Stop installing clients. Here’s how you can access your remote computers from anywhere, using just a standard web browser.

Have you ever been away from your main computer, maybe on a friend’s laptop or just using a tablet on the couch, and suddenly needed to access something on it? Maybe it’s a file, an application, or just to check on a running process. The usual solution involves installing a dedicated Remote Desktop client, but what if you can’t, or don’t want to, install software on the device you’re using? It turns out there’s a wonderfully elegant solution: using a browser-based RDP client.

It’s a simple but powerful idea. Instead of a dedicated app, you just open a web browser, navigate to a local URL you’ve set up, and get a full remote desktop session right there in the tab. It feels a little like magic the first time you see it work. You get all the power of a remote connection without needing to install anything on the client machine. This is perfect for home lab enthusiasts, IT professionals, or anyone who wants a more flexible way to manage their machines.

So, What Exactly Is a Browser-Based RDP Setup?

Normally, to connect to a Windows machine remotely, you use the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). This requires a client application, like the one built into Windows (MSTSC) or Remmina on Linux.

A browser-based RDP solution adds a middleman—a web server that you host yourself. Here’s the flow:

1. You open a browser on any device (a laptop, tablet, or even a phone).
2. You navigate to the web app’s URL (e.g., `http://remote.yourhomenetwork.com`).
3. You log into the web app.
4. The web app presents you with a list of your configured computers.
5. You click one, and the server opens the RDP connection for you and streams the desktop session directly to your browser as if it were a video.

All the heavy lifting is done by your server. Your browser just needs to render the HTML5 stream, something every modern browser is great at.

The Best Tool for the Job: Apache Guacamole

When it comes to self-hosted, browser-based remote access, one name stands above the rest: Apache Guacamole. Don’t let the quirky name fool you; it’s an incredibly powerful and mature open-source project.

Guacamole is a “clientless remote desktop gateway.” In simple terms, it’s a web application that provides access to your desktops. Because it’s “clientless,” you don’t need any plugins or client software. Just a web browser.

While we’re focused on RDP for Windows machines, Guacamole’s flexibility is one of its best features. It also supports other common protocols, including:

• VNC: A popular alternative for remote desktop on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
• SSH: For secure command-line access to servers.
• Telnet: An older command-line protocol.

This means you can create a single, unified web portal to access all of your devices, whether they’re graphical desktops or headless servers.

Getting Started with a Browser-Based RDP Gateway

Setting up a tool like Apache Guacamole might sound intimidating, but it’s more accessible than ever, especially if you’re familiar with Docker. The official Apache Guacamole documentation provides a fantastic guide for getting it up and running with Docker Compose.

At a high level, the setup involves running a few Docker containers that work together:
* guacd: The core proxy daemon that translates connections.
* guacamole: The web application itself.
* A database (like PostgreSQL or MySQL) to store user and connection data.

Once it’s running, you log into the web interface, and from there you can configure all your connections. For each one, you’ll specify the protocol (RDP, VNC, etc.), the IP address or hostname of the target machine, and the authentication credentials.

Are There Any Alternatives?

While Guacamole is the most popular choice for this specific task, the world of open-source remote access is vast. A few other projects offer similar, browser-based functionality, though they often have a broader focus. Tools like MeshCentral and RustDesk are excellent remote management suites that also include browser-based access as a feature. They are fantastic projects worth exploring if you need features beyond simple session proxying.

But for a dedicated, self-hosted gateway to access your existing machines right from a browser tab, it’s hard to beat the focused power and simplicity of a browser-based RDP setup using Apache Guacamole. It’s a game-changer for managing a home lab or just having convenient access to your digital life from anywhere.

Rethinking my home lab setup and the classic debate: one beefy server or two specialized machines?

My Home Lab Is a Mess. Is It Time to Split It Up?

I’ve hit that classic crossroads that many tech tinkerers eventually face. My all-in-one server, which started so simply, has become a bit of a tangled mess. It’s got me seriously thinking about my home lab setup, and whether it’s time for a major restructure. I have two machines—one new and powerful, one older and gathering dust—and I’m trying to figure out the best way to use them both. Maybe you’re in the same boat.

Here’s My Current Home Lab Setup

Right now, my entire operation runs on a slick little Beelink Mini PC. It’s a SER5 MAX with a Ryzen 7 6800U processor, and it’s been a fantastic workhorse. It’s running Unraid and handles everything: my NAS, Plex for media streaming, the whole suite of *Arr containers, a personal website, and a few home automation apps.

The storage is a bit… unconventional. The Beelink has two zippy 1TB SSDs inside, but all my media lives on four big hard drives in a 4-bay DAS (Direct-Attached Storage) enclosure that’s hanging off the mini PC via a USB cable. It works, but it feels a bit precarious. And in the corner, my old gaming PC—a respectable AMD Ryzen 7 1700—is sitting completely idle. It feels like a waste of potential.

The Big Idea: A Split Home Lab Setup

So, I’ve been sketching out a new plan. Instead of one machine doing everything, why not give each computer a specialized job? It seems cleaner and more logical.

1. The Dedicated NAS: My older Ryzen 7 1700 machine would be pulled out of retirement. I’d move the four hard drives from the DAS directly into the PC case. It has the space and the SATA ports, after all. Then, I’d install a dedicated NAS operating system like Unraid on it. Its sole job would be to store files safely and serve them over the network.

2. The Dedicated Virtualization Host: The powerful Beelink Mini PC would be freed from storage duties. I’d wipe it and install Proxmox on it. With its fast processor and internal SSDs, it would become a dedicated hypervisor, running all my virtual machines (VMs) and containers like Plex, my website, and other apps.

Is This a Better Home Lab Setup? Weighing the Pros and Cons

This is where the real questions come in. Splitting roles sounds great in theory, but is it actually a good use of my hardware? I’ve been weighing the pros and cons.

The Upsides:

• Simplicity and Stability: Each machine has one clear purpose. If I need to reboot my Proxmox server to test a new app, my NAS and all its files stay online, completely unaffected.
• Better I/O Performance: A DAS connected over USB is a classic bottleneck. By moving the hard drives into the older PC with native SATA connections, my storage performance should be much more reliable. No more worrying about a USB cable getting jostled.
• Focused Resources: The Mini PC’s fast CPU and SSDs are perfect for running applications, while the older PC is more than capable of handling file-serving tasks. Each machine gets to play to its strengths.

The Downsides (and My Rebuttals):

• Power Consumption: This is my biggest worry. The old Ryzen 7 1700 will definitely use more power at idle than the super-efficient 6800U in the mini PC. But how much more? After some research on sites like ServeTheHome, a great resource for this kind of hardware, the consensus is that while it will be higher, it might not be as dramatic as I think, especially at idle. The stability gains might be worth a few extra dollars on the power bill.

• Is 8GB of RAM Enough? The old machine only has 8GB of RAM. Is that enough for a dedicated Unraid NAS? For my plan, the answer is a resounding yes. Since all the heavy lifting (Plex transcoding, VMs, etc.) is moving to the Proxmox server, the NAS will just be… a NAS. It will serve files. Unraid itself is very lightweight, and 8GB is plenty for basic file storage and maybe one or two very lightweight utility containers.

My Verdict: I’m Splitting My Home Lab

After thinking it through, I’m going for it. The proposed home lab setup just makes more sense.

The current all-in-one approach is convenient, but it’s also a single point of failure and creates performance bottlenecks. Separating the roles of storage and services feels like a more mature, robust architecture for a home lab that’s growing beyond a simple hobby. The increase in power consumption is a valid concern, but one I’m willing to accept for the significant gains in stability, performance, and peace of mind.

The plan is set as of August 2025. The old Ryzen will soon be humming away as my dedicated Unraid NAS, and the Beelink Mini PC will become a pure Proxmox virtualization server. It’ll be a fun weekend project, that’s for sure.

Every home lab is a personal journey, a constant evolution of hardware and software. This feels like the right next step for mine. It’s about creating a system that’s not just powerful, but also resilient and easier to manage in the long run.

What do you think? Have you ever considered splitting your own setup? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

What starts with a single server can quickly become a complex ecosystem. Here’s the story of how my passion project became a source of anxiety.

It all started from a simple place: a love for computers.

I’ve been running what you might call a “homelab” for over two decades. It didn’t start as some grand project. It was just a network hub, a couple of older computers, and a passion for tinkering. One machine handled network storage, and another, believe it or not, ran a Lotus Notes server for my email. It was simple, fun, and entirely manageable. But over the years, a slow, almost invisible force took over: homelab creep. What began as a simple hobby has gradually morphed into something that feels less like a passion and more like a small enterprise system I’m constantly trying to keep from collapsing.

It all happens one small step at a time.

The Slow March of Homelab Creep

You don’t just wake up one day with a rack of servers humming in your basement. It begins with a single, perfectly reasonable thought: “I can make this a little better.”

For me, it started with the basics. Why use my internet provider’s DNS when I could have more control? So, I set up a Pi-hole. But what if it fails? That led to setting up three Pi-hole instances for redundancy. Then came the DHCP server. A simple ISC server worked fine for years, but then I discovered KEA DHCP. It offered more features, so I set it up in a primary and secondary configuration with a Postgres backend.

Of course, managing that from the command line was a bit of a pain. The logical next step? Build a custom web front-end for it. Each solution created a new, slightly more complex problem, and I was all too happy to solve it.

Chasing Reliability and Adding Complexity

With a growing number of virtual machines and containers, I realized I was flying blind. I needed to know what was running, what was struggling, and what was about to fail. So, I added a monitoring solution. Then I needed a slick dashboard to see it all at a glance, so in came Glance. But what good is monitoring if you don’t know when something breaks? That meant I needed a notification system, so I set up NTFY.

This is the heart of homelab creep: every new layer of complexity is a solution to a problem created by the last layer.

The real turning point for me was when I decided I wanted to run my own Certificate Authority (CA) to issue SSL and SSH certificates for my internal services. I dove in and set up Smallstep, a powerful open-source CA. It was a fantastic learning experience, but it also added another critical piece of infrastructure I was now responsible for maintaining.

When Your Homelab Creep Demands Full Automation

Things were getting out of hand. Managing everything manually was becoming a chore. The updates, the configurations, the new VMs—it was too much. So, I decided it was time to learn Ansible.

I dove in headfirst, writing playbooks to automate everything:
* Updating all my VMs and containers.
* Spinning up new virtual machines from templates.
* Checking for available container updates.
* Renewing my internal certificates.

Ansible was powerful, and for a while, it felt like I had finally tamed the beast. But then, a new anxiety emerged: how do I know if my automation is actually working?

This was the final, almost comical, step. I set up my Ansible scripts to write their status to JSON files. Then I wrote a simple Python web server to parse those files and feed the data into my Glance dashboard. I had now built a monitoring system to monitor my automation system, which was built to manage the complex system that my simple hobby had become.

The House of Cards

Today, I find myself surrounded by six computers, five Raspberry Pis, a standalone NAS, and a web of VMs, containers, and scripts I built myself.

The simple joy of tinkering has been replaced by a low-level anxiety. I feel less like a hobbyist and more like a sysadmin for a small, quirky, and incredibly fragile business. It’s a house of cards, and I’m just waiting for one wrong move or one failed component to bring it all tumbling down.

It’s overwhelming. This intricate system I’ve poured years into now feels less like an achievement and more like a burden.

Does any of this sound familiar? Have you ever felt the pressure of your own homelab creep? I’m sure I’m not the only one who has gone down this rabbit hole. Check out communities like the /r/homelab subreddit to see you’re in good company. I’d love to hear your story in the comments below.

Tired of users seeing folders they can’t open? Here’s the simple fix for your TrueNAS SMB permissions to hide what they don’t need to see.

You’ve done it. You’ve set up your awesome TrueNAS server, you’ve created a bunch of datasets for things like photos, documents, and backups, and you’ve even set up individual user accounts for your family or teammates. You’re feeling pretty good about your new, organized digital life. But then you log in with one of those limited accounts and notice something… odd. They can see every single folder, even the ones they can’t open. It’s not a huge security flaw, but it’s messy and confusing. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. It’s a common hurdle when you first start dialing in your TrueNAS SMB permissions.

The good news is there’s a super simple fix that cleans this all up, hiding folders from anyone who doesn’t have the keys to open them.

Why Does TrueNAS Show Everything by Default?

First, don’t worry—your server isn’t broken. This is actually standard behavior for SMB (Server Message Block), the protocol Windows and other operating systems use for network file sharing. By default, it tells everyone what folders are available, and only when someone tries to open one does it check if they have permission.

For a home user or small business, this isn’t ideal. It creates visual clutter and can lead to questions like, “Hey, what’s in this ‘Admin_Backups’ folder and why can’t I open it?” It’s just… tidier to have people only see what they can actually access. Think of it as the difference between a building directory that lists every office, including the secret ones, versus one that only shows you the offices you have a keycard for.

The Magic Setting: Better TrueNAS SMB Permissions with ABE

The feature that fixes this is called Access Based Enumeration, or ABE. It sounds technical, but it’s just a fancy term for “if you can’t access it, you won’t even see it.” When you turn this on, TrueNAS will check a user’s permissions before showing them the contents of a share.

Here’s how to enable it. It takes less than a minute.

1. Log in to your TrueNAS web interface.
2. Navigate to Sharing on the left-hand menu, and then click on Windows Shares (SMB).
3. You’ll see a list of the shares you’ve created. Find the one you want to clean up, click the three dots on the far right, and select Edit.
4. A new screen will pop up with all the settings for that share. Click on Advanced Options at the bottom.
5. Scroll down until you find a checkbox labeled Access Based Share Enumeration. It’s usually about halfway down the advanced list.
6. Check the box!
7. Click Save.

That’s it. Seriously. Now, when a user connects to that network share, they will only see the folders and files that they have been granted permission to read or modify. The rest will be completely invisible.

Fine-Tuning Your TrueNAS SMB permissions

Enabling ABE is a share-level setting, but it works hand-in-hand with your dataset-level permissions. ABE decides what to show, while your ACLs (Access Control Lists) decide who can actually get in.

This is an important distinction. For ABE to work correctly, you still need to have your underlying permissions set up properly.

• Dataset Permissions: This is where you define the granular rules. On your Storage Pool, you can edit the permissions for each dataset, specifying which users or groups can read, write, or execute files within it. This is the foundation of your security.
• Share-Level ABE: This is the visibility layer on top. It simply respects the dataset permissions you’ve already configured and hides things accordingly.

If you’re new to setting up permissions, the official TrueNAS documentation on SMB Shares is an excellent resource. For a deeper dive into what ABE is doing under the hood, you can even check out the original Microsoft documentation on the feature.

After you enable ABE, always remember to test it. Log in from a computer using one of your restricted user accounts and browse the network share. The folders you wanted to hide should now be gone, leaving a much cleaner and less confusing experience for everyone. It’s a small change that makes your professional-grade server feel a little more user-friendly.

Choosing the right server storage design for your home lab doesn’t have to be complicated. Let’s talk Proxmox, ZFS, and TrueNAS.

You’ve got the hardware. It’s sitting there, a powerful server humming with potential. You’ve got a stack of hard drives ready to go. But then you hit the wall. Not a technical wall, but a mental one. The paralysis of planning. I’ve been there, staring at a pile of components, trying to map out the absolute perfect server storage design before I even install the operating system. It’s a common trap for anyone building a home lab, but getting it right from the start can save a ton of headaches later.

So let’s talk it through. You have a goal: to run a hypervisor like Proxmox, spin up some virtual machines (VMs) and containers, and start hosting cool applications like a self-hosted photo manager. But the big question looms: how do you handle the storage for all that data?

The Hardware and the Dream

Let’s imagine a common scenario. You have a server, maybe an enterprise-grade Dell or HP, with a handful of large capacity spinning drives (like 10TB SAS drives) for bulk data. You also have a couple of faster, smaller SSDs for things that need more performance, and maybe even a pair of tiny M.2 drives on a special card (like Dell’s BOSS card) intended for the operating system.

The dream is simple: run Proxmox as the base OS, and then use VMs and containers for everything else. This is an efficient, popular way to run a home lab. But the dream hinges on a solid storage foundation.

The Big Debate: A Good Server Storage Design

This is where things get tricky and where most of the overthinking happens. When using Proxmox, you generally have two popular paths for a robust server storage design:

1. ZFS Directly in Proxmox: You install Proxmox on your boot drives and then use its built-in capabilities to create a ZFS storage pool directly from your data drives.
2. TrueNAS in a VM: You install Proxmox, create a virtual machine, install a dedicated storage OS like TrueNAS SCALE inside it, and pass your HBA controller (the card your data drives are connected to) directly to that VM.

On the surface, the TrueNAS option sounds amazing. You get a beautiful, dedicated web interface for managing your storage, with tons of powerful, easy-to-use features for snapshots and replication. It’s a purpose-built tool for the job.

But here’s the catch: it adds a significant layer of complexity. To get your other VMs and containers to use that storage, you have to share it back to Proxmox over the network using something like NFS or SMB. This can create a performance bottleneck, especially for applications inside Docker containers that need fast access to their data. You’re also creating a single, critical point of failure. If your TrueNAS VM has a problem and won’t boot, your entire storage pool is offline.

Running ZFS directly in Proxmox, on the other hand, is beautifully simple. It’s tightly integrated, fast, and reliable. There’s less overhead and no network layer to worry about for accessing data. As the saying goes, “simpler is usually better.”

My Choice for a Modern Server Storage Design

After weighing the pros and cons, I’m a firm believer in the direct approach for most home lab scenarios. My recommendation is to manage your ZFS pool directly within Proxmox.

Here’s why:

• Simplicity and Stability: You remove an entire layer of abstraction (the TrueNAS VM and the network sharing). This makes your setup easier to manage, troubleshoot, and much more stable in the long run.
• Performance: Your containers and VMs have direct, block-level access to the storage they need. You avoid the potential performance penalty of running everything over a network share, which is a real concern for I/O-intensive apps.
• Proxmox is Powerful Enough: While TrueNAS has a slicker UI for storage, Proxmox’s own ZFS management is incredibly capable. You can still easily manage pools, datasets, and snapshots right from the Proxmox interface or the command line. For more information, the official Proxmox ZFS documentation is an excellent resource. For a deeper dive into this exact comparison, sites like ServeTheHome often have great discussions on the topic.

What about backups? The appeal of TrueNAS’s backup tasks is strong, but you can achieve the same result in Proxmox. You can set up scripts for ZFS snapshotting and replication, and for crucial data, using an offsite backup service like Backblaze B2 is a fantastic and affordable strategy anyway.

Don’t Forget The Boot Drives

What about those small M.2 drives for the OS? A mirrored pair of 480GB drives might seem small, but it’s typically plenty of space. The Proxmox OS itself uses very little. The key is to only store the operating systems for your VMs and the definitions for your containers on this fast storage. All the actual data—your photos, documents, and media—should live on the large ZFS pool you created with your spinning drives.

This setup gives you the best of both worlds: a snappy, responsive OS and fast-booting VMs, combined with a massive, resilient pool for your important data.

In the end, the goal is to build something useful, not to get stuck in a loop of “what-ifs.” Start simple, start stable. A clean Proxmox installation with a directly managed ZFS pool is a rock-solid foundation that will serve you well as you build out your home lab. Now go get that OS installed!

Expanding your setup from one server to two? Here’s how to handle your home lab networking without the headache.

So, your home lab is starting to feel a little cramped. That single server, once the pride of your setup, is now begging for a friend. You’re thinking of getting a second host, maybe for more complex projects or just to have a failover. But then it hits you: your entire network is virtualized, running as a VM on that first machine. This is a common growing pain for many of us in the tech community and a crucial moment in your home lab networking journey. When you add a second host, you need a network that lives outside both of them.

It’s a classic problem. Your current setup, likely with a virtual router like VyOS or pfSense running on ESXi, has been perfect. It’s efficient and self-contained. But the moment you introduce a second physical server, that elegant solution becomes a single point of failure. If your first host goes down for maintenance (or just for fun), your entire lab, including the new server, gets cut off from the network.

It’s time to move your networking from the virtual world to the physical one. It might sound intimidating, especially if you’re more of a software person, but I promise it’s a logical and rewarding next step.

Why Your Virtual Router Can’t Scale to Two Hosts

Think of your virtual router as an apartment building’s intercom system that’s wired to the superintendent’s apartment. It works great for buzzing people in, but if the super goes on vacation and turns off their power, nobody in the building can talk to each other or let guests in.

When your router is a VM on a single host, that host is the superintendent. Adding a second server is like building a second apartment building next door. You need an independent, standalone intercom system—a physical network—that can serve both buildings equally. This ensures that all your VMs and services can communicate with each other, and the internet, regardless of the status of a single host.

Your First Step into Physical Home Lab Networking

The heart of your new physical network will be a managed switch. You might be tempted by a cheap, simple “unmanaged” switch from a big-box store, but that would be a step backward.

• Unmanaged Switches: These are simple plug-and-play devices. They’re great for extending your home Wi-Fi to a TV and a game console, but they don’t understand complex concepts like VLANs (Virtual LANs). Since your lab is already using VLANs within VyOS, you need a switch that can handle them.
• Managed Switches: This is what you need. A “managed” switch is a smart switch that you can configure. Its most important feature for a home lab is support for VLANs. This lets you keep your lab traffic separate from your home traffic, or create different network segments for different projects (e.g., a “dev” network and a “testing” network).

For those new to physical gear, I’d strongly recommend looking into the Ubiquiti UniFi or TP-Link Omada ecosystems. They offer powerful managed switches that are configured through a clean, user-friendly web interface. You don’t need to be a command-line wizard to get started. You can find their product lines on their official websites, which are great places to compare models.

Finding a Router to Replace Your Virtual One

With a physical switch in place, you still need a router to manage the traffic between your VLANs and connect everything to the internet. You have a couple of great options here.

1. An All-in-One “Prosumer” Router: The easiest transition is to get a router from the same ecosystem as your switch. The UniFi Dream Machine (UDM) or a TP-Link Omada Router are fantastic all-in-one solutions. They act as a router, a firewall, and a controller for your switches and access points. It’s a seamless experience and the perfect entry point.
2. A Dedicated Router Appliance: If you love the power and flexibility you had with VyOS, you might prefer a dedicated router box. You can buy a small, low-power PC and install open-source routing software like pfSense or OPNsense. This gives you incredible control and is a direct, more powerful successor to a virtualized router. It’s a bit more hands-on but is the gold standard for many advanced home labs.

A Simple Home Lab Networking Setup to Get Started

Don’t overthink it at the beginning. Your goal is to get a stable, physical foundation built. Here’s a simple, reliable blueprint for your new home lab networking configuration:

1. Connect your Internet Modem to the WAN (internet) port of your new physical router (like a UniFi Dream Machine or your pfSense box).
2. Connect a LAN port from your new router to your new managed switch.
3. Connect your two ESXi hosts, your desktop computer, and any other wired devices to the managed switch.

That’s it for the physical connections! From there, you’ll log into your router and switch’s web interfaces to configure your VLANs, firewall rules, and IP address ranges. It’s the same logic you used in VyOS, just applied to physical hardware. For a visual guide, you can find excellent tutorials on YouTube or tech sites like ServeTheHome, which provides in-depth reviews and guides for this kind of hardware.

Taking the leap from a virtual to a physical network is a right of passage for any home lab enthusiast. It opens the door to more resilient, complex, and powerful setups. It might seem like a big jump, but by choosing beginner-friendly gear and starting with a simple layout, you’ll build a rock-solid foundation for whatever project comes next. Welcome to the next level of your lab!

Tired of that pile of PCs? It’s time to go vertical. Here’s how to choose your first home server rack and finally get organized.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve got a growing collection of computers. It starts with one, then you build a custom NAS for your files, and suddenly you have a dedicated gaming rig, too. The next thing you know, you’re staring at a pile of towers and a tangled mess of cables that looks more like a tech octopus than a clean setup. If that sounds familiar, you might be thinking about getting your first home server rack.

It’s the next logical step for any home lab enthusiast. A rack brings order to the chaos, centralizing your hardware into a single, neat, and surprisingly space-efficient tower. But where do you even begin? It’s not as simple as just buying a metal frame and sliding your computers inside. So, let’s talk through how to move your collection of PCs into a clean, professional-looking setup.

Why Bother With a Home Server Rack?

First off, why do this? It sounds like a lot of work. And it can be, but the payoff is huge.

• Organization: This is the big one. All your equipment lives in one place. Cables can be managed neatly, making troubleshooting a breeze.
• Space: It might seem counterintuitive, but going vertical saves a ton of floor space compared to three or four desktop towers sitting side-by-side.
• Airflow: Proper racks are designed for airflow. When paired with the right cases, you can create a much more efficient cooling path than a bunch of PCs crammed under a desk.
• It Just Looks Cool: Let’s be honest. A tidy server rack is the mark of a serious hobbyist. It’s immensely satisfying to see your hardware all racked up and blinking away.

Your First Big Decision: The Rack Itself

Before you buy anything, you need to understand two key measurements: rack height (U) and rack depth.

A “U” is a standard unit of measure for rack-mounted equipment, equal to 1.75 inches. A 2U server is 3.5 inches high, a 4U server is 7 inches high, and so on. For a home setup with a few machines, a 9U, 12U, or 15U rack is a fantastic starting point. It gives you enough space for your current gear plus room to grow.

Depth is just as important. Racks come in various depths, and you need to make sure your new server cases will actually fit. I’d recommend a rack with an adjustable depth or one that’s at least 30 inches deep to accommodate most standard components. For an excellent, detailed breakdown of all the specifications, check out this server rack buying guide from StarTech.

The Most Important Part: The Rackmount Chassis

Here’s the thing they don’t tell you: you can’t just put your ATX desktop case on a shelf in the rack. I mean, you could, but it defeats the whole purpose. The real solution is to move the guts of your computers into new cases called rackmount chassis.

Think of it as just another PC case, but in a different shape. You’ll take your motherboard, CPU, RAM, power supply, and all your drives and transplant them into this new rack-friendly enclosure.

A Rackmount Chassis for Every Need

For a setup like the one you’re probably imagining—a gaming PC, a NAS, and a workstation—you’ll need different types of chassis.

• For the Gaming PC & Workstation: You’ll almost certainly need a 4U chassis. Why? Because modern graphics cards are huge, and so are many CPU air coolers. A 4U case provides the vertical space needed to fit these tall components without having to switch to specialized, and often louder, low-profile coolers.
• For the NAS: This is where it gets fun. You’ll want a chassis designed for holding a lot of hard drives. A 4U chassis is still a great option here, as many have 8, 10, or even more 3.5-inch drive bays. This gives you plenty of room for all your storage and future expansion. Companies like SilverStone and Rosewill make some fantastic and affordable rackmount chassis that are perfect for these kinds of builds.

Putting It All Together: The Migration Plan

So you’ve got a plan. You know which rack and what chassis you need. What’s next?

1. Build One at a Time: Don’t tear all your computers apart at once. Pick one, and perform the transplant completely before moving to the next. I’d start with the easiest one, maybe the workstation.
2. Take Pictures: Before you unplug everything from your motherboard, snap a few photos with your phone. It’s a simple trick that can save you a huge headache when you’re trying to remember where that tiny “JFP1” connector goes.
3. Mount and Manage: Once a PC is rebuilt in its new chassis, slide it into the rack. Don’t worry about perfect cable management yet—just get everything in place.
4. The Final Polish: After all your machines are racked, dedicate some time to cabling. This is where the magic happens. Route your power cords to a power distribution unit (PDU) and your network cables to a patch panel. It’s the final step that separates a pile of hardware from a truly clean home server rack.

It’s a project, for sure. But when you’re done, you’ll have a setup that’s not only more functional but also a source of pride. You’ve tamed the chaos. Welcome to the club.

How I’m planning a tiny, low-power server setup for movies, networking, and more while living on the road.

I’ve been dreaming of a new project lately. It’s this idea of being completely self-sufficient with my tech, even when I’m on the road. Imagine being parked in the middle of nowhere, totally off-grid, and still being able to stream your entire movie library. That’s the magic of building a personal RV homelab, and it’s a project I’ve been mapping out. It’s all about creating a tiny, low-power server setup that can handle your networking and media needs without needing a constant internet connection.

The whole thing started when I was thinking about how to solve a few key problems of life on the road. Sure, you can download movies to your laptop, but what about a centralized library that everyone in the RV can access? And what about having a secure, reliable network you actually control? This little project tackles all of that. But it comes with its own unique challenges, mainly centered around three things: size, power, and heat.

So, Why Build an RV Homelab Anyway?

You might be wondering if it’s worth the effort. For me, it comes down to a few key benefits:

• Your Media, Anywhere: The biggest win is having a Plex server on board. I can load it up with movies and shows, and it doesn’t matter if I have cell service or not. No more buffering, no more worrying about data caps.
• A Better Network: Instead of relying on whatever a campground offers, I’m planning to use a mini-PC running OPNsense. It’s a powerful open-source firewall that gives you way more control and security over your local network.
• No More Ads: By running Pi-hole, I can block ads at the network level for every device that connects to my RV’s Wi-Fi. It makes browsing faster and less annoying.
• It’s a Fun Challenge: Let’s be honest, it’s also just a really cool project for anyone who loves to tinker with tech.

The Hardware Plan for a Pint-Sized RV Homelab

The core of this setup is choosing hardware that is small and sips power. After all, when you’re running on solar and batteries, every watt counts.

My plan revolves around two mini-PCs. The first will be a super-efficient N100 or N150-based machine dedicated to running my firewall software. These things are tiny, fanless, and use barely any electricity.

The second mini-PC is the heart of the media setup. I found a really interesting model that’s basically a small vertical tower with built-in space for two full-sized 3.5″ hard drives. This is perfect for a NAS (Network Attached Storage). It means I can get a good amount of storage for my media library without having a bulky, power-hungry server. Everything will be connected with a simple 2.5 Gb unmanaged switch—no need for complicated VLANs in a small space like an RV.

Putting It All Together with Software

Hardware is only half the battle. The software is what will bring this RV homelab to life.

My choice for the NAS and media server is Unraid. It’s an operating system that’s incredibly flexible. It lets you mix and match hard drives of different sizes, which is great for future upgrades. On top of Unraid, I’ll run a few key applications in Docker containers:

• Plex: For organizing and streaming all my media.
• Pi-hole: To handle ad-blocking for the whole network.
• …and other “arr” apps for managing the library.

For the router, I’m leaning towards OPNsense. It’s robust, secure, and gives me the kind of control I want over my network, which is especially important when you might be connecting to untrusted public Wi-Fi.

The Big Challenges: Power and Heat

Now for the two biggest hurdles. First, power. The low-power N100/N150 processors are the heroes here. Their efficiency is what makes a project like this feasible for an off-grid or solar-powered setup.

The second, and perhaps trickier, challenge is heat. RVs can get hot. I mean, ambient temperatures can easily reach 100°F (or 38°C) in the summer. Electronics don’t love that. My plan is to store the setup in a cabinet with good ventilation. I might even add a quiet, USB-powered fan to keep air circulating around the mini-PCs. Choosing hardware that’s known for running cool is also a big part of the strategy. Keeping an eye on thermals, especially in the beginning, will be critical. You can find great thermal performance tests for mini-PCs on sites like ServeTheHome, which can help you choose the right device.

Building a small server for the road is a fascinating puzzle. It’s about balancing performance with the real-world constraints of mobile living. But for the freedom and convenience it offers, it feels like a project worth tackling. Happy tinkering!

If connecting your router makes your switch’s admin page disappear, you’re not alone. Here’s the simple MikroTik WebFig fix you’ve been searching for.

So, you got a new MikroTik switch. You plug it in, connect your computer directly, and everything works beautifully. You can access the configuration page, you’re clicking around, and feeling pretty good about your new gear. Then, you do the one thing you’re supposed to do: you connect it to your main router to get it on the network. And just like that, it’s gone. You can’t access the WebFig admin page anymore. If this sounds familiar, don’t worry—you’ve just stumbled upon a classic networking puzzle, and this simple MikroTik WebFig fix will get you sorted out in no time.

It’s a frustrating experience, but what’s happening is actually pretty straightforward. It all comes down to a classic case of mistaken identity—for your network devices, that is.

What’s Really Happening with Your Switch?

Most MikroTik switches running SwitchOS, like the popular CSS610 series, come out of the box with a default, static IP address: 192.168.88.1. This is so you can easily connect to it for the initial setup.

Your router, however, has a job to do. Its DHCP server is responsible for handing out IP addresses to every device that connects to it, ensuring there are no duplicates. When you plug your switch into the router, a conflict happens:

1. The IP Address Conflict: Your router might also be using a 192.168.x.1 address, causing a direct traffic jam.
2. The DHCP Takeover: The switch, by default, is often set to “DHCP with fallback.” This means it first tries to get an IP from your router. If it succeeds, it gets a new IP address that you don’t know, and the old 192.168.88.1 address stops working.

Either way, the address you were using to talk to your switch is suddenly gone, and you’re locked out. The solution is to step in and manually assign your switch a permanent, predictable address.

The Step-by-Step MikroTik WebFig Fix

Ready to fix it for good? We just need to isolate the switch, give it a new address, and tell it to stick with it.

Step 1: Isolate Your Switch
First things first, unplug the Ethernet cable that connects your switch to your router. For now, the only connection should be between your computer and the switch. This takes the router’s DHCP server out of the equation so we can talk to the switch directly again.

Step 2: Set a Temporary Static IP on Your Computer
Since the switch is on the 192.168.88.x network, your computer needs to be on it, too. You’ll need to temporarily change your computer’s network settings.
* On Windows: Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Ethernet > Change adapter options. Right-click your Ethernet adapter, choose Properties, select “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4),” and click Properties.
* On Mac: Go to System Settings > Network > Ethernet > Details… > TCP/IP.

Choose “Use the following IP address” and enter:
* IP Address: 192.168.88.5 (anything other than .1 will work)
* Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

Leave the gateway and DNS fields blank for now. Click OK/Apply.

Step 3: Access WebFig and Change the IP Settings
Open your web browser and navigate to `http://192.168.88.1`. Voila! The WebFig login page should appear.

Once you’re logged in, find the “System” tab. This is where the magic happens. Here’s what you need to change:

• Address Acquisition: Change this from DHCP with Fallback to Static.
• IP Address: This is the most important part. You need to assign an address that fits your main network. For example, if your router’s IP is 192.168.1.1, you could set your switch’s IP to 192.168.1.2. Crucially, make sure this IP is outside your router’s DHCP range to avoid future conflicts. (You can find your router’s DHCP range in its admin settings).
• Gateway: Set this to your router’s IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.1).

Click “Apply All” to save your changes. The switch will now have its new, permanent home on your network.

Finalizing Your MikroTik Switch Setup

Your switch is now configured, but your computer is still stuck on the old network. Let’s finish the job.

1. Reset Your Computer’s IP: Go back to your computer’s TCP/IPv4 settings and change it back to “Obtain an IP address automatically.”
2. Reconnect Everything: Plug the Ethernet cable from your router back into your switch. Your computer should also be connected to the switch.
3. Test It Out: Open your browser and navigate to the new static IP address you just assigned (e.g., `http://192.168.1.2`). The WebFig login page should load perfectly.

You’ve done it! You’ve resolved one of the most common setup hurdles for managed switches. It’s a rite of passage for anyone building a more robust home network. For a deeper dive into the settings, the official MikroTik SwitchOS manual is an excellent resource. And if you’re curious about the difference between IP address types, you can find great explainers on sites like How-To Geek.

Welcome to the wonderful world of MikroTik!

I built an amazing multi-room setup with one PC powering it all. But switching displays and audio was a chore. Here’s how I’m tackling PC output switching.

I have this dream setup in my head. It’s a single, powerful PC that runs everything in my house. It’s my work machine in the office, my 4K gaming rig in the bedroom, and the engine for my VR adventures in the living room. I recently got to experience this firsthand, and let me tell you, it feels like living in the future. Thanks to some clever tech like 50-foot fiber optic HDMI cables and USB-over-Ethernet, I can get a perfect, lag-free 4K 120Hz signal anywhere I need it. But this amazing setup has one tiny, incredibly annoying flaw: the constant, manual hassle of PC output switching.

You know what I’m talking about. Every time I move from my desk to the couch, I have to pull out my phone, VNC into the computer, and wrestle with Windows display settings to change the primary monitor and switch from my desk speakers to the Dolby Atmos soundbar. It’s a clunky process that completely breaks the magic of an otherwise seamless system.

The Real Problem with Manual PC Output Switching

It sounds like a minor complaint, I know. But the friction is real. The whole point of a centralized, multi-room PC is elegance and convenience. You want to just sit down and have it work. When you have to spend a minute or two fiddling with settings, it pulls you right out of the experience.

Imagine you want to quickly show your family a video on the living room TV. Instead of just hitting play, you’re saying, “Hang on, let me just connect to the computer… okay, now change the audio device… wait, why is it not showing up?” That’s the exact opposite of the effortless experience I was aiming for. I just want a button—physical or virtual—that knows, “I’m in the living room now, so switch to the TV and soundbar.”

Are There Apps for That? Exploring Software Solutions

The good news is, I’m not the first person to have this problem. After a bit of digging, I found that there are some really smart software tools out there designed to solve this exact issue. They range from simple, free utilities to more powerful, feature-rich applications.

Here are a few of the most promising options I’ve come across:

• DisplayFusion: This is like the Swiss Army knife of monitor management. While it’s famous for handling multi-monitor wallpapers and window snapping, it also has powerful Display Profiles and scripting features. You could create a profile for each room (“Basement Office,” “Bedroom Gaming”) and then assign a hotkey to each one. Pressing the hotkey would instantly switch your monitor and audio to the correct preset. It’s a paid tool, but incredibly powerful. You can check out all its features on the DisplayFusion website.
• SoundSwitch: If your main headache is audio, this tool is a dedicated lifesaver. It lets you switch between your playback and recording devices with a simple keyboard shortcut. No more clicking through menus. You can set up profiles for your headphones, speakers, and TV sound system and cycle through them instantly. It’s a simple utility that does one thing and does it perfectly. You can learn more about it on the official SoundSwitch site.
• AutoHotkey (AHK): For the DIY-ers who don’t mind getting their hands a little dirty, AutoHotkey is a free and incredibly powerful scripting language for Windows. You could write a simple script that changes your default display and audio devices with a single command. The learning curve is a bit steeper, but the possibilities are endless, and you can customize it to do exactly what you want. The AutoHotkey documentation is a great place to start if you’re curious.

A Better Approach to PC Output Switching

Ultimately, the goal is to make the technology disappear. A truly smart setup shouldn’t require you to think about which output is active. While a hardware solution like an HDMI matrix switcher exists, it’s often more expensive and adds another layer of complexity and potential failure points. For a setup like this—one computer, multiple locations used one at a time—software is a more elegant and cost-effective path.

I’m still experimenting to find the perfect one-button solution. I’m leaning towards trying DisplayFusion first for its all-in-one approach, but the simplicity of SoundSwitch is also really appealing. The ideal solution might even be a combination of tools.

It’s a fun problem to solve, and it’s the last little hurdle to making this multi-room setup truly perfect. If you’ve tackled something similar, I’d love to hear about it. What does your dream setup look like?