Home Lab

Purpose

This is the project that started it all, I wanted more hands on experience with networking, hardware and Dev-Ops and planned to create my own server to learn different IT concepts and get a well rounded experience managing a real production unit. No more college theory, I'm ready to get my hands dirty in the real world of IT. home-lab

Nodes

Node 1 — core services, reverse proxy, this portfolio

The brains of the operation. Runs Proxmox, hosting all my VMs, services, and Docker containers, along with my reverse proxy and this portfolio site. Built on a Dell Precision 3640 (i7-10700, 32GB DDR4) — powerful enough to handle everything I throw at it with room to expand.

Hardware Specs

Spec	Detail
Chassis	Dell Precision 3640 Tower
CPU	Intel i7-10700 (10th Gen, 8c/16t)
RAM	32GB DDR4 (2 open slots, up to 128GB)
NIC	Motherboard (1Gb) + Dual 2.5Gb Adapter
SSD	Samsung PM981a 256GB NVMe M.2 2280 SSD

Transcoding

The 10th Gen Intel chip is great at transcoding multiple 4K media streams without a graphics card or eating into my main cores.

In the near future I want to upgrade to a budget graphics card to reduce the load on my CPU but right now this 10th Gen Intel chip transcodes without interfering with cores usage so it's a good starter.

Virtualization headroom

With 8 cores and double the threads, I have no trouble running multiple VMs or LXC containers. Overkill for what I run today, with plenty of room for future services.

Dual 2.5Gb networking

It ships with a 1Gb port, but I added a dual-port 2.5 gigabit adapter and connected both to my switch. One port is my main network connection; the other connects Node 3 and its attack VMs to an isolated network.

Containerized services

Split into two LXCs to keep concerns separated for maintenance:
- media-docker — lightweight Ubuntu LXC running only Docker, hosting Jellyfin, qBittorrent, and everything media related.
- network-docker — the core network services, running Portainer (with a Docker agent on media-docker to centralize both), plus Pi-hole.

Node-2 — storage, backups, and redundancy

The memory. Kept separate from Node 1 on purpose — I didn't want to lose access to all my storage every time Proxmox went down for maintenance. Runs Unraid on a repurposed office PC dedicated entirely to storage.

Hardware Specs

Spec	Detail
Chassis	HP Pavilion (repurposed office PC)
CPU	Intel i3-7100
RAM	8GB
Storage	2× 12TB server-grade HDDs + 1 TB M.2 cache

Expandable redundancy

Unraid gives me expandable redundant data and safe migrating parity, so I can grow storage without wasting capacity on a mirror — and significantly reduce the risk of ever losing data.

Always-on uptime

One of my most important systems, running 24/7. With Unraid, even when rebuilding drives or parity, the system stays on.

Node-3 — testing, sandboxing, hacking, defending

The playground. My cybersecurity sandbox, kept off my main network and isolated on its own VLAN. Won't run 24/7 like the others. Built on an HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Mini — small, low-power, but enough of a punch for my IT endeavors.

Hardware Specs

Spec	Detail
Chassis	HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Mini
CPU	Intel i5-6500T
RAM	8GB DDR4

Isolated VLAN

Runs on its own VLAN so I can use network attacking tools without ever touching my home network.

Attack & defend

Enough to run 1–2 VMs to spin up scenarios and attack VMs on Node 1 — not just to attack, but to defend against one another. Covers building projects, monitoring and defending networks, learning preventative measures, and documenting issues so they don't happen again.

Low power

Draws very little power while still packing a punch for my IT endeavors.

Why this way

Isolating Core, Storage and Sandboxing keeps my lab secure, segregated and reduces downtime. Also keeping all storage isolated reduces risk of data loss significantly.

Network

I migrated my network from the typically home setup into a more centralized location in my household, prior to this migration both my modem and my router were sitting in a compact bedroom near a bed.

Network Architecture

• 2.5Gb Managed Switch 8 port switch
• TP-Link Access Point
• MoCA running through home coax

The main goal for my network was fast internal speeds for file transfers and media, better WAN connection in any location in the household, more customization and security control for my devices.

Why a managed switch?

I chose to go with a managed switch for one key feature, VLANS. My Node 3 is being used as a cybersecurity attack box, where I will practice different scenarios and attack different VMs on my Node 1. Issue is I don't want to be using network attacking tools on my home network, with a managed switch I can run different VLANS and isolated my sandboxing network for my home network.

Also in the future I plan on hosting my sites (like this) on my server and if I'm exposing my network to the internet I want to take many measures to keep my internal network secure and one of those is running my reverse proxy through its own VLAN and Website hosting VM on its own network.

Overall there's a lot more I can do with a managed switch such as tracking the speeds of every port and giving certain ports priority over others but VLANS was my main deciding factor.