153 lines
7.5 KiB
Markdown
153 lines
7.5 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Welcome to My Homelab
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layout: page
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description: The story behind my homelab project
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icon: flask
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---
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## Introduction
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My homelab journey began in 2013 with a humble Raspberry Pi, the very first model. I was needing a cheap machine for my first step into the world of Linux. It helped me a lot to dive into this technology and served me as a basic NAS, thank you Vezpibox (shitty name, I know)
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In 2015, I upgraded to a Raspberry Pi 2, seeking better performance to run multiple applications like XBMC (the old Kodi's name), CouchPotato, SickBeard, you name it...
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By 2018, the need for more RAM led me to a Raspberry Pi 3, allowing me to run even more applications. My 3 little machines were running happily together, in a quite ordered mess.
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Finally, in 2019, my new job made me discover the virtualization, with virtual machines and above all Docker. I wanted to try that at home, I took a significant step forward with a compact yet powerful headless PC that laid the foundation of my homelab.
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## Why a Homelab ?
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I wanted my own playground, a space where breaking things was not just okay, but encouraged. It’s the best way to learn how to fix them and, more importantly, to really understand how they work.
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My single server was great, but testing anything risky on it became a problem. It was running critical services like home automation and DNS, and believe me, having no lights or internet is a major incident in my household. The server had become indispensable. When it was down, everything was down. Not so fun anymore.
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The first big challenge I set for myself was building a Kubernetes cluster. Sure, I could run one on a single node, but what’s the point of a cluster with only one node? You could argue that running Kubernetes to control my shutters is overkill, and you’d be right. But that wasn’t the point.
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I also wanted to spawn new virtual machines at will, rebuild them from scratch, and apply Infrastructure as Code principles. I could have done all of that in the cloud, but I wanted full control.
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Initially, my goal was to provide high availability for my existing services. One server wasn’t enough. So, I wanted a second node. But in most HA setups, three nodes are the sweet spot. And just like that, I was on my way to building what would become my homelab.
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## Shaping the Lab
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### Blueprint
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First, I needed to define what my homelab was actually supposed to do. I wanted it to host my existing services reliably, but that wasn’t enough, I wanted a true playground, capable of simulating a more complex enterprise environment.
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That meant:
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- **High Availability:** Three nodes to ensure that no single point of failure would bring everything down.
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- **Distributed Storage:** Data redundancy across nodes, not just for uptime but also to learn how enterprise-grade storage systems work.
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- **Network Segmentation:** Multiple VLANs to mimic real-world network topologies, isolate services, and practice advanced networking.
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Basically, I wanted to build a tiny datacenter in a closet.
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### Constraints
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Of course, reality doesn’t always align with ambitions. Here’s what I was up against:
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- **Space:** My lab needed to fit in a small, hidden service enclosure in the middle of my apartment. Not exactly a server room.
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- **Noise:** Silence was crucial. This wasn’t going to be tucked away in a garage or basement, it was right in the middle of our living space.
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- **Power Draw:** Running 24/7, the power consumption had to be kept in check. I couldn’t afford to triple my electric bill just to tinker with VMs.
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- **Budget:** I wasn’t going to drop thousands on enterprise-grade hardware. The balance was finding reliable, second-hand gear that wouldn’t break the bank.
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- Temperature: I’m not gonna lie, I forgot about it.. Mini PCs don’t generate much heat, but network gear? That’s a different story. Lesson learned.
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## Infrastructure Overview
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### Rack
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What is a datacenter without a rack? Honestly, I didn’t think one would fit in my limited space, until I discovered the [DeskPi RackMate T1](https://deskpi.com/products/deskpi-rackmate-t1-2).
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This beauty was the perfect match. The size was spot-on, the build quality impressive, and the modular design allowed me to add some extra accessories, like a power strip and shelves, to complete the setup.
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### Servers
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I was already having one server and I wanted to keep that first stone, but it had 2 main problems:
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- Only one network interface, I wanted at least 2.
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- Old hardware, 5 years old, limited compatibility option.
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For the missing NIC, I researched a way to add one. I thought about an USB adapter, but then I discovered I could use the internal M.2 port of the WiFi module to connect a 2.5Gbps adapter.
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On the hardware, my current server is powered by a AM4 Ryzen 3 2200G with 16GB of RAM. For the sake of compatibility, I wanted all my nodes to have similar setup. I sticked with a AM4 socket for the other nodes.
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Let's break it down:
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| Node | Vertex | Apex | Zenith |
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| ---- | ------ | ---- | ------ |
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| Case | | | |
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| CPU | | | |
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| RAM | | | |
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| NIC | | | |
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### Network
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### Cooling
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### Photos
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## Software Stack
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### Hypervisor
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### Network
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### Application
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#### Docker
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#### Kubernetes
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## Roadmap for my Lab
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### Building my Homelab
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- building the first proxmox node
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- migrating from my headless PC to a VM
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- building the second proxmox node with HDDs
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- Install the rack
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- Create the network
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- Installating OPNsense
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- Switching routing from my freebox to OPNsense
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- Reconfigure my WiFi clients
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- Build the third Proxmox node
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- Externalize my HDDs
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- Deploy VLAN
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- Setup Proxmox Cluster
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- Setup Ceph Storage
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- Install fans
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- Install ADguard Home along Unbound DNS
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- Setup IPAM
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- Install a bastion
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### Let's Play
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- Deploy a VM with Terraform
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- Create a Terraform module
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- Deploy Terraform infrastructure using Ansible
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- Create a Blog
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Welcome to my homelab — a space where I explore new technologies, break things on purpose, and learn by doing. What started as a few old machines has grown into a modest but powerful setup that I use for self-hosting, automation, testing infrastructure tools, and running personal projects.
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## 1. Hardware
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I currently run a 3-node cluster built with energy-efficient mini PCs and repurposed desktops. Here's a breakdown:
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- **Node 1**: AMD Ryzen 4C/4T, 16GB RAM
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- **Node 2**: AMD Ryzen 6C/6T, 16GB RAM
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- **Node 3**: AMD Ryzen 8C/16T, 64GB RAM
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- **Storage**: Ceph-based distributed storage across all nodes
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- **Network**: 1Gbps LAN with 2.5Gbps NICs for Ceph replication traffic
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- **Rack**: Compact 10" rack with managed switch and PDU
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## 2. Software
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- **Proxmox VE**: Used for virtualization and clustering
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- **Ceph**: Distributed storage for VM disks
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- **Kubernetes (K3s)**: For orchestrating containerized apps
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- **Gitea**: Self-hosted Git with CI/CD via Gitea Actions
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- **OPNsense**: Firewall, VLANs, and DNS (with AdGuard + Unbound)
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- **Monitoring**: Grafana, Prometheus, Node Exporter
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## 3. Projects
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Some of the ongoing and past projects I've worked on:
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- CI/CD automation using Gitea Actions
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- GitOps pipeline for Kubernetes using ArgoCD
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- Hugo-based personal blog hosted with Docker
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- Home automation with Zigbee2MQTT and Home Assistant
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- VPN and remote access via WireGuard
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- Infrastructure as Code with Terraform and Ansible
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---
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If you're curious about any part of the stack or want to know how I built something specific, feel free to check the related blog posts!
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