From caccd81c3eb7954662d20cab10cc3afeeabca615 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Christian Cleberg Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2023 11:23:08 -0600 Subject: initial commit --- blog/2020-05-03-homelab.org | 151 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 151 insertions(+) create mode 100644 blog/2020-05-03-homelab.org (limited to 'blog/2020-05-03-homelab.org') diff --git a/blog/2020-05-03-homelab.org b/blog/2020-05-03-homelab.org new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f0ff369 --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/2020-05-03-homelab.org @@ -0,0 +1,151 @@ +#+date: 2020-05-03 +#+title: An Inside Look at My Homelab + +* What is a Homelab? + +Starting as a developer, I have largely stayed away from hardware-based hobbies +(other than building a gaming desktop). However, as the quarantine for COVID-19 +stretches out further and further, I found myself bored and in search of new +hobbies. After spending the last few months browsing the [[https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/][r/homelab]] subreddit, I +decided it was time to jump in and try things out for myself. + +Since I am a beginner and just recently graduated from college, everything I've +done so far in my homelab is fairly low-budget. + +* Hardware + +#+CAPTION: HomeLab Diagram +[[https://img.0x4b1d.org/blog/20200503-homelab/homelab-min.png]] + +** Raspberry Pi 4 + +Luckily, I had actually purchased a [[https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-4-model-b/][Raspberry Pi 4]] before the quarantine started +so that I could try to keep Plex Media Center running, even while my desktop +computer was turned off. I started here, using the Pi to hold Plex and Pi-hole +until I grew tired with the slow performance. + +Here are the specifications for the Pi 4: + +- Broadcom BCM2711, Quad core Cortex-A72 (ARM v8) 64-bit SoC @ 1.5GHz +- 4GB LPDDR4-3200 SDRAM +- Gigabit Ethernet +- H.265 (4kp60 decode), H264 (1080p60 decode, 1080p30 encode) +- 64 GB MicroSD Card + +** Dell Optiplex 5040 + +Since I wasn't happy with the Pi as my main server, I turned to Craigslist. I +know a lot of other homelabbers use Ebay, but I can't seem to ever trust it +enough to purchase items on there. So I used Craigslist and found a Dell +Optiplex 5040 desktop computer on sale for $90. While this computer might be +underpowered, it was one of the few computers under $100 that was available +during quarantine. + +Here are the specifications for the Dell Optiplex 5040: + +- Intel Core i3 6100 +- 8GB RAM DDR3 +- Intel HD Graphics +- Gigabit Ethernet +- 500GB Hard Drive + +While this hardware would be awful for a work computer or a gaming rig, it +turned out to be wonderful for my server purposes. The only limitation I have +found so far is the CPU. The i3-6100 only has enough power for a single 4k video +transcode at a time. I haven't tested more than three 1080p streams at a time, +but the maximum amount of streams I've ever actually used is two. + +** WD easystore 10TB & 8TB + +Application storage and temporary files are stored on the internal hard drive of +the server, but all media files (movies, tv, games, books, etc) are stored +externally on my WD easystore hard drive. Creating auto-boot configurations in +the =/etc/fstab= file on my server allows the hard drives to automatically mount +whenever I need to restart my server. + +#+BEGIN_QUOTE +Update: In March 2022, I shucked the hard drives out of their external cases, +put some Kapton tape on the third power pin to prevent power shutdowns, and +stuck them inside my server tower using internal SATA cables. +#+END_QUOTE + +** Netgear Unmanaged Switch + +To manage all the ethernet cords used by my homelab, my desktop, and my living +room media center, I purchased an 8-port gigabit ethernet switch for $50 at my +local computer store. This is probably much more than I should have spent on an +unmanaged switch, but I am comfortable with the choice. + +** TP-Link Managed Switch + +Since I use the unmanaged switch to group all living room devices together, I +use the managed switch to configure VLANs and secure my network. + +** Arris TM1602A Modem & Sagecom Fast 5280 Router + +My default modem and router, provided by my ISP, are fairly standard. The Arris +modem supports DOCSIS 3.0, which is something that I definitely wanted as a +minimum. The Sagecom router is also standard, no fancy bells or whistles. +However, it does support DHCP and DHCPv6, which is something you can use to +route all household traffic through a pi-hole or firewall. + +** TP-Link EAP + +In order to gain better control over the network, I use my own wireless access +point instead of the one included in the Sagecom router above. Now I can control +and organize all of my ethernet connections through the VLANs on the managed +switch and wireless connections through the VLANS on the EAP. + +** Generic Printer + +The last piece to my homelab is a standard wireless printer. Nothing special +here. + +* Software + +** Ubuntu Server 20.04 + +While the 20.04 version of Ubuntu was just released, I always like to experiment +with new features (and I don't mind breaking my system - it just gives me more +experience learning how to fix things). So, I have Ubuntu Server 20.04 installed +on the Dell Optiplex server and Ubuntu Server 19.10 installed on the Raspberry +Pi. Once I find an acceptable use for the Pi, I will most likely switch the +operating system. + +** Docker + +I am /very/ new to Docker, but I have had a lot of fun playing with it so far. +Docker is used to create containers that can hold all the contents of a system +without interfering with other software on the same system. So far, I have +successfully installed pi-hole, GitLab, Gogs, and Nextcloud in containers. +However, I opted to delete all of those so that I can reconfigure them more +professionally at a later time. + +** Plex Media Server + +Plex is a media center software that allows you to organize your movies, TV +shows, music, photos, and videos automatically. It will even download metadata +for you so that you can easily browse these collections. + +** Pi-hole + +Pi-hole is an alternative ad-blocker that runs at the DNS level, allowing you to +block traffic when it hits your network, so that you can reject any traffic you +deem to be bad. Pi-hole uses blacklists and whitelists to decide which traffic +block and, luckily, there are a lot of pre-made lists out there on Reddit, +GitHub, etc. + +** Nextcloud + +While I had trouble with the Docker version of Nextcloud, I was very successful +when setting up the snap version. Using this, I was able to map Nextcloud to a +subdomain of a domain I own in Namecheap. Additionally, Nextcloud has an +integration with Let's Encrypt that allows me to issue certificates +automatically to any new domain I authorize. + +** Webmin + +To monitor my servers, and the processes running on them, I use the Webmin +dashboard. This was fairly painless to set up, and I currently access it +straight through the server's IP address. In the future, I will be looking to +configure Webmin to use a custom domain just like Nextcloud. -- cgit v1.2.3-70-g09d2