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I’d say replace your current server with a larger one that can pull double duty as a NAS and VM host. There are plenty of SFF nas cases on the market now.

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dan@upvote.au ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Do you have some examples of good SFF NAS cases? I need two PCIe sockets (one for 10 Gigabit Ethernet and one for a Google Coral TPU) whereas a lot of the SFF cases only have one. I might need to just use a larger case instead. I do like the smaller sized cases, but it’s in a closet so the size doesn’t matter too much.

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- You999@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  The classic choice would be fractal design’s node 304 which fits six 3.5" drive in an ITX form factor. There’s also Silverstone’s CS381 which while being larger can fit eight hotswappable 3.5" drives and a micro atx motherboard.
  
  Even if you go ITX you don’t have to feel limited by the lack of PCIe slots. Since m.2 uses the PCIe protocol it’s very easy to adapt it to your needs such as to an additional PCIe 4x slot. There are even m.2 10GBe cards in both intel and Realtek flavors.
  
  Side question, what coral TPU do you have because it was my understanding that they use m.2, mini pcie, or USB and not the full size pcie slot?
  
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  - dan@upvote.au ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    
    The classic choice would be fractal design’s node 304
    
    Thanks. I do like Fractal Design - I’ve been using a Define R4 case for my desktop PC for 10 years now.
    
    Side question, what coral TPU do you have because it was my understanding that they use m.2, mini pcie, or USB and not the full size pcie slot?
    
    I’ve got one of the M.2 E-key dual-edge TPUs (two TPUs on one device), plus one of these PCIe adapters: www.makerfabs.com/dual-edge-tpu-adapter.html. Unfortunately the E-key slot on my SFF PC’s motherboard is CNVi only (no PCIe), and even for motherboards that have a PCIe M.2 E-key slot, a lot of motherboards only expose one of the TPUs since they don’t fully implement the M.2 spec. The PCIe adapter exposes both as separate PCIe devices and they both work great.
    
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