SumGuy's Ramblings
The art of wasting time.
Docker, self-hosting, AI/LLM, Linux, and DevOps — explained by someone who learned the hard way. No fluff, no enterprise jargon, just practical stuff that actually works on real hardware.
Recent Posts
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mdadm Day-2: Grow, Replace, Scrub
Creating a RAID array is the easy part. The drama starts six months later when one drive starts dying. Here's the survival guide for everything that happens after mdadm --create.
11 min read -
Self-Hosted Email Gateways in 2026
Self-hosted secure email gateways compared: Proxmox Mail Gateway vs Hermes SEG vs DIY Rspamd, plus which classic appliances are now abandonware.
12 min read -
pg_repack vs VACUUM FULL: Reclaim Bloat Live
Postgres table bloat killing your query performance? Compare VACUUM FULL vs pg_repack and learn how to reclaim disk space live without any scheduled downtime.
12 min read -
Self-Hosted Email in 2026: Mailcow vs Mailu vs Stalwart
Mailcow vs Mailu vs Stalwart compared, plus the deliverability minefield you'll have to survive — and the exact moment you should just pay Migadu instead.
· Updated:14 min read -
Vikunja vs Focalboard vs Taiga
Vikunja is a todo+kanban all-rounder. Focalboard is Trello-ish (archived). Taiga is agile/scrum. Here's how to pick self-hosted project management.
10 min read -
Hardware RAID vs Software RAID in 2026
Hardware RAID controllers used to be necessary. Now they're often a liability. Here's when to flash that LSI card to IT mode, when to keep it, and why ZFS specifically refuses to share.
13 min read -
FreshRSS vs Miniflux vs Tiny Tiny RSS
Three self-hosted RSS readers compared. FreshRSS is polished, Miniflux is minimalist, TT-RSS is feature-rich. Here's how to pick yours.
11 min read -
pg_stat_statements: What Most Tutorials Miss
pg_stat_statements is far more than a slow query log. Here is what most tutorials skip entirely: tail latency percentiles, cache hit ratios, and WAL bloat.
11 min read -
RAID-Z and dRAID: ZFS Parity Explained
RAID-Z isn't just RAID 5 with a new name. Variable stripe widths, no write hole, and dRAID's distributed spares change the rebuild math entirely.
13 min read -
Assume Your App Gets Popped
How to expose a possibly-vulnerable app to the public internet and survive it: rootless containers, a file-integrity tripwire, and zero inbound SSH on the box.
14 min read -
Mealie vs Tandoor vs Grocy Kitchen Stack
Mealie is the polished recipe app. Tandoor is the kitchen-ops powerhouse. Grocy tracks your entire house. Here's how to pick a self-hosted kitchen stack.
10 min read -
Postgres EXPLAIN ANALYZE Without Crying
Learn to read Postgres EXPLAIN ANALYZE output without losing your mind. Costs, row estimates, buffer hit stats, and the index and query fixes that matter most.
12 min read
