Less guesswork. Better home labs.
Plan the lab.
Know the numbers.
How much storage will you really get? Will your backup finish overnight? What does always-on actually cost? Work it out before you build.
RAID capacity
See usable storage, protection overhead, and the difference between TB and TiB.
Open calculatorTransfer time
Plan backup windows with realistic link utilization, from gigabytes to terabytes.
Open calculatorEnergy cost
Turn idle and active power into a clear running-cost estimate.
Open calculatorSmall tools.
Visible assumptions.
Every result comes with the arithmetic and its limits. Start with storage capacity, carry it into a transfer estimate, then check the power bill. No hardware rankings, mystery scores, or promises a calculator cannot keep.
Plan with worked examples
RAID capacity: TB vs TiB
Will a 1 TB backup finish overnight?
Browse the planning guides →