phanto

Feel free to ask questions if you have them. I am no expert, but I am willing to try to help if you get stuck.

1. You are going to find people who have done both. A lot of NAS devices run kind of low powered CPUs so separating it out into two devices can get you more compute power than a single device. For example, an old as the hills file bay may cost next to nothing, and then using your "last" desktop will get you a lot more storage and compute than a 1500$ modern NAS, but it'll take up more space, cost more in electricity to run, and make more fan noise. This is the route I went. A modern NAS should be able to run what you listed though.
2. TrueNAS scale is all about storage, but it lets you also run containers. Proxmox is all about virtualization, but you can then run a storage solution inside a VM or container. It's not the kind of thing you're going to get a right answer for because either way can work. Both are well-documented, capable solutions. I have tried both at times, but I had a lot more experience with Proxmox by the time I deployed TrueNAS, so I stuck with Proxmox and use a TrueNAS box (bare metal) for backups. It really is a matter of preference.
3. If you have a MiniPC and NAS as separate devices, you will want to set up a network share, so you can seed on the MiniPC the copy that's on the NAS. My seeding, Jellyfin, Plex, etc, all happen in a virtual hard drive mounted in a separate container from the services. Each of the services "see that drive as a network share despite being hosted on the same physical hardware.

I use ProtonVPN and it sets up a "leak shield" interface when you start it and destroys that when you end it. It keeps traffic from flowing out over the non-vpn internet. The problem is, if the VPN crashes or doesn't shut down gracefully, that interface kills all traffic.

To test if it's something like that, try pinging an outside address, first by name and then by IP. If you can't get either, it's not the DNS messing you up. If you CAN ping the IP but not the name, then it is the DNS messing you up.

Haha! Eggs. That's a flex!

As a Canuck, I'm pretty much going to welcome anyone fleeing the Mango Mussolini.

I've got 10 hours in a little ultralight. Pre-diagnosis. I'm not looking to fly a jet fighter. I get more G's in a hang glider.

See, and this is why... Except, again, I only faint standing up. Ever.

I will never be able to get a small engine private pilot license due to fainting, despite it literally never happening unless I'm standing up...

Guys... "sudo." Four characters.

I have LMDE on an old Lenovo Yoga, but it doesn't disable the keyboard when in tablet mode. It's on my list of crap I need to fix. Make sure to check that behavior before you go full install.

"The Lobsters are coming!" I once yelled that into the PA system at a grocery store. People were asking them when the Lobsters were going to arrive for weeks after. (Landlocked province, lobster is a treat.)

Esperanto ekzistas!