Blog
Notes from the field.
Short, practical pieces on the decisions I get asked about most. No news, no trends, no AI takes.
5 min read
Setting Up Your First NAS the Right Way (Synology DSM)
A NAS done right on day one: drive choice, real redundancy, per-person accounts, remote access without port forwarding, and a backup for the NAS itself.
4 min read
Choosing a NAS: Synology, UniFi, or TrueNAS?
Synology, UniFi's UNAS line, or a home-built TrueNAS box: an honest look at licensing, lock-in, and upkeep for business and home buyers.
5 min read
Is Home Assistant Worth It for a Normal House?
Local control fixes the cloud outage problem, but it comes with a maintenance tail. Here is where a hub earns its keep and where it does not.
4 min read
Will Your Smart Home Still Work in Five Years?
Cloud shutdowns turn working smart home hardware into plastic. Here is the question to ask before you buy, and what to do with the gear you already own.
5 min read
What to keep running when the power goes out
Storm season is a good time to decide on paper what actually has to stay on when the hydro goes out, what can wait, and what that costs.
5 min read
Fixing UniFi Device Adoption Failures
A methodical way to fix a UniFi access point or switch that will not adopt: IP checks, VLAN gotchas, factory resets and SSH set-inform.
4 min read
UniFi's Whole-Home WiFi: my first take
Ubiquiti announced a WiFi 7 mesh aimed at regular houses today: the UniFi Express 7. Who it's actually for, how it stacks up against the pro setup and against eero and Orbi, and the catches.
4 min read
Who Actually Owns Your Domain and Accounts?
A plain look at who really controls your domain, DNS, hosting and cloud accounts, why that matters more than most owners expect, and how to fix it.
4 min read
What should a small business budget for IT?
Percentage-of-revenue benchmarks fall apart under 50 staff. Here is a simpler way to build a technology budget you can actually defend to your board.
4 min read
What your support queue says about your platform
Support tickets are the cheapest telemetry a hosting or SaaS team owns, and most teams read them as a cost line instead of an engineering signal.
4 min read
How to set up VLANs on a UniFi network
A practical walkthrough of VLANs on UniFi: planning the segments, creating the networks, tagging Wi-Fi and switch ports, and firewalling between them.
4 min read
Windows 10 Just Got Another Year. Now What?
Microsoft quietly pushed free consumer security updates for Windows 10 out to October 2027, but the reprieve does not cover every machine in your office.
4 min read
Setting up guest Wi-Fi on UniFi properly
How to build a guest network on UniFi that gives visitors internet and nothing else: isolation, bandwidth limits, and the portal question.
3 min read
How to tell a project is too big for your vendor
The warning signs that a project has outgrown your vendor, how to check before you sign, and what to do if you are already mid-project.
1 min read
How to read a camera-system quote before you sign it
Five things that are usually missing from a security camera quote, and the one line item that is almost always padded.
3 min read
What to do the moment you suspect malware
The first hour after 'something is wrong with this computer': what to do, what not to touch, and how to tell an infection from a slow PC.
4 min read
What SaaS teams get wrong about infrastructure
Patterns from years inside hosting: single-region assumptions, backup theatre, surprise cloud bills, and why boring infrastructure wins.
4 min read
Choosing a web developer without getting burned
How to vet a web developer: verify the portfolio, keep ownership of domain and hosting, pin down maintenance, and start with a small scope.
4 min read
Does smart home tech help resale value?
An honest look at smart home tech and resale: wiring and network infrastructure add value, gadgets mostly do not, and documentation matters.
4 min read
A backup strategy an owner can actually audit
Three plain questions (what, where, restored when?) that let a business owner audit backups without technical knowledge, plus a checklist.
3 min read
DIY, handyman or specialist: picking the right level
A simple triage for home and small business tech jobs: what to do yourself, what to hand to a generalist, and when to pay a specialist.
3 min read
When the cheapest quote is the expensive one
A quote that comes in far below the others is telling you something. What gets cut to hit a low number, and how to compare quotes honestly.
3 min read
In-house, outsourced or hybrid IT
How to decide between in-house IT, an outsourced provider, or a hybrid, based on company size, risk, and the hidden costs of each.
4 min read
Capacity planning lessons from hosting at scale
What running large hosting fleets taught me about capacity: plan on percentiles, watch for growth cliffs, and price headroom against outages.
4 min read
Technical debt, explained for owners
What developers mean by technical debt, how to budget for paying it down, and when carrying some debt is the right business call.
3 min read
The support fine print nobody reads
Response time is not resolution time. What support contracts actually promise, what voids coverage, and who owns your configurations.
4 min read
The conduit rule: cheap now, priceless later
Why running empty conduit during a renovation is the cheapest insurance you can buy, and where those pull strings pay off years later.
3 min read
Managing IT vendors when you're not technical
You don't need to understand the technology to manage IT vendors well. You need written scope, one accountable name, and exit terms.
3 min read
Running cPanel at scale: what I learned
Lessons from years of running large cPanel fleets: staged updates, noisy neighbours, backup windows, and alerts worth waking up for.
3 min read
Eight questions to ask before signing a hosting contract
The questions that separate a good hosting deal from an expensive one: tested backups, real support, renewal pricing, and the exit.
3 min read
Build vs buy for small-business software
What custom software really costs over five years, when a spreadsheet is honestly fine, and the narrow cases where building wins.
3 min read
Why good Wi-Fi starts with wires
Wireless is the last metre, not the whole network. Why access points need cables, what mesh can't fix, and where the wires should go.
4 min read
Why hosting migrations go wrong (and how mine don't)
Fifteen years inside hosting companies taught me that failed migrations are predictable: DNS TTLs, email cutover, and untested restores.
4 min read
When a growing business needs its first IT person
The signals that a growing business is ready for its first IT hire, why a generalist should come first, and the alternatives worth weighing.
3 min read
Scoping a technology project before calling vendors
How to scope a technology project before calling vendors: describe the problem, be honest about budget, and define success so quotes compare.
4 min read
Decide these five things before the drywall goes on
Five low-voltage decisions to lock in before drywall: cable drops, conduit, camera positions, access point locations, and the network closet.
3 min read
The case for keeping the technology you have
Why I often tell clients to keep the equipment they already own, and the questions I ask before recommending any new technology spend.
3 min read
What a second opinion on a quote actually catches
What an independent review of a vendor quote actually finds: padding, missing scope, and oversized solutions, and what that review is worth.
4 min read
Five red flags in a network cabling quote
How I read network cabling quotes: the five omissions that predict change orders, poor workmanship, and gear you can't maintain later.
Nothing matched. Try a different word.