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Homelab

GEEKOM Mini PC Cluster Hardware

Choosing Hardware for a Kubernetes Homelab: GEEKOM Mini PCs, UNAS Pro NAS, and UniFi Networking

Overview

This article documents the hardware choices for my Home Lab V2. The goal: a Kubernetes cluster that's compact, quiet, and power-efficient while still capable of GPU-accelerated media transcoding.

Before You Begin

Prerequisites

Why This Approach

  • Compact form factor - Mini PCs instead of rack servers (apartment-friendly)
  • Low power consumption - Always-on without high electricity bills
  • Built-in GPU - Hardware transcoding without discrete graphics cards
  • Room to grow - Start with 2 nodes, expand to 3 for HA later

What's Not In Scope

  • NAS integration - The UNAS Pro is listed for reference but not integrated in this series. We use Longhorn distributed storage on the compute nodes instead.

Hardware at a Glance

ComponentChoiceKey Specs
ComputeGEEKOM XT15 MEGA (x2)Intel Core Ultra 9, Arc 140T GPU
StorageUbiquiti UNAS Pro4x 6TB drives, RAID 10, 10 Gbps
NetworkUniFi (UDM Pro + Switch)Managed switch, PoE, 10G uplink

Compute Nodes

Two GEEKOM XT15 MEGA1 mini PCs serve as the compute foundation.

Why These?

  • Compact form factor (mini PC)
  • Built-in Intel Arc GPU for hardware transcoding
  • Sufficient power for Kubernetes workloads
  • Low power consumption compared to tower servers
Note:Reviews for the XT15 MEGA were scarce at purchase time. For GEEKOM brand context, see reviews of the similar IT15 model23.

Specifications

ComponentSpecification
CPUIntel Core Ultra 9 285H
- P-cores6 @ 2.9 GHz base, 5.4 GHz turbo
- E-cores8 @ 2.7 GHz base, 4.5 GHz turbo
- LP E-cores2 @ 1.0 GHz base, 2.5 GHz turbo
- Cache24MB Smart Cache
GPUIntel Arc 140T (integrated, shared memory)
NPUIntel AI Boost (up to 13 TOPS)
RAM32GB DDR5 (max 64GB)
Storage2TB M.2 SSD
Network2x 2.5GbE LAN
WirelessWiFi 7 (802.11be), Bluetooth 5.4
Ports5x USB 3.2 Gen2-A, 2x USB4-C, 1x USB 2.0, 2x HDMI, 1x 3.5mm
Dimensions117 x 111 x 39 mm (4.6 x 4.4 x 1.5 in)
Warranty3 years

Node Assignment

  • Node 1: Control plane only (etcd, API server, scheduler)
  • Node 2: Worker only (runs workloads, has GPU for Plex)

A 3rd node is added later for HA in 05b, with all nodes promoted to control plane.

Storage

The Ubiquiti UNAS Pro45 handles centralized storage.

Why a Dedicated NAS?

  • Separates compute from storage
  • Built-in RAID and backup features
  • Easier to upgrade compute nodes without moving data
  • Centralized media management
  • 10 Gbps performance

Specifications

ComponentSpecification
ModelUNAS Pro (UNAS-PRO)
Form Factor2U Rack Mount
Drive Bays7x 2.5"/3.5" bays
Drives Installed4x WD Red Plus 6TB6 (5640 RPM, 128MB cache, CMR)
RAID LevelRAID 10
Usable Capacity12TB
Network10 Gbps
ProtocolsNFS, SMB
IP Address192.168.1.10 (planned)

Network

The network runs on Ubiquiti UniFi78 gear.

Why UniFi?

  • Professional-grade equipment
  • Web-based management
  • VLAN support (if needed later)
  • Excellent monitoring and logging
  • Integrated ecosystem (router + switch)

Components

DeviceModelSpecifications
RouterUniFi Dream Machine ProGateway, controller, NVR
SwitchUSW-16-PoE8x GbE PoE+, 8x GbE, 2x SFP+ (10G), 42W PoE budget

Switch Details (USW-16-PoE)

  • 18 total ports (16 + 2 SFP+)
  • PoE+ on 8 ports (802.3af/at)
  • 1U rack mount
  • Managed switch

Network Configuration

  • Subnet: 192.168.1.0/24
  • VLAN strategy: Flat network initially

Additional Equipment

Management Machine

  • MacBook Pro (or any machine with terminal access)
  • Used for talosctl, kubectl, Git operations

USB Drives

  • For creating Talos Linux bootable installers
  • At least 8GB capacity

Network Topology

UniFi Dream Machine Pro (.1)
  │
  └── USW-16-PoE Switch (DHCP)
        ├── UNAS Pro (.10)
        ├── Talos Node 1 (.30) - Control Plane
        ├── Talos Node 2 (.31) - Worker
        ├── MetalLB Pool (.40-.79)
        └── DHCP clients (.100-.254)

Static IPs to be configured in UniFi Flat Network Setup

Next Steps

With hardware inventory complete, the next step is planning the network design.

See: UniFi Flat Network Setup

Resources

Footnotes

  1. Micro Center, "GEEKOM XT15 MEGA Mini PC," microcenter.com. Accessed: Dec. 16, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.microcenter.com/product/700509/geekom-xt15-mega-mini-pc ↩

  2. TechPowerUp, "GEEKOM IT15 Review," techpowerup.com. Accessed: Dec. 16, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/geekom-it15/ ↩

  3. Neowin, "GEEKOM Mini IT15 Review," neowin.net. Accessed: Dec. 16, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.neowin.net/reviews/geekom-mini-it15-review-intel-core-ultra-9-285h-power-in-a-mini-pc-for-under-900/ ↩

  4. Micro Center, "Ubiquiti UNAS Pro," microcenter.com. Accessed: Dec. 16, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.microcenter.com/product/691142/ubiquiti-unas-pro-2u-rack-mount-7-bay-nas ↩

  5. Ubiquiti, "UniFi NAS," store.ui.com. Accessed: Dec. 16, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://store.ui.com/us/en/collections/unifi-nas ↩

  6. Micro Center, "WD Red Plus 6TB," microcenter.com. Accessed: Dec. 16, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.microcenter.com/product/672230/Red_Plus_6TB_5640_RPM_SATA_III_6Gb-s_35_Internal_NAS_CMR_Hard_Drive ↩

  7. Micro Center, "UniFi USW-16-PoE," microcenter.com. Accessed: Dec. 16, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.microcenter.com/product/691143/ubiquiti-usw-16-poe-16-port-managed-ethernet-switch ↩

  8. Ubiquiti, "UniFi Documentation," help.ui.com. Accessed: Dec. 16, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://help.ui.com/ ↩

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