Your data at home

Individuals

For an individual, the risk is often ordinary: a hacked email account, a reused password, a computer locked by ransomware, an online service that changes its terms or reserves the right to train its artificial intelligence on what you store there.

Your photos, papers and backups then end up with someone else, or nowhere.

A home lab keeps them on a device you own, with a backup scheduled every night, access from your phone through an encrypted tunnel with no port open to the Internet, and a restore done in front of you at delivery, so you can see that the backup works.

Professionals, small businesses and tradespeople

For a professional, a freelancer, a small business or a tradesperson, what matters is invoices, contracts, plans and client files.

Several recent attacks came in through everyday software: a tampered update, a compromised package, a stolen password.

A server of your own does not make these risks disappear; it reduces the number of places where your files are kept and lets you decide who gets in: one account per person, two-step verification for access from outside, and backups whose restore you have seen done.

Your clients' personal information remains your responsibility: we give you the text that describes where it is kept and who can access it, for your privacy impact assessment.

Clinics, farms and shops

A clinic, a farm or a shop needs its data even when the Internet goes down or a provider shuts down a service.

The services installed on the server remain usable on your local network during an Internet outage.

Depending on the kit, the networks for staff, guests and devices are kept separate, and the monthly offline copy, unplugged and stored elsewhere between copies, is out of reach of an online attack during that time.

For health information, a backup sent outside Québec first requires an assessment on your part: we discuss it in the quote.

1 None of this makes a system unbreakable: good backups and well-kept access limit the damage; they do not make it impossible. The encrypted off-site backup and the monthly offline copy are offered to every client; you may decline them in writing.

Why a Home lab?

Because your files, your tools and your artificial intelligence do not have to live on someone else's servers.

Your files on your own device

Your files, photos, documents and backups are stored on a device you own.

Your data stays at home; the only copy that leaves, if you choose to send one, is an encrypted backup.

Your automations, with no software subscription

Automatic backups, alerts, a dashboard, home automation: we mostly install free or open-source software, which you use under its own licences.

Only the optional support plan is monthly.

Artificial intelligence that works at home

Artificial intelligence that runs on your server, without sending your documents to a platform: transcription, summaries, sorting, search across your own documents.

It is installed with the Autonome package.

The models that run on a server this size are more modest than those of the big platforms, and we tell you so before we start.

Not keen on the big platforms' artificial intelligence? A home lab is artificial intelligence that stays at home.

When a Home lab makes sense

You have a lot of files, photos or documents to back up, across several devices.
Your small business, workshop or farm produces data (readings, sensors, invoices, contracts) that you want to keep on site.
You want automations and alerts without paying one more subscription for each.
You want to try artificial intelligence without handing over your documents.

1 A home lab is not for everyone. If you have a single computer and a few files, an external drive and a good cloud service are enough: we tell you so at the Diagnostic.

What it can bring you

Control over your data and its backup copy.
Backups tested in front of you, restore included.
Written documentation: list of hardware, installed software, key settings, restore procedure.
A system you understand and know how to use.

The right size

recommended

Small rack (10-inch)

Neat, portable, each device on its own shelf, wired: a small 10-inch frame that sits on a counter, on a shelf or in a closet.

Compact

A case the size of a desktop computer, but square and low, quiet, for a counter or a shelf.

Tower

For those who prefer a classic computer case: a standard-size case, discreet, for an office or a home. Not a big gaming tower.

See the four kits Kit 4 is designed to run the Connected 3D Home (coming soon).

Home labs sized for modest needs. Three formats offered today. What we do not install: microsystems (credit-card-sized mini PCs, single-board computers as the only server), big towers and 19-inch enterprise cabinets: these are systems that are hard to keep running, and outside our offer.

What a small home lab looks like

Small black rack on a table, with a monitoring screen, a network switch and stacked modules, cables plugged in. — Example photo: small 10-inch rack, the format we recommend today.

Small white frame on a table, with network switches, a panel of red sockets, white cables and small boxes. — Example photo: small white frame on a table.

Four-bay storage server on top of a small, low, square server, with a network switch underneath. — Example photo: compact format, a storage server on top of a small server.

1 Example photos of the size we aim for: small systems that fit on a desk or a shelf. These are not installations delivered to clients; completed projects will come after the first jobs. The brands shown belong to their respective owners: they are neither partners nor a recommendation. You choose the equipment to suit your needs. Personal photo. All rights reserved, not royalty-free.

What runs at home, what stays in the cloud

1 Depending on the package and on your choices. Everything in the first card runs on your server.

At home, on your server

Backups
Personal cloud
Automations
Home automation and sensors
Local AI assistant
Dashboard

In the cloud, if you choose to

Encrypted off-site backup (optional)
Email and calendar, kept with the provider of your choice
Public website, hosted with a cloud provider
Online invoice payment, through your own Stripe account
Security updates, downloaded from the Internet
Remote monitoring, if you choose the Accompagnement (support plan)

How it works

1

Diagnostic

A one-hour video call: we review your needs and you receive an annotated shopping list.

2

Quote

An estimate in hours with a range, an hourly rate and one rule: we bill the actual time spent.

If we finish early, you pay less.

3

Hardware

You buy the hardware, or you ask us to handle the purchase, in one of the ways described below.

4

Installation

In sessions planned together, within the window set in the quote.

We explain each step in plain words and let you do whatever you can do yourself.

5

Handover

Backups tested in front of you, written documentation provided, installation approved before the balance is due.

You are not left with a black box: I explain each step and teach you how to use your system.

Hardware: three ways

default, recommended

You buy it

We advise, you decide and you pay.

The manufacturer's warranties and the legal warranty are between you and the seller you choose.

on written request

Purchase handled by DRAK Infinity

We handle the final choice, the order, delivery tracking, returns and warranty claims.

The order and the invoice are in your name (or your business's) and paid by you; our management fee, fixed per order, is set out in the quote.

DRAK Infinity does not resell hardware.

option

Pre-assembly at our workshop

With your written agreement, the hardware bought in your name is delivered to us, assembled, configured and tested, then installed at your home or workplace, using the access you give us.

It stays yours, and none of your data is installed before delivery to you.

A pre-assembly charge is set out in the quote.

1 Choosing and buying the hardware is up to you; our recommendations are advice. On written request, we can also order it in your name, paid by you, for a fixed management fee per order, or pre-assemble it at our workshop before installing it at your place.

Who you will work with

Two kinds of experience, which I keep separate.

Hardware and installation

Three years installing computer and cloud systems: building computers, networking basics, hardware.

Sales and advice

Long experience in sales and in advising businesses: it explains how I work (listening to the need, clear pricing, no jargon), not my technical skill.

1 I am learning the complete home lab with my first clients, and I say so. This page has no completed projects to show yet: it will present them after the first jobs.

A Home lab, from the box to the closet

Narrated video, with soft background music.

Packages and rates

Five packages, from the one-hour Diagnostic to the monthly support plan. The rules in detail follow the table.

Packages and rates
Package	What is included	Work (estimate)	Rate	Hardware to plan for (bought by you, indicative)
Diagnostic	One-hour video call, review of your needs, annotated shopping list	1 h	$95 CAD fixed, deducted if you hire us for the installation	$0
Essentiel (Kit Solo)	Compact case or storage server (NAS), automatic backups, personal cloud, virtual private network (VPN), tracker blocking, handover	10 to 16 h	$75/h	$900 to $1,800
Autonome (Kit Practice)	Essentiel + virtualization, home automation or sensors, local AI assistant, dashboard, encrypted off-site backup	20 to 30 h	$75/h	$1,800 to $4,000
Small business (Kit Workshop or Farm): shop, restaurant, workshop, farm, non-profit	On-site sensors and readings, business automations, offline continuity, training	quoted, from 35 h	$85/h	depends on the site
Accompagnement (support plan)	Updates, monitoring, verified backups, one remote session a month	monthly	$45 to $95 a month, quoted case by case

Indicative prices, before taxes: no tax is added (small supplier). Hourly rates and the Diagnostic price are fixed; hours are estimates and we bill the actual time spent. You buy the hardware from the seller of your choice; the amounts in the Hardware column are indicative, vary with your choices and with the market, and are not paid to DRAK Infinity. The Diagnostic is deducted from the installation price if it is paid and you hire DRAK Infinity for the installation within 90 days.

Frequently asked questions

Diagnostic terms

Diagnostic: a one-hour video call with Yannick, a review of your needs and an annotated shopping list, sent by email within 5 business days.

Price: $95 CAD, fixed; no tax is added (small supplier).

Nothing is paid when you book: the invoice is emailed to you after the appointment, payable within 30 days.

It is deducted from the installation price if you hire DRAK Infinity for it within 90 days.

You may cancel at no cost up to 24 hours before the appointment; less than 24 hours before, it is rescheduled once, at no cost.

If we cancel, nothing is billed to you.

The Diagnostic commits you to nothing else.

Drak Infinity Solutions (NEQ 2281240509), Montréal (Québec) H2S 2H9, contact@drakinfinity.ca.

To book it, write "Diagnostic" in the "Your project" field of the form below.

The Home lab Diagnostic ($95 CAD) keeps its own terms, described above. The Project launch does not apply to it.

Home lab Diagnostic ($95 CAD)

The rules, in plain words

Overruns, scheduling and postponements

Beyond the estimate, an hour is billed only for a cause outside our control, listed in the contract, described in writing before the work is done and accepted by you.

Our learning, our mistakes or our scheduling cost you nothing.

Sessions are planned together, within the window set in the quote.

DRAK Infinity is one person: if illness or another serious reason forces me to postpone a session, I tell you as early as possible, propose another date and the delay costs you nothing; if the delay goes beyond 30 days, you may end the contract at no cost.

Travel

Island of Montréal: travel included.

Elsewhere in Québec: mileage at the Canada Revenue Agency rate, travel time at half rate after the first hour of each trip and, beyond 200 km, lodging and meals.

Outside Québec and abroad: separate quote; all travel and living costs are yours (transport, lodging, meals, insurance, formalities, travel time at half rate).

Every cost appears in the quote with its amount or maximum.

Deposit and balance

35% deposit when you sign, deducted from the final invoice.

Balance at the end, at actual time, once the installation is approved, payable within 30 days.

If the installation is for your personal use and you change your mind, we keep only the value of work already done and costs incurred; the rest is returned to you.

For a business, the deposit is non-refundable.

If we cannot do the work, it is refunded.

Our terms in brief

Template for information purposes; the signed document is prepared for each client

The binding contract is written in French, and so are the template documents linked below. On request, after you receive the French version, we can send you an English translation, and the French version prevails if they differ. I reply in French or English.

How we bill

By the hour.

Every quote gives an estimate with a range (for example 10 to 16 hours), an hourly rate and a maximum price.

We bill the actual time spent: if we finish early, you pay less.

Amounts are before taxes; no tax is charged (small supplier).

Overruns

Hours beyond the top of the range are billed only for causes outside our control, from a closed list in the contract (faulty or late hardware, your network or wiring, access not provided, problems with your own software or data, an undocumented defect in home lab software found during the work, requests you add, force majeure), described in writing before the hours are worked and accepted by you in writing.

Time due to our learning, our mistakes or our scheduling is never billed.

Your data and access

Your data stays with you; we take nothing away.

No password is ever sent by email or text: access goes through a shared password vault or is typed in by you.

Every access is logged.

At the end, we remove all our access in front of you and you change the passwords we knew.

We never keep a way back into your system.

Warranty

For 30 days after acceptance, we fix at no cost any configuration or installation defect that is our responsibility, on top of your legal warranties.

Governing law

Laws of Québec and of Canada; courts of the judicial district of Montréal, unless a mandatory rule gives jurisdiction to the courts where you live.

Our template documents

Request a quote

A few lines are enough. No street address: only your municipality or region.

1 Or book a meeting first: the first 30-minute meeting is free.

Free first meeting

First and last name

Email

You are

Country

Business name

Municipality or region

To estimate travel. No address.

Preferred format (optional)

Hardware budget you have in mind (optional)

Your project in a few lines (optional)

Do not include any password, or any information about your clients or your health. 2,000 characters max.

0 / 2,000

Phone number (optional)

Only if you prefer a call.

This information is used only to reply to you and prepare your quote: no newsletter, no advertising, no resale. It passes through our technical providers, some of which are established outside Québec. We keep it for no more than 24 months after our last exchange, longer only if a contract is signed (accounting records). You may access it, have it corrected or deleted, or withdraw your consent, by writing to contact@drakinfinity.ca. Details: privacy policy.

Is the form not working? Write to me directly: contact@drakinfinity.ca

Home lab (home server)