ogmini - Exploration of DFIR
Having fun while learning about and pivoting into the world of DFIR.
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Homelab Part 3 - Thought Process
by ogmini
The new Homelab server is up and running. I’ve actually been using it for the Belkasoft Course, Belkasoft CTF, and Magnet CTF.
Controversial choice, I’ve disabled the RGB and will be disabling the RGB on the motherboard when I get the chance.
Decisions…
The new build had the following criteria:
- Budget - Under $800
- Memory - At least 128GB
- Core Count - As much as possible
This hardware doesn’t make me money and is for my own learning and enjoyment. Budget was foremost and I felt comfortable earmarking $800. I knew I wanted at least 128GB since my old Homelab server only had 64GB and I was feeling the limitation. More cores more better.
I ended up going with AMD because of the core count and I’m not currently confident with P/E cores for use with Virtual Machines. The budget didn’t allow for the AM5 platform and I ended up going with the older AM4 platform with a 5900XT CPU which nets me 16 cores/32 threads.
I reused the following parts from older systems:
- EVGA CLC280 AIO
- Nvidia GTX 1070
- 2TB Western Digital Blue NVMe
The biggest decision was between continuing to run Hyper-V vs Proxmox. I’ve stuck with Hyper-V because I’m comfortable with it and have the backup infrastructure using Veeam already setup. I’ve always liked the ability to easily run and move Hyper-V virtual machines on pretty much any Windows system. Theoretically, I could share one of my virtual machines with anyone and they wouldn’t need any special software. I will end up playing with Proxmox at some point on an older system.
tags: tools - homelab