Hey, I’m Derek Cooper
I’m a Virtual Desktop Engineer based in Washington State — I spend my days architecting and managing VDI environments, and my evenings breaking things in my homelab. I’ve been passionate about technology since High School, and this blog is where I document what I build, break, and occasionally fix.
My Homelab
Three Minisforum MS-A2 mini PCs form the backbone of my lab, running serious horsepower in a small footprint — backed by a full Unifi network stack and a dedicated security camera system.
Compute
- 3× Minisforum MS-A2
- 92 GiB RAM
- 10GbE Storage Network
Network & Firewall
- Unifi Network Stack
- UniFi Express 7
- UniFi PoE Switches
Security
- Unifi Protect
- UniFi NVR (UNVR)
- Full Camera Coverage
About This Blog
chns.tech is my corner of the internet where I document my experiences with hardware, software, and everything in between. You’ll find posts covering:
- Hardware reviews - Mini PCs, components, and gear I’ve tested
- Homelab projects - Proxmox, self-hosting, and infrastructure experiments
- Tutorials & guides - Solutions to problems I’ve encountered
- Tech musings - Thoughts on security, privacy, and the industry
I write primarily for my future self, but if these posts help someone else solve a problem or learn something new, that’s a bonus.