How I Completed My Home Server Hardware Selection and Mig...

Introduction

Until recently, my home server was running on AMD BC-250 + Bazzite.

The BC-250 is a former mining board sold on AliExpress. I chose it simply because I thought it would be "interesting." It's the kind of configuration that makes you wonder how many other people in the world are using it for server purposes.

I have previously written about how I sequentially deployed apps created with Claude to that server:

Why I Graduated from the Mining Board

The apps I created with Claude started running properly. Some of them have even entered service.

Once that happens, I started to feel that it was a bit (read: very) problematic to keep running them on a mysterious piece of hardware derived from a mining board, even if I was only dealing with dirt-cheap doujin software.

So, I decided to graduate. I decided to buy a new server.

Choosing Hardware — Consulting Claude

I have a long history of building my own PCs. However, honestly, I am not very knowledgeable about the genre of "low power, 24/7 operation, with server performance." I have always built configurations oriented toward gaming, so choosing a low TDP was uncharted territory.

That is why this time, I had Claude do the hardware selection with me from the very beginning.

It felt like applying my usual design process directly to hardware selection: conveying requirements, getting candidates, and narrowing them down. I ended up landing on the MINISFORUM MS-A2. I bought the Ryzen 9 7945HX version.

There was one more push right before I bought it. The MS-A2 also has an 8945HX version, and I thought the newer numbering might be better, but according to Claude:

"The 8945HX is equivalent to the 7945HX; they just changed the numbering for branding purposes. In Japan, the 7945HX is about 10,000 yen cheaper, so I think that one is better."

Oh, is that so? I followed that advice obediently.

Reality Check at a Bar

A few days later, I happened to have a chance to talk to someone in the industry at a bar, so I asked, "Is it true that the 8945HX is the same as the 7945HX?"

The reply was, "They're the same. It's just a rebrand." Claude was right. Not bad at all.

By the way, the 7945HX version is already out of stock on Amazon. It was only available on the official MINISFORUM website. It seems they really are phasing out the 7945HX from the Japanese market. Claude's advice wasn't just about the price; it was also the final chance to acquire it. I take credit for stimulating the global economy a little bit. Please praise me.

The Move — Leaving it Entirely to Claude

Now that the hardware was ready, it was time for the migration. The conditions were as follows:

OS: Bazzite → Ubuntu (a complete change in configuration philosophy)
Container Runtime: Podman → Docker
SSD for Data: Physically remove it from the old server and reuse it in the new one

If I did this manually, the migration plan alone would be pages long. At the very least, I didn't want to do it.

So, I had Claude SSH into both the old and new servers and said:

"Move everything from the server. However, I'm reusing the SSD."

I think even I would call that a brutal instruction.

...The move was finished in less than a day.

Everything from the data backup plan and configuration deployment to the new server to the Docker conversion of the container fleet was set up and executed by Claude. I was basically just waiting. I only had to answer when it asked me, "Which one should I choose?" for branching decisions that required human judgment.

Errors Do Happen. Of Course They Do

There is no way a migration of this scale wouldn't have any errors.

In fact, some containers didn't run well, and some apps crashed. There were Docker-incompatible notations mixed into the compose files written for Podman, and file paths were based on the Bazzite layout.

But this was also finished by saying 'Find it and fix it.' Claude performed the operational checks itself, picked up the error logs, identified the causes, fixed them, and ran them again.

It's the kind of work you'd want to run away from if done manually, but here I was just sitting down. Exactly as planned. Since the whole reason I bought the MS-A2 was because "It's easy if I leave it to Claude," this was within the scope of my expectations.

Summary

Switched my home server from an AMD BC-250 (former mining board) to a MINISFORUM MS-A2 (Ryzen 9 7945HX).
Consulted Claude on hardware selection and landed on the best choice with a rebrand tip.
Had Claude SSH into the machines and handled the migration entirely, which was completed in a day.
Handled error responses simply by saying "Find and fix it."
Along the way, I stimulated the global economy a little bit. Please praise me.

I am very satisfied because I bought the hardware with the reason of "making things easy by leaving it to Claude," and it was indeed easy.

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