Once you get it setup, start looking for homeassistant compatible hardware instead. There is a lot. Even some big brands use protocols (zigbee, zwave, matter) that can connect to homeassistant without a need for their hub (granted you do have a HA hub) or cloud connection.

I try to stay away from WiFi if possible, but if home assistant compatible I’ll use it.

That’s amazing. I’m on my own espresso journey. Even knowing all the theory going in, consistent execution can be elusive.

Good luck to you and cheers to great coffee at home.

Doesn’t losing a vdev cause the entire pool to be lost? I guess to your point with sufficient redundancy for new vdev 1 drive redundancy whether 3 disks or 5 is essentially the same risk. If a vdev is added without redundancy that would increase risk of losing the entire pool.