From ‘I want one’ to ‘It’s alive!’ — a simple guide to your first beginner homelab setup.

So, you’ve decided you want to build a homelab. You’ve seen the cool projects on YouTube, you have a list of services you want to run, but you’re stuck on one big question: Where on earth do you actually start? If you’re nodding along, you’re in the right place. It’s easy to get lost in a sea of options, from server racks to Raspberry Pis. Let’s quiet the noise and map out a clear path for your very first beginner homelab setup.

Maybe you’re like a friend of mine who started with a simple goal: to run a local game server for FoundryVTT to dodge monthly fees. Then, the list grew. He wanted to digitize his old DVD collection, move his Home Assistant setup off a Raspberry Pi, and maybe even dabble in local AI with Ollama. This is the classic homelab journey—it starts with one problem and quickly blossoms into a full-blown (and incredibly rewarding) hobby.

The good news is, you don’t need a rack of enterprise gear or a second mortgage to get started. You just need a plan.

Finding the Right Hardware for Your Beginner Homelab Setup

Let’s talk about the machine that will power your lab. You might be tempted by a tiny, brand-new mini PC or a power-hungry, rack-mounted server. I want to suggest a better starting point: a used business desktop.

Companies lease thousands of compact desktop PCs like the HP EliteDesk, Dell OptiPlex, and Lenovo ThinkCentre. After a few years, they come off-lease and hit the secondhand market for a fraction of their original price. They are the undisputed champions for a beginner homelab setup for a few key reasons:

• Affordable: You can often find a capable machine with an 8th-gen Intel i5 processor and 16GB of RAM for under $200.
• Power-Efficient: They were designed to sit on a desk all day, so they sip power compared to older enterprise servers.
• Quiet: No one wants a jet engine in their office. These are whisper-quiet.
• Powerful Enough: An i5 or i7 from this era can easily run a dozen different applications or more, especially using modern software.

A great resource for exploring these tiny powerhouses is the Project TinyMiniMicro series on ServeTheHome. They do deep dives into specific models, giving you a great idea of what to look for.

What about running something demanding like the AI tool Ollama? While a dedicated GPU is best for heavy AI workloads, a capable CPU in one of these mini PCs is more than enough to get started, learn the ropes, and run smaller models. Don’t let future plans paralyze your start.

The Software: Your Homelab’s Operating System

Once you have your hardware, you need to choose the software that will manage everything. The two names you’ll hear most often are Proxmox and Docker.

• Proxmox VE (Virtual Environment): Think of Proxmox as a master conductor. It’s a special type of operating system called a hypervisor that lets you create and run multiple, separate virtual machines (VMs) and containers (LXC) on a single physical computer. Each VM is like its own independent computer with its own OS. It’s incredibly flexible and has a fantastic web-based interface that makes it easy to manage.

• Docker: Docker, on the other hand, uses “containerization.” Instead of creating a whole virtual computer, a container packages up just an application and its dependencies. It’s much more lightweight and efficient than a full VM.

So, which one should you choose? My advice: start with Proxmox. It gives you a solid foundation to learn on. You can create a VM to run Home Assistant, another for your game server, and so on. The beautiful part is, you can also easily run Docker inside a Proxmox VM. This approach is common and gives you the best of both worlds: the robust management of Proxmox and the lightweight efficiency of Docker.

A Simple Roadmap for Your First Projects

Okay, you’ve got your mini PC and you’ve installed Proxmox. Now for the fun part. Here’s a simple, step-by-step plan to get your first services up and running.

1. Migrate Home Assistant: Your first goal should be a quick win. Create a new VM in Proxmox and follow the official guide to install Home Assistant OS. Moving it off your Raspberry Pi and onto more powerful hardware will make it much faster and more reliable.
2. Spin Up Your Game Server: Next, create another VM or a lightweight LXC container. Install Linux and get FoundryVTT running. Just like that, you’ve accomplished one of your primary goals.
3. Tackle Your Media: To digitize your DVDs and Blu-rays, you’ll need storage. A simple start is to plug a large external USB drive into your Proxmox server. You can then “pass” that drive through to a VM running software like OpenMediaVault, or simply set up a basic file share. This turns your homelab into a central hub for your media.
4. Experiment and Grow: Once your core services are stable, you can start exploring. Set up a new VM to try Ollama. Install a container with Pi-hole for network-wide ad blocking. The possibilities are endless.

The most important thing to remember is that a homelab is a journey of learning and discovery. Start small, solve one problem at a time, and don’t be afraid to break things. Before you know it, you’ll have a powerful, custom-tailored system running the services you care about, all from a quiet little box sitting on a shelf. Welcome to the club.