Projects

Homelab

The best way to learn is to do, and I love to learn! My personal data center now lives in a Compaq Model 9122 rack.

From rack build to completed installation

The rack has moved from a work in progress to its completed installation. Here are the two stages side by side.

Compaq rack build in progress with the front open, a console showing Proxmox, and a Dell server installed
Rack build in progress. Installing the equipment and bringing the rack together.
Completed Compaq homelab rack in place with its front door closed and equipment running inside
Completed and in place. The finished rack installation in its home.

Earlier stages of the lab

So what do we have here?

Hardware:

  • Dell PowerEdge R620 (1TB SSD, 96GB RAM, 2 Xeon CPUs)
  • 2x Synology NAS. 4TB each
  • Ugreen NAS, 8TB
  • iProda mini PC (1TB NVME, 16GB RAM)
  • Raspberry Pi 4 (1TB NMVE, 4GB RAM)
Software:
My Dell poweredge is my main machine, running Promox 8.x, with my iProda running Promox 9.x. The Ugreen NAS supports VMs as well, so I have a Proxmox Q-Device running here, so we always have Quarum for stack.

What VMs do we have here:
  • A web Server
  • MySQL
  • Mealie
  • MineCraft Server
  • Space Engineers Server
  • FreeBSD server
  • Ubuntu SSH remote access server
  • Windows 10 honeypot (for all those scam calls I get)
The NAS drives host all our photos, and backed up data from all the PCs in the house, as well as VM back ups. of course, in a 3,2,1 back up model, we still need off site back ups. I use Google Drive to keep our critical data offsite. I don't back up the VMs offsite, I calculate in a total loss scenario- I am not concerned if I need to rebuild from scratch.

Most of this would be useless without good remote access, which most homelabs accomplish with reverse DNS services. In my case, I have a business fiber connection with a dedicated IP address. that makes this setup even better! I manage everything with a UDM pro and switch sitting just below my fiber interface. I get symmetrical 2GB speeds consistently: What's next? This 1U is a good starter, but I would love to get a MinisForum MX-01 with 96GB of RAM to replace it. why? because on a modern platform the same amount of RAM will go further, and use a lot less power.