Trying to get my technology life situated -- suggestions welcome

Hi all,

LONG POST WARNING!!

So I'm a self-proclaimed jack of all trades, master of none. As such, I've accumulated lots of technology, hardware and software over the past several years and it's kind of gotten out of hand. I've got multiple computers, something like 20 or 30 WiFi-connected devices in my apartment (which I live alone in), a 2U Dell Poweredge R720 server, boxes full of cables and other junk and I'm trying to sort, organize, make sense of and utilize everything in the most efficient way possible. I've got a pretty strong background in networking and computing in general, and am comfortable working in Linux (GUI and CLI), so following guides and general suggestions is really all I'm looking for here. Set me in the right direction and give me a push and I'll figure out the rest.

With that being said, here's a brief list of the hardware I have that I want to make use of and/or sell to free up space in my apartment:

• Dell PowerEdge R720 server (16GB RAM, 2xIntel Xeon processors, 4x HDD's)
• Dell Optiplex 7010 business-class desktop
• Custom-built desktop -- 32GB RAM, i7-6700K processor, MSI gaming M5 mobo
• Scattering of HDD's
• Old HP Laptop (DV7-3060US)
• 2x Linksys WRT-54G AP's with DD-WRT flashed on them
• ASUS RT-AC66U (Primary AP) with Merlin-WRT flashed on it
• Raspberry Pi 2 (hoping to upgrade to Pi 3!)

Here's a short list of some projects I'd LIKE to work on/have thought about taking on:

• I'm finishing up my degree with a heavy concentration on Networking & Cybersecurity and am constantly using VM's, so I'd like to use my desktop as some sort of central VM repository. I've briefly used ESXi but haven't gotten deep into the VMWare ecosystem outside of VMWare Workstation. I have access to vCenter and vSphere through my university so I can make use of that as well.
• I plan on setting up my Pi 2 and/or Pi 3 as an emulation station, which I've already done, and use my wireless Xbox controller for it, for which I already have an adapter.
• My Optiplex serves as my "server" atm, which hosts a few services that I link to through my DDNS service running on my ASUS AP. So blah.mydomain.com is masked and links back to my server for whatever the service is, but I'm sure there's better ways to do this.
• I need to figure out what I'm going to do with my Dell Server. I bought it because my job has me rack/stack/cable lots of servers but I never get my hands dirty. I was able to learn a lot about management and configuration in a very short time with this server (mainly remote access stuff) and I've gotten my use out of it....so now what? It's far too loud for me to keep on and since it sits under my guest bed, I'd have to shut it down each time I have a guest.
• I've thought about setting up the Optiplex as a pfSense router/firewall, but idk if I even need that at this point.
• I've previously dabbled in WDS and extending my WiFi network with my Linksys AP's, but they're wireless G and I'm running AC on my phone and laptop, so that'd be a boon. I already have a TP-Link powerline adapter with built-in wifi that broadcasts it's own SSID into my guest room, so I might not even need these anymore. I used them extensively in my networking classes, though.
• I've got my desktop and laptop both running Ubuntu 16.04 and I need to figure out a seamless way to stop work on one machine and pick it up on the other. I already use Dropbox and other cloud software, but I don't want to constantly work out of the Dropbox folder.
• In the same vein as the previous post, I need to figure out a good backup solution for my desktop and laptop. I am usually on my laptop throughout the day, and use desktop when I'm at home, on weekends, or need heavy-duty work done (running lots of VM's, etc). I have a 2TB WD external HDD that is connected to my desktop but not currently setup for backups, as well as a few 1TB internal HDD's I could use, too. For my laptop and my networking classes, I have a 480GB SanDisk EXTREME External SSD that I use to keep my VM's on, and would love to figure out a way to make this my backup drive since it travels with my laptop wherever I go.
  • I also have 2 more external HDD's --- both 2.5" form factor mechanical HDD's, one is a 1.5TB USB 3.0 HDD, the other is a 1TB USB 2.0 HDD.
  • I guess I could run my own OwnCloud instance and back everything up, but how would I manage remote-access to my machines at home for this to work while I'm on-the-go at work and school?

Sorry for the very long post, but I'm really trying to wrap my head around all the different buckets that I've got a hand in, and really trying to make use of the equipment I have in the best way possible and, most importantly, consolidate and eliminate old equipment. I've got this beast of a desktop that really just sits idle since I'm almost always at work or school. I don't game on it, but I built it to be future-proof, so I'd like to figure out a way to use it and really tax the hardware with virtualization, and combine the functions that I currently get from the Optiplex onto it.

Thanks for reading all this and thanks for any suggestions!

Submitted by TsuDoughNym | #Specialdealer Special Offer Online Shopping Store 2016