Why I Built a Home Lab¶
Like many households, my home Internet journey started with a standard cable internet connection provided by my ISP. It came with a basic cable modem, and to provide wireless access, I added a separate Wi-Fi router. As technology advanced, two separate devices—the cable modem and Wi-Fi router—were eventually replaced by a single integrated model that provided both internet connectivity and wireless access.
Initially, this setup worked fine, but I soon ran into a common problem: poor Wi-Fi coverage in certain areas of the house. I began experimenting with different solutions:
- Wi-Fi repeaters
- Powerline adapters (networking over electrical wiring)
- MoCA (networking over coaxial cable)
- Wi-Fi mesh systems
After testing these options, I decided to go with a mesh Wi-Fi setup for its balance of performance and ease of use. I tried various brands, including Google Nest and Amazon’s Eero, but some, like Nest, lacked advanced features such as bridge mode, which I needed for better network control.
Organizing My Digital Life¶
At the same time, I realized my digital files were scattered—some were on my laptop, others on external hard drives with no backup, and a few in cloud storage like Dropbox. It was chaotic, and I needed a better solution for organizing, storing, and accessing my data securely from anywhere. That’s when I invested in a Synology NAS (Network Attached Storage).
What started as a file server turned out to be a powerhouse—it offered not just file storage, but a rich ecosystem of apps and services. One of the first features I enabled was media streaming, allowing me to access and enjoy my video library, TV shows, and music across all devices in the house. While my Synology NAS can run virtual machines as well, I preferred to keep it dedicated to storage and light services, preserving its resources for uptime and reliability.
Taking Control of My Network¶
As my home network grew, I began to care more about visibility and security. I wanted to know which devices were connected, how much bandwidth each was consuming, and why my monthly data cap was being exceeded at certain times. So, I installed a dedicated firewall from Untangled that gave me full network observability and control.
This revealed some eye-opening insights. For example, my LG smart TV was constantly sending out traffic for advertising and telemetry, even when not in use. That’s when I deployed Pi-hole—a network-wide DNS sinkhole that blocks ads and trackers at the DNS level, improving both privacy and performance across all connected devices.
High-Performance Workstation¶
In 2020, I made a significant upgrade and built a high-end desktop PC with a powerful NVIDIA GPU. The system was meant to serve multiple purposes: high-end gaming, AI/ML workloads, and a general-purpose workstation.
With tools like Steam Link and Moonlight, I could stream games from this PC to our big-screen TV, creating an immersive, family-friendly gaming experience. It also became my go-to machine for fast web browsing, occasional VM testing, coding and local development.
Computing Cluster¶
The next major leap in my home lab journey was the addition of a Raspberry Pi cluster. I set up five Raspberry Pi 5 nodes (each with 16GB of RAM), housed in a multi-layer cluster case with active cooling. They are powered via PoE+ using a TP-Link PoE+ switch and Waveshare PoE HATs. This cluster allowed me to experiment with distributed system design, container orchestration, edge computing, and self-hosting various open-source services.
One dedicated Raspberry Pi node acts as my observability stack. It collects system and application metrics from the cluster and visualizes them through a web dashboard hosted locally. It also serves as the central entry point for my home lab documentation and project tracking.
Type-1 Hypervisor¶
Raspberry Pi cluster provides an excellent playground for lightweight workloads and distributed computing. However, I needed a more powerful and flexible foundation for virtualization and high-performance services. That's why I added a high-performance mini-PC (MINISFORUM UM890 Pro) to my home lab. UM890 Pro features a Ryzen 9 8945HS, 64 GB of DDR5 RAM, and a fast 1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. Despite its compact size, it delivers desktop-class performance and efficiency.
To maximize its potential, I installed Proxmox VE, a Type-1 hypervisor. Unlike Type-2 solutions that run atop an operating system, a Type-1 hypervisor runs directly on bare metal, offering better performance, isolation, and control. This setup enables me to:
- Run multiple virtual machines and containers side by side
- Experiment with more demanding applications that exceed the Pi cluster's capabilities (ex. Sonic image build)
- Simulate production-like environments with full network segmentation and snapshots
- Emulate network devices and topologies using GNS3 VM, enabling advanced network labs and certifications
Proxmox also provides a powerful web UI and CLI for managing compute, storage, and networking, making it a perfect fit for serious home lab setups that balance simplicity and scalability.
Building Your Own Home Lab¶
A home lab isn’t just for tech enthusiasts or IT professionals—though it certainly helps if you’re one. It’s a practical and rewarding way to:
- Take ownership of your data and privacy
- Host personal or family services
- Learn by doing (networking, virtualization, automation, etc.)
- Experiment safely with new technologies
- Get better visibility and security for your home network
If any of this resonates with you, I hope my journey gives you some inspiration. Start small—maybe with a NAS or a Raspberry Pi—and see where your curiosity takes you. A home lab isn’t just a project; it’s a continuously evolving ecosystem that grows with your interests and needs.
Let us begin!