion and a built-in API. What upgraders report, and whether to update now. Unraid Storage NAS ZFS Docker https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcom-killed-vsphere-standard-smbs-doing-instead https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcom-killed-vsphere-standard-smbs-doing-instead Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Broadcom discontinued vSphere Standard, and SMB admins are moving to Proxmox and Hyper-V, with Nutanix AHV as a pricier option. Here is what they report. VMware Broadcom Proxmox Hyper-V Migration SMB https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubernetes-live-container-migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubernetes-live-container-migration Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Why Kubernetes still can't live migrate containers, what CAST AI's CRIU-based migration for EKS does, and the case for making it a native feature. Kubernetes Containers Migration DevOps Cloud Native CRIU Stateful Workloads https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/pbs-same-host-backup-performance https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/pbs-same-host-backup-performance Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Why Proxmox Backup Server in a VM on the same host backs up slowly on fast hardware: NIC tuning, bare metal or LXC installs, and FIO benchmarks. Proxmox PBS Backup Performance Storage Virtualization https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-support-worth-it-real-users https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-support-worth-it-real-users Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Real user reports on paid Proxmox support: 36-node bug hunts, CET support hours, Gold Partners for other time zones, and who should buy a subscription. Proxmox Support Enterprise MSP https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/windows-vms-crawling-proxmox-cpu-fix https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/windows-vms-crawling-proxmox-cpu-fix Mon, 27 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Slow Windows VMs in Proxmox? The 'Host' CPU type can trigger heavy Windows mitigations. Why an emulated model like AES-V2 made one VM 15x faster. Proxmox Windows Virtualization Performance Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ephemeral-kubernetes-namespaces-dev-environments https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ephemeral-kubernetes-namespaces-dev-environments Sun, 26 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Per-PR ephemeral Kubernetes namespaces for dev and test: cleanup with TTLs and CronJobs, shared vs fresh databases, vClusters and other tradeoffs. Kubernetes DevOps CI/CD Namespaces Cloud Native Testing https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/truenas-ubuntu-unraid-best-backup-server-os https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/truenas-ubuntu-unraid-best-backup-server-os Sun, 26 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT TrueNAS vs Ubuntu vs Unraid for offsite backups: compare cost, setup complexity, ransomware resilience, and long-term maintenance for homelab storage. Unraid TrueNAS Ubuntu Backup Homelab Storage ZFS https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/aws-govcloud-vs-commercial-cloud-breakdown https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/aws-govcloud-vs-commercial-cloud-breakdown Sat, 25 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Why AWS GovCloud stayed up when us-east-1 went down, why some federal users still had problems, and what the outage says about cloud dependencies. AWS cloud GovCloud outage infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/cloud-vs-couch-vps-better-self-hosting-2025 https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/cloud-vs-couch-vps-better-self-hosting-2025 Sat, 25 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Why self-hosters are moving from home servers to VPS, where home hardware still wins on storage, latency and control, and how hybrid setups combine both. self-hosting VPS cloud homelab proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-vs-hyperv-unexpected-nuances https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/vmware-vs-hyperv-unexpected-nuances Sat, 25 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT What changes when you move from VMware to Hyper-V: Windows failover clustering, SET networking, VM conversion, DR without SRM, and a steep learning curve. VMware Hyper-V Virtualization Microsoft Migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/grafana-monitoring-tool-adoption-failure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/grafana-monitoring-tool-adoption-failure Fri, 24 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT A DevOps team spent $40K on an AI monitoring platform, logged in 47 times in a year and kept using Grafana. What went wrong with tool adoption. grafana devops monitoring observability tool adoption https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/inside-aws-outage-october-2025 https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/inside-aws-outage-october-2025 Fri, 24 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT How a DynamoDB DNS race condition disrupted AWS us-east-1 for over 14 hours, hitting EC2, NLB, Lambda and Connect, and what AWS is changing. AWS Cloud Outage Infrastructure DynamoDB EC2 https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/dell-proxmox-production-compatibility https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/dell-proxmox-production-compatibility Thu, 23 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox runs fine on Dell PowerEdge servers even though Dell doesn't list it as supported. What that means for warranty claims, drivers and production. proxmox dell enterprise vmware hardware https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-lvm-thin-storage-bloat-solutions https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-lvm-thin-storage-bloat-solutions Thu, 23 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox LVM-thin filling up? Learn practical fixes to reclaim space, prevent pool bloat, and stop backup or VM failures before they happen. Proxmox Storage LVM-Thin Homelab Performance https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcom-vcf-shakeup-calm-guide https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/broadcom-vcf-shakeup-calm-guide Wed, 22 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT What Broadcom's VMware Cloud Foundation licensing changes mean, from BYO cloud licenses and the 16-core rule to VCF 9.0, and how teams are responding. VMware Broadcom VCF Cloud Licensing Enterprise https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/everyone-googled-multi-region-failover https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/everyone-googled-multi-region-failover Tue, 21 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT When AWS US-East-1 went down, engineers worldwide frantically Googled multi-region failover. But the reality is much harder than the diagrams suggest—here's why building true resilience is expensive, complex, and often left underfunded. AWS Cloud Multi-Region Failover Infrastructure Outage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-port-8006-firewall-frustration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-port-8006-firewall-frustration Tue, 21 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Why blocking Proxmox port 8006 is harder than it looks: pveproxy binds every interface, rule order matters, and VLANs help isolate management. Proxmox Firewall Security Networking Port Configuration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/aws-east-1-outage-biggest-liability https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/aws-east-1-outage-biggest-liability Mon, 20 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT A DynamoDB DNS failure took down AWS US-EAST-1 and 82 services, from Slack to Ring. Why one region is still the cloud's biggest single point of failure. AWS Cloud Outage DNS US-EAST-1 Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/gitops-argocd-emergency-fixes https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/gitops-argocd-emergency-fixes Mon, 20 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT GitOps can be clean in theory but difficult under production pressure. A practical look at ArgoCD emergency-fix workflows and operational tradeoffs. GitOps ArgoCD Kubernetes DevOps SRE Production https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/when-cloud-breaks-aws-outage-took-down-half-internet https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/when-cloud-breaks-aws-outage-took-down-half-internet Mon, 20 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT The October 20 AWS us-east-1 outage took down Amazon, Slack, Fortnite, Duolingo and more, and showed how much of the internet depends on one region. AWS Cloud Outage Internet US-EAST-1 Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ceph-vs-zfs-storage-wars-proxmox-community https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ceph-vs-zfs-storage-wars-proxmox-community Sun, 19 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Ceph vs ZFS in Proxmox homelabs: a practical comparison of complexity, failure handling, and performance for real-world self-hosted clusters. Proxmox Storage Ceph ZFS Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ceph-vs-zfs-vs-nas-proxmox-ha-storage https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/ceph-vs-zfs-vs-nas-proxmox-ha-storage Sun, 19 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Ceph vs ZFS vs NAS for Proxmox HA: tradeoffs, failure patterns, and architecture choices that improve reliability without overengineering. Proxmox Storage Ceph ZFS High Availability https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-9-ups-support-missing https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-9-ups-support-missing Sun, 19 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Proxmox 9 has no UPS settings in the WebGUI, and never did. Why, and how users set up NUT, apcupsd, gateway servers and shutdown scripts instead. Proxmox UPS NUT Power Management Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-iscsi-storage-vmware-migration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/proxmox-iscsi-storage-vmware-migration Sun, 19 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Why LVM over iSCSI performs badly in Proxmox after a VMware migration, and the fixes users report: NFS, mirrored ZFS vdevs, a SLOG, multipath and VirtIO. Proxmox iSCSI Storage VMware Performance https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/tailmox-1-2-0-proxmox-tailscale https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/tailmox-1-2-0-proxmox-tailscale Sun, 19 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Tailmox 1.2.0 uses tailscale serve to link Proxmox hosts across any distance without open ports. What changed, and where global clustering falls short. Proxmox Tailscale Networking WireGuard Clustering https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/editing-prod-sre-breakglass https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/editing-prod-sre-breakglass Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT GitOps promises pristine, repeatable deployments until your cluster is on fire at 2AM. Why kubectl edit in prod isn't always a sin. SRE GitOps Kubernetes ArgoCD Incident Response https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/enterprise-bloat-oss-cost-cutting https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/enterprise-bloat-oss-cost-cutting Fri, 19 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT A team saved $100,000 by swapping an overpriced enterprise API gateway for Kong OSS, then kept finding the same kind of bloat in other stacks. Kubernetes Open Source Cost Optimization DevOps Infrastructure https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/open-source-free-until-not-cncf https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/open-source-free-until-not-cncf Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT The internet runs on open source tools maintained by volunteers who might burn out or walk away at any time. What happens when 'free' stops being free? Open Source CNCF Kubernetes Infrastructure Cloud Native https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/blue-green-live-cluster-upgrades https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/blue-green-live-cluster-upgrades Tue, 22 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT Blue-green is the gold standard, yet plenty of teams upgrade Kubernetes clusters in place and live to tell the tale. How that goes in practice. Kubernetes DevOps Cluster Management EKS AKS https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/zabbix-vs-checkmk-prometheus-lightweight-monitoring https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/zabbix-vs-checkmk-prometheus-lightweight-monitoring Tue, 15 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT Zabbix vs Checkmk vs Prometheus, tested for lightweight monitoring: setup effort, auto-discovery, and which tool actually fits a small team's stack. Monitoring Zabbix Prometheus CheckMK DevOps https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubernetes-docs-good-or-least-terrible https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubernetes-docs-good-or-least-terrible Wed, 11 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT Why engineers praise the official Kubernetes docs and cheat sheet, where they fall short under pressure, and how they compare with AWS, Cisco and Oracle. Kubernetes Documentation DevOps Developer Experience https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/maintainers-martyrs-myths-kubernetes-labor https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/maintainers-martyrs-myths-kubernetes-labor Wed, 28 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT Kubernetes and the libraries under it run on unpaid volunteers, thin corporate funding and burnout. A look at that labor model and how to fund it fairly. Open Source Kubernetes CNCF Maintainers Community https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/cue-kyaml-battle-fix-yaml https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/cue-kyaml-battle-fix-yaml Sat, 15 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT Engineers are tired of brittle YAML. How CUE, Kyaml, Jsonnet, Dhall and KDL try to add validation, structure and modularity to configuration. YAML CUE Kubernetes DevOps Configuration https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/getting-started-proxmox https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/getting-started-proxmox Mon, 15 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT A comprehensive guide to installing and configuring Proxmox Virtual Environment for your homelab. Proxmox Tutorial Homelab https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubernetes-homelab-setup https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/kubernetes-homelab-setup Wed, 10 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT Learn how to deploy a production-grade K3s cluster on Proxmox with high availability. Kubernetes K3s Tutorial https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/zfs-configuration-guide https://www.mrplanb.com/blog/zfs-configuration-guide Fri, 05 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT Master ZFS pool creation, tuning, and best practices for data integrity and speed. Storage ZFS Performance