Homelab Part 1 - The Current Setup
by ogmini
I’ve always run a few personal “servers” at home running simple services like Plex, file storage, etc. When I started my Master’s Degree, I wanted to setup a server to run Hyper-V so that I could keep all my coursework contained, backed up, and I could easily spin up VMs for exploration. Utilizing tailscale allowed me to access these VMs anytime, anywhere giving me the ability to easily work on assignments while on vacation or travelling.
Hardware Specs
- Asrock DeskMini X300 - https://www.asrock.com/nettop/AMD/DeskMini%20X300%20Series/index.asp
- AMD Ryzen 5700G
- Noctua NH-K9a-AM4 Heatsink
- 64GB DDR4-3200 Crucial SODIMM
- 2TB Western Digital Blue NVMe
- 2 x 2TB Western Digital Blue
Software
- Hyper-V Server 2019 (RIP standalone Hyper-V server)
- Veeam Backup & Replication Community Edition
Lessons Learned
Thank god I had configured and setup Veeam. I somehow managed to corrupt one of my VHDX files and was easily able to restore it using Veeam. Anyone thinking about setting up a Homelab should decide on their backup strategy.
When I first setup the server, I only had 32GB and that was definitely not enough for me. I tended to run multiple VMs at the same time with each VM having at least 8GB or more. I’ll talk about it in future posts; but I liked replicating the course labs in my own environment when possible. For one class, I setup my own Splunk instance and loaded the BOTS v1 Dataset.
Tailscale is amazing and something I consider almost as important as your backup strategy.
Your Homelab doesn’t need to be expensive, complex, or a rackmount. My little deskmini is a tiny box running with a “laptop” power brick. It fits on the shelf next to my printer hooked up to a UPS.
Next Iteration
As I continue my journey, this little server is starting to show its limitations.
- Memory limitations - I want more than 64GB
- Network limitations - one Gigabit NIC isn’t enough. I want multiple NICs.
- CPU limitations - I want more cores
Part 2 will delve into the next iteration.
tags: tools - homelab