A friendly look inside a personal homelab build, from the Proxmox cluster and pFsense firewall to network storage and UPS backups. Your guide to DIY tech.
Okay, let’s talk about my homelab.
But first, a small confession. The wiring is a bit of a work in progress. If you peeked behind my desk, you wouldn’t see perfectly combed cables tied down in neat bundles. It’s a bit chaotic, but it’s an honest chaos. It’s the sign of something that’s actively being built, tweaked, and improved.
And that’s what a homelab is all about, right? It’s a journey. But with that said, the core of my setup is finally humming along, and I wanted to share what I’ve put together.
The Brains: A Three-Node Proxmox Cluster
The heart of my entire setup is a high-availability (HA) cluster running Proxmox.
So what does that mean in plain English? I have three separate mini-computers that all work together as one powerful, resilient machine. Proxmox is the software that lets me run all sorts of virtual machines (VMs) and containers. Think of it as having dozens of virtual computers for different tasks—a web server, a media server, a development environment—all running on this little trio of hardware.
The “high-availability” part is the secret sauce. If one of the three machines fails or needs to be rebooted for an update, the other two automatically take over its workload. My services stay online without a hiccup. It’s a bit of enterprise-level magic for the home.
Here’s the hardware that makes it happen:
- 1 x M700 Business Mini PC (i5, 32GB RAM)
- 2 x Gmtek Nucbox Mini PCs (i9, 64GB RAM each)
I went with mini PCs because they’re incredible. They sip power compared to traditional rack servers, they’re quiet, and they take up almost no space. Yet, they have more than enough horsepower for anything I throw at them.
The Gatekeeper: pFsense for Routing and Security
I stopped using the router from my internet provider a long time ago. Instead, I built my own using pFsense.
pFsense is a powerful, open-source firewall and router software. It gives me complete control over my network traffic. I can create advanced rules, monitor for threats, and segment my network to keep my lab projects separate from my main home network. It runs on its own dedicated N100 mini PC with 16GB of RAM, so it never becomes a bottleneck.
This connects to a Netgear CM3000 modem, which is a simple, reliable workhorse that just handles the connection to the outside world.
Storage, Wi-Fi, and a Safety Net
A lab needs storage, and a home needs good Wi-Fi.
For storage, I’m using a Netgear ReadyNas 214 with 24TB of space in a RAID-5 configuration. The RAID-5 setup is key. It means my data is spread across multiple drives in a way that protects me if one of them fails. I can lose an entire drive and not lose a single file. This is where I keep my backups, media, and larger project files.
For wireless, a Netgear AX6000 Mesh system covers the house. A mesh network is great because it uses multiple nodes to blanket the entire home in a strong signal, killing any dead zones.
Finally, none of this would be safe without a backup power plan. The entire setup is protected by two 1500VA Cyberpower UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) units. These are essentially giant batteries. If the power flickers or goes out, they kick in instantly, giving me plenty of time to shut everything down gracefully. It’s the single most important piece of gear for preventing data corruption and hardware damage.
It’s a Process
And that’s the setup. It’s a mix of consumer, prosumer, and enterprise ideas, all scaled down to fit in the corner of my office. It’s my personal cloud, my development playground, and my ongoing hobby.
Is it perfect? Nope. I still want to clean up those wires. But it’s powerful, it’s resilient, and it’s mine. If you’ve been thinking about starting your own lab, just start. It doesn’t have to be perfect on day one. Just get one piece, learn it, and build from there. That’s half the fun.