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My Tight Self Designed Small Homelab

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By Usman Masood Ashraf
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My Tight Self Designed Small Homelab

My Tight Self Designed Small Homelab: A DevOps Powerhouse in 60 Watts

Introduction

In the era of cloud dominance, why would any DevOps professional invest time in building a physical homelab? The answer lies in the Reddit user’s compact setup that achieves remarkable efficiency: 24-port switching, virtualization, NAS storage, and automated backups - all consuming just 60 watts. This isn’t just hardware tinkering; it’s a masterclass in infrastructure design principles applied at micro-scale.

Homelabs serve as critical learning platforms where infrastructure-as-code, network segmentation, and high availability transition from abstract concepts to muscle memory. Unlike cloud environments where mistakes simply disappear with instance termination, physical homelabs teach resource constraints, power management, and hardware failure recovery - skills that directly translate to enterprise environments.

In this deep dive, we’ll dissect a real-world optimized homelab configuration that balances capability with efficiency. You’ll learn how to implement enterprise-grade technologies like Proxmox VE, ZFS RAID, and automated power management in a space-constrained environment while maintaining professional-grade operations.

Understanding the Homelab Ecosystem

What Constitutes a Modern Homelab?

A homelab is a scaled-down enterprise infrastructure running on personal hardware, typically used for:

  • Technology experimentation without cloud costs
  • Self-hosting critical services (file storage, home automation)
  • Developing infrastructure management skills
  • Building test environments for CI/CD pipelines

Evolution of Homelab Design

Early homelabs were often decommissioned enterprise gear - loud, power-hungry, and thermally challenging. The modern approach exemplified by our Reddit-inspired build emphasizes:

  • Power Efficiency: 60W total consumption rivals many gaming PCs
  • Compact Form Factor: Custom-sized LackRack alternative
  • Purpose-Built Components: Mix of new and repurposed hardware
  • Automated Management: Scheduled power cycles for non-critical components

Key Homelab Components Breakdown

ComponentPurposeExample from Build
Network CoreSegmentation and connectivity24-port managed gigabit switch
Virtualization HostService consolidationDell server with Proxmox VE
Primary StorageReliable data repositorySynology DS214+ RAID 1
Backup SystemDisaster recoveryOlder Dell server
Control PlaneHome automation/managementRepurposed laptop
Power InfrastructureRuntime protectionUPS (planned)

Power vs. Capability Tradeoffs

The featured build makes intelligent compromises:

  • Primary Host: Modern Dell with energy-efficient CPU and RAID 1
  • Backup System: Older hardware powered only 1 hour/day
  • ARM Devices: Low-power laptop for always-on services
  • Spinning vs. SSD: HDDs for storage, SSDs for host OS

Prerequisites for Building Your Tight Homelab

Hardware Selection Criteria

  1. Power Efficiency: Target <20W idle for core components
  2. Noise Profile: Look for fanless or low-RPM designs
  3. Physical Dimensions: Standard rack units vs. custom enclosures
  4. Expandability: Free PCIe slots, drive bays
  5. Remote Management: IPMI, iDRAC, or BMC support

Software Requirements

  • Virtualization: Proxmox VE 8.1+ (Debian 12 base)
  • Storage OS: Synology DSM 7.2+ or TrueNAS Core
  • Automation: Home Assistant OS 2023.7+
  • Backup: rsync 3.2.7+ with cron scheduling

Network Pre-Planning

Create a segmentation strategy before cabling:

VLAN IDPurposeSubnetAccess Policy
10Management192.168.10.0/24SSH/HTTPS only
20Services192.168.20.0/24Internal access
30IoT192.168.30.0/24Internet-only egress
40Guest192.168.40.0/24Client isolation

Pre-Installation Checklist

  1. Verify hardware compatibility with target OSes
  2. Test RAM with memtest86+ (minimum 24-hour run)
  3. Update all firmware (BIOS, BMC, drive controllers)
  4. Label all power and network cables
  5. Configure switch port assignments and VLANs

Installation & Configuration Walkthrough

Proxmox VE Host Setup

The Dell R230 forms the virtualization core:

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# Download latest Proxmox VE installer
wget https://enterprise.proxmox.com/iso/proxmox-ve_8.1-1.iso

# Create bootable USB (Linux example)
sudo dd if=proxmox-ve_8.1-1.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M conv=fsync status=progress

# Installation choices:
# - Filesystem: ZFS (RAID1 mirror)
# - Disk layout: 2x 512GB SSDs for OS, 2x 4TB HDDs for storage
# - Network: Static IP in management VLAN

Post-installation configuration:

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# Update enterprise repository to community
sed -i 's/^deb/#deb/' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list
echo "deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve bookworm pve-no-subscription" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-no-enterprise.list

# Apply updates
apt update && apt dist-upgrade -y

# Enable nested virtualization (for Kubernetes nodes)
echo "options kvm-intel nested=Y" > /etc/modprobe.d/kvm-intel.conf

Synology NAS Configuration

The DS214+ provides redundant storage:

  1. Create Storage Pool:
    • RAID Type: SHR-1 (Synology Hybrid RAID)
    • Filesystem: BTRFS with data checksum enabled
    • Enable advanced data integrity checks
  2. Configure Shared Folders:
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    Name          Purpose               Quota  Encryption
─────────────────────────────────── ────── ──────────
vm-storage    Proxmox backups       2TB    No
media         Plex library          4TB    No
documents     Critical files        500GB  Yes
  3. Set NFS Exports for Proxmox:
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    # /etc/exports excerpt
/vm-storage 192.168.10.20(rw,sync,no_subtree_check)

Backup Server Automation

The power-hungry Dell backup server activates via cron:

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# Create systemd service
cat > /etc/systemd/system/backup-job.service <<EOF
[Unit]
Description=Nightly Backup Process

[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/run-backups.sh
EOF

# Timer configuration
cat > /etc/systemd/system/backup-job.timer <<EOF
[Unit]
Description=Nightly backup trigger

[Timer]
OnCalendar=*-*-* 02:00:00
Persistent=true

[Install]
WantedBy=timers.target
EOF

# Enable automation
systemctl enable --now backup-job.timer

The backup script (run-backups.sh) includes:

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#!/bin/bash

# Wake primary NAS
etherwake -i eth0 00:11:32:XX:XX:XX

# Wait for NAS availability
while ! ping -c 1 -W 1 192.168.10.30; do sleep 10; done

# ZFS snapshot transfer
zfs send tank/documents@daily | ssh backup-host "zfs receive backup/documents"

# Power off after completion
shutdown -h +5 "Backup completed"

Configuration & Optimization Techniques

Power Management Tweaks

Reduce idle consumption with these BIOS settings:

  • CPU: Enable C-states, set governor to powersave
  • Storage: Aggressive spin-down (15 minutes inactivity)
  • Peripheral: Disable unused controllers (USB, serial)

Verify settings with:

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# Check CPU frequencies
watch -n 1 "cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep 'MHz'"

# Monitor disk activity and power states
hdparm -C /dev/sdX

Network Optimization

Configure switch port settings for efficiency:

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Port  Purpose             Speed   Flow Control  Energy-Efficient
----- ------------------- ------- ------------- -----------------
1     Proxmox Host        1Gbps   RX/TX         Disabled
2     NAS                 1Gbps   RX Only       Enabled
3-8   Unused             -        Disabled      Enabled
9-16  PoE Devices         Auto    Auto          Enabled

Security Hardening Checklist

  1. Proxmox Host:
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    # Restrict GUI access to management VLAN
echo 'ALL: 192.168.10.0/24' >> /etc/pve/priv/allow_ips
   
# Enable 2FA for web interface
pveum tfa config enable --type=oath
  2. Synology NAS:
    • Disable default ‘admin’ account
    • Enable automatic security advisor scans
    • Configure geo-blocking for admin interfaces
  3. Switch Configuration:
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    feature telnet disable
feature ssh enable
ip ssh password-attempt 3
ip ssh timeout 60

Daily Operations & Maintenance

Monitoring Stack

Implement lightweight observability:

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# docker-compose.yml for monitoring services
version: '3.8'

services:
  prometheus:
    image: prom/prometheus:v2.47.0
    volumes:
      - ./prometheus.yml:/etc/prometheus/prometheus.yml
    ports:
      - "9090:9090"

  node_exporter:
    image: prom/node-exporter:v1.6.1
    pid: host
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - /proc:/host/proc:ro
      - /sys:/host/sys:ro
      - /:/rootfs:ro

Backup Verification

Automated integrity checks:

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# Weekly ZFS scrub
zpool scrub tank

# Backup validation script
#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_VOLUME=/mnt/backup
ERROR=0

# Check mount status
if ! findmnt $BACKUP_VOLUME; then
  echo "Backup volume not mounted!" >&2
  exit 1
fi

# Test file integrity
sha256sum -c $BACKUP_VOLUME/latest.shasums || ERROR=1

# Alert if issues detected
[ $ERROR -ne 0 ] && \
  curl -X POST -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"text":"Backup verification failed!"}' \
  http://homeassistant.local:8123/api/webhook/backup-alert

Troubleshooting Common Homelab Issues

Network Connectivity Problems

Diagnostic workflow:

  1. Check physical layer:
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    ethtool eth0 | grep -e "Speed" -e "Link detected"
  2. Verify VLAN tagging:
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    ip -d link show eth0
  3. Test inter-VLAN routing:
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    traceroute -n -I 192.168.10.5

Storage Performance Issues

Identify bottlenecks:

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# Real-time IO monitoring
iostat -xmdz 1

# ZFS arc statistics
arc_summary.py | head -n 30

# Disk latency measurements
ioping -c 10 /dev/sdb

Virtualization Host Recovery

When Proxmox fails to boot:

  1. Boot into rescue environment
  2. Import ZFS pool:
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    zpool import -f -R /mnt/recovery rpool
  3. Chroot into system:
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    mount -t proc proc /mnt/recovery/proc
mount --rbind /sys /mnt/recovery/sys
mount --rbind /dev /mnt/recovery/dev
chroot /mnt/recovery /bin/bash
  4. Reinstall bootloader:
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    proxmox-boot-tool refresh

Conclusion

This tightly engineered homelab demonstrates how professional infrastructure principles apply at any scale. By carefully selecting components, implementing power-aware scheduling, and leveraging open-source technologies, we’ve created a potent learning environment that sips just 60 watts - less than most household light fixtures.

The real value lies not in the hardware itself, but in the operational practices it enables:

  • Infrastructure-as-code experimentation
  • Network segmentation practices
  • Backup strategy validation
  • Energy efficiency optimization
  • Hardware failure recovery drills

For those looking to expand this setup, consider exploring:

In an industry increasingly abstracted by cloud layers, physical homelabs remain vital for understanding the foundational layers that underpin modern infrastructure. They transform theoretical knowledge into visceral experience - where every watt saved and every millisecond of latency reduced becomes a tangible achievement.

Open Source, Reddit Guides, Kubernetes
homelab sysadmin how-to tools kubernetes k8s docker containers
This post is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by the author.