I am for lack of a more generous term an absolute novice. I have no work history or hobby history with self hosting and am very early in my journey. In addition to reading here, watching youtube videos, talking to LLMs and a healthy dose of "lets see what kind of damage I can do!" I have set up a media server running plex using a synology 223 nas and a fairly weak intel NUC.

Before posting on reddit asking for help with the next goals of setting up a file server for the family, home network architecture, home assistant, hypervisors, self hosted AI and the general rabbit hole (more like sarlacc pit) that has opened up under my feet... I posted on my Facebook asking for nerds i know irl to reach out.

The one response came from a long lost buddy who owns a small fiber ISP. He offered space at the data center and would have his team help me install anything i need... oh and "I would just charge for power consumption"... well if I felt like a lost guppy before, I definitely feel like a spec of dust adrift in the cosmos now. I have maybe 6 other friends who would possibly appreciate how cool of an opportunity this is and none of them are really hardware or self-hosting folks.

So, I'm turning to you. Help. Me. Please.

I'm thinking hardware wise starting with an ebay sourced Dell 740xd with 128gb ram to start, 4x18tb hdds in raid for the media server and other less important data stuff, 4x 2tb ssds in raid for the family photo and videos. Thinking proxmox (or xcp?) and separating out plex/jellyfin media, file server for family stuff, arma/squad video game server, a playground linux environment and AI self hosting starting pad, and a safe space to grow fleshed out ideas in. I'm sure this is full of problems and there are bound to be a million questions I'm not considering fully. So tear this up, help me by destroying me. How much is this going to hurt my brain, my ego, my marriage, my friendships, my unrelated career, my musical ambitions and most importantly my wallet?

Deploy DeepSeek-R1 on your local machine using Ollama and Open-WebUI with this Docker Compose setup. Perfect for those without GPU hardware who want to experiment with AI models.

1. Clone the repo

git clone https://github.com/ntalekt/deepseek-r1-docker-compose.git

2. Start services

docker compose up -d

3. Access Web UI: http://localhost:3000

Features:

• CPU-only setup (no GPU required)
• Automatic download of deepseek-r1:8b model
• Easy installation and management with Docker Compose

Requirements:

• Docker Engine v20.10.10+
• Docker Compose v2.20.0+
• 8GB RAM (16GB recommended)
• 20GB+ free disk space
• Linux/macOS/WSL2

Note:

• CPU inference will be slower than GPU-accelerated setups. Consider GPU hardware for production use.
• License: MIT

Full repository: https://github.com/ntalekt/deepseek-r1-docker-compose

First of all, I don't have problems with backups, I have a solid backup strategy but to me true backups feel unnecessarily difficult for 2025. I mean we solved almost everything and can use easy solutions, why do god backup systems still feel so difficult?

I'm looking to accomplish two goals.

1. Easily block and un-block specific apps and games on my home network.

2. Route specific websites through a VPN. (This seems to be the hard part)

I know number 2 can be incredibly difficult to successfully do. So maybe something that can detect which machine made the DNS request for a specific domain like (google.com, *.google.com), and then automatically route that entire machine through the VPN for lets say 5min, and every time another DNS request is made the 5min starts over again until no more DNS requests are coming in for that domain. After the timer runs out the machine stops being routed through the VPN and goes back to normal.

I can't find anything even close to this, I have a feeling it's a case of using the wrong terminology or not knowing what specifically to look for. There must be something out there thats reasonable to manage for home use.

I used to use Untangle which worked great but I've jumped ship since Arista ruined it. Sophos "should" be able to do this but the UI is...yeah...and Zenarmour is just too expensive and can't easily do what I need anyway so I'd be paying a subscription and still have to do most of the work myself.

My current Network setup is:

- OPNsense VM (as firewall)
- Technitium to manage DNS over HTTPS
- PiHole handles DHCP and connects to Technitium for its upstream DNS.

I have a small server setup solely for networking tools, so anything that I can run as a docker (preferable) or a VM would be amazing.

Hello everyone,

I have come across a bit of computer hardware and i would like to put it to good use. But unfortunately i am a novice when it comes to homelab stuff. I do have a newborn at home who doesn't let me spend much time on computers :)). Because of that i have decided to go ahead with unraid. I am unsure about which hardware to use for which task.

I would like to make pfsense router capable of doing 2.5gb, with vlan tagging required for my fibre connection. network wide vpn.

Run Pihole

Have a NAS for basic backups and media storage.

Be able to run a plex and jellyfin server, not worried too much about transcoding. It will mainly be direct play and the occasional remote play with jellyfin (twice a year i go away for conferences).

Hardware i already have -

Machine 1

i5 10400

asus matx tough gaming motherboard

32GB 3200mah Ram

Machine 2

Hp Prodesk 400 G7 SFF Pc

i3 10100

8gb Ram

Machine 3

AMD A6

MSI A68HI AC m itx motherboard

8GB Ram

Storage:

2 x 6TB WD Black HDDs

2 x 4TB WD Black HDDs

2 x 3TB HDDs (old)

1 x 1TB M.2 Gen 4 drive

1 x 512GB m.2 Gen 3 drive

1 x 256Gb m.2 Gen 3 Drive

2 x 2.5" sata ssds.

Currently i do not have cases to put these into and I'm not that great with switches hence why i do not have any yet. Would love to get some budget friendly advice on case options, network switches and a 2.5gb network card for the router. I did think about putting it all in a server rack but had to look away after looking at the prices here in New Zealand.

Already have a tp-link Deco XE75 x 3. Which i would be using as access points. open to suggestions though.

Thanks heaps in advance for even reading this and i am very excited to start my journey.

Hello fellow home labbers!

Today I'd like to share with you a project that I have been working for some time. A fully 3D printable rack mount system, that can be used for either 10-inch rack mounts, and also... my new ridiculous idea of a tiny lab, the 6-inch rack.

https://preview.redd.it/oyg312s14mge1.png?width=827&format=png&auto=webp&s=db750834edc6ebb10c9dc3a8695ebb59b7d05b3a

https://preview.redd.it/2blk4d854mge1.jpg?width=721&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=baefa26ed26cc83ac9de4999d6177dd8b14d3f7a

I'm releasing the project with the step file for the rails and joints, and also for the blanks, so feel free to remix it if you want!

Grab all the files for free here:

• https://makerworld.com/en/models/1063100#profileId-1051689
• https://www.printables.com/model/1173696-3d-printable-rack-10-inch-and-6-inch

Inside those links you'll find my collection for 10-inch and 6-inch rack mounts as well.

I have also released many 6-inch rack mounts for you to get started with your tiny lab. With more to come in the future :)

https://preview.redd.it/sm5fzf3r3mge1.png?width=1218&format=png&auto=webp&s=8fd4199096d9db64ea85e6845c0a935c85795473

Happy printing!

So hello good people, I am entering the world of self-hosting, home labs, etc. I bought a QNAP NAS a few days ago and I am really enjoying it but wanted to ask if anyone has any recommendations for what I should buy to get my home lab better. I use my NAS for hosting websites and etc. I have a budget of around $2000. I would use the home lab for AI, hosting game servers (for my friends, the game is Fivem), keeping my data stored and safe. I live in Germany so if you can please look at Amazon Germany prices. I would need new gear since I am only able to buy from Amazon and not from places like FB marketplace. Thanks to anyone that has some suggestions

I now have three SFF machines that I'd like to figure out the best way to configure. Historically, I've run containers via docker-compose on a single Ubuntu server.

Now migrating to three nodes, what's the best host OS and method for managing the containers?

• I know K3 is all the rage, but I have no experience with it, and I'm not sure if I need to make the switch.
• Maybe the still-supported version of Docker Swarm will handle everything I need.
• I need to be able to support local passthrough of USB for a zwave stick and pin HA to that node
• UI would be nice but not required

IPMI on my X11SCA-F is showing the CMOS battery as failed. I've replaced the battery with a new one and it's still showing as failed. Any ideas on how to problem solve this issue?

It's getting really annoying having to redo all the BIOS settings after a cool boot :(

https://preview.redd.it/9htteq692mge1.png?width=1562&format=png&auto=webp&s=af0c3d5cdde68ae81914aa555212bbfd10d924f9

Hello! Was looking for some advice on taking the NAS plunge. This will be my first build of any kind so any help is very appreciated.

As for my use case, it will be for data backups and storing media for Plex. The plan is to keep running the Plex server on my laptop or get a dedicated mini-PC (Beelink S12 or S13).

Here is the build I was thinking of:

PCPartPicker Part List

For cases, I was debating between the Design R5, the Meshify C, and the Node 804. I'm only planning on putting 4 HDDs in but I figured since this is a first time build, the extra space would be helpful. These cases all have built in fans, would those be sufficient or should I add in/swap out different ones? I am not at all concerned about noise.

I was also thinking of going with an Intel build for QuickSync (I'll only be streaming over the local network but I watch a lot of content with subtitles and so transcoding is needed) and running the Plex server on the NAS but I am leaning towards letting the NAS do NAS things.

Anything else I should be considering? Am I overthinking this and should I just get a DS923+ when it goes on sale for $480?

Thanks in advance!

Tell me I’m not the only one 😫

My setup:
Xfinity cable internet.
Arris SBG8300 modem/wifi router (for my laptop) + SG108e switch (for my desktop PCs)
The switch is connected to the SBG8300 by an Amazon cat7 cable (I have also tried switching cables around).

Problem/symptoms:

1. randomly, websites wont load (ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT). Except for googlecom and google searches. google almost never goes out. Happens for wifi devices and devices on the switch.
2. Connection to wifi/lan never drops (so im guessing the router function is fine?). it just says "No internet". Devices are always connected to the router (when i run ipconfig /all, all devices are still connected to the SBG8300).
3. The SBG8300 default gateways is 192.168.1.1. On the devices connected to the Lan switch, when internet connection is good, http://192.168.1.1/ connects to the SBG8300 settings. When internet goes out, http://192.168.1.1/ connects to the SG108e switch settings. Is this normal? I dont know much about how switches work, but it doesnt make sense to me why i can not access SBG8300 settings when internet drops, when the LAN is still connected the SBG8300. My laptop is connected to Wifi (SBG8300) and i use remote desktop to access my other PCs on the LAN switch, and when internet goes out, the RDP connection doesnt drop, so this means that the connection between the SBG8300 and the SG108e switch is still active, so idk why i cant access the SBG8300 settings when internet goes out.

I have tried:

1. ran "ipconfig /flushdns" on every computer. sometimes this fixes it temporarily.
2. edit ipv4 settings and use "8.0.8.0" and "208.67.222.222" as DNS. usually this fixes it, but eventually stops working and I get "ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT" again.
3. just wait 5-10 minutes. no dns changes. then i can visit sites again.
4. power cycled SBG8300 / reset, immediate fix, but still temporary.
5. Checked the signals and everything seems to be within specs based on SBG8300 manual.

Can anyone tell me what the problem is and why i get random internet drops? Its seems like a DNS problem, but is it the router function of the SBG8300 that is faulty?

The i device is one of the most intriguing devices that woulbe created why hes it no yet been developed or even thought as an actual device ???

Hi,

I’m in the process of setting up a Homelab. In the really early stages, and I have very little experience. Just 2 years of a Computer Science degree about 20 years ago, a little web design / python as a hobby.

I bought a HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF Core i5-7500 3.4 - SSD 512 GB - 16GB. And have installed Proxmox. And plan to run Ubuntu VMs.

Also got a TP-Link TL-SG105E 5 port hub to try and manage the network. I have unrelated ‘work’ PC on the network that for security I was going to try to ‘isolate’. Although would be great to use that machine to wake the server with Wake On LAN.

My main goals for the homelab is (in order of priority) run scheduled python scripts daily run a constant python script for a discord bot I want to host Improve network security skills Run a webserver running php / mysql at a minimum Host a NAS Host a Plex server

I would love to have some advice on the best way to achieve my goals and any additional equipment / storage / setup I’ll need.

Just starting to get my head around proxmox. I assume the python scripts can just run on a Ubuntu VM within promox. The webserver - should that be on its own VM? I’m also learning about containers with Docker. Should I run the webserver in a container? Or does it not matter?

With the NAS / Plex can these just be run on a VM on the server I have? Or would need an additional server? Can the NAS just be an enclosure attached to the network? I’ve read / heard about FreeNAS. Would this be run as a VM on Proxmox? Or need to run on a separate server?

Sorry for all the questions. Even if I’m given ideas on half of this I’d count that as a win! If I need to clarify anything, please ask.

HI all,

Apologies for the long post…

I am in the process of meeting as a few requirements with my home network - chiefly providing a secure and fast home network with a space I can run some services to work for my home network (e.g.m Pi-Hole, HomeAssistant) and for learning (Splunk SIEM, nginx etc).

In my home network I have:

Network:

Unifi UDM Pro
Unifi USW-24-Pro
Unifi Lite PoE 8
Unifi Protect cameras
Unifi WiFi AP

Storage:

Netgear ReadyNAS

Homelab

Dell USFF desktop with a VM running HomeAssistant and another VM running docker (with containers like Plex, Pi-Hole, Portainer, nginx, Splunk etc)

Media streaming

Apple TVs

Requirements:

1. Provide a safe and secure network, incorporating a guest network (with filtered internet) and a network for testing without any filtering.

2. Limit access to the internet or other networks where it is not required (e.g., some IoT devices need local network access and no internet, some need internet access and no local network access. Proxy does not need access to Apple TVs etc).

3. I want VLANs to span physical and WiFI networks (some devices, like a work laptop, might use LAN and WiFI, and I want it to always be on the same VLAN)

4. Local services provided from docker containers - Pi-Hole, Unbound / Quad9, Splunk SIEM, Authentik, nginx proxy manager, possibly some other hosting.

5. Serve some content externally via reverse proxy.

I have mapped out a (probably hugely over complicated) VLAN map to show how I think this would all hang together:

https://preview.redd.it/1rb1gxicrlge1.jpg?width=1993&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=72e56f8ed33748c649628240caed14e29815d87d

https://preview.redd.it/gc5kys8cvlge1.jpg?width=1986&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=32c1a656f023b991db36727074a13153d04ded2c

Some questions I have:

1. Is this an appropriate setup to meet the requirements? Is it vastly over complicated?

2. Should I be using something like 802.1Q for this?

3. Can I easily use the Zone-based firewall from Unifi to set the access as described?

If you made it this far, thanks for reading!!

Thanks in advance,

Altruistic-Finger-12

This is just my meandering brain, not a super serious question...

I saw the recent post about the fellow who worked for a school, and he got the opportunity to strip their old networking gear out. He had a ton of commercial grade access points: https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/1ifgyri/a_school_in_my_area_closed_down_and_i_was_given/

My first thought was "does it make sense to homelab with commercial APs?" I mean, I have a TON of enterprise gear in my server rack, but I am still using plain old, somewhat older, wifi APs. Like old TP-Link AC1750 units.

They work fine, but they're not mesh capable, just plain old consumer grade APs. I have three, one in each end of the house and one in a central room, and I get about 500mbps on my wifi devices on a gigabit Internet connection. I set each of the 2.4GHz channels manually, so I'm on 1, 6, and 11 per the documentation. The 5GHz are on auto, since they have so many channels to choose from.

I don't like that I have to plug them into an ethernet port, but it's not a big deal. I have 6 ports in every room in the house (when we bought the place in 2000, I used the old telephone line paths to pull six cat5e cables to every room, and terminated them in a patch panel in the telco closet).

So is there any compelling reason to switch to commercial grade APs? For me, I'm guessing not. Maybe for a new home where there are no ethernet cables, a mesh system may make sense, I guess?

Anyhoo - is there anything that screams "you should use commercial grade WiFi gear" these days?

OK, I have never see this before and I don't see anything like it on any of my other nodes. Lately I have noticed VMs on this machine dragging a bit particularly on CPU intensive operations. I haven't really looked too deeply into things but wondering what to make of these error messages. Do I take this correctly to mean that a single core on a single CPE may be starting to fail?

https://imgur.com/a/H8dV5IC

Howdy all

I'm currently running a truenas box with non-ecc memory. It only stores movies, TV shows and pictures. Am I playing with fire by using a non-ecc setup? Or will I be fine?

Running an Elitedesk 800 G4 SFF. Any idea if an i3 9100 or socket 1151 xeon processor will run on the elitedesk, so I can possibly make the change over to ECC memory if needed?

Thanks for the advice.

Hey all! I'm a member of a student mechanical engineering team which makes builds and races custom vehicles, and were currently looking to scope a internally managed engineering/simulation server solution providing remote windows desktops for 3D CAD and simulation.

On top of just asking around for hardware donations from local companies (anything is better than nothing), were still looking to scope some options for hardware with the following characteristics:
- X86-64 Architecture, with some capability for a basic rendering GPU and PCIe storage.

1. as cheap as possible
2. as high as possible CPU compute (multi threaded) per node as possible
3. support for 128GB ram minimum
4. no constraints on noise/power

To keep this post short, context for the following will be in a comment below:
A: why were not using university provided solutions (trust me we're trying)
B: reasoning for these particular requirements

Hello everyone. I am looking to get a used dell server that I can use for proxmox and learn, but also to run several VM on. I am looking to spend some $$$, but don't want to just throw it away. Looking to have a graphic card and at least the OS on a fast solid state drive M.2 Will then put in mechanical large slower drives for storage.

Thinking of starting with Dell PowerEdge R740xd 12-Bay 3.5'' 2U Server. Just don't know how much ram to get? What speed processor? Is the $700 processor worth the extra compared to the $150?

Are there technologies that I need to be sure to have if I am going to run proxmox (a specific graphic card or PCIe card or drive)?

The chassises seems to be affordable, but once I start adding stuff, like drives, it gets expensive. Looking for the sweet spot for hardware, but can wait to upgrade if I need more drive space or maybe ram or even starting with a slower processor but adequate power supply and upgrade later...

And recommendations are most appreciated. Want to keep the build under 3K

Is there a way to add remote management similar to vpro or ipmi if I were to use a standard motherboard and processor similar to how I would build a gaming computer?

How are folks managing their headless lab servers?

Hi there, I had previously made a casaos mini pc, nipogi mini n100 and I found it pretty useful as a media server and basic backup, and it barely sips power 20w under load and 3 to 5w idle But im limited by storage options as I can only attach a 2.5 inch drive to it and want to upgrade

Was going to assemble a cheap office pc but I came across a cheap QUANTA 1U Server 2x Xeon E5-2630 v4,128GB RAM, 8*1.2Tb SAS drives

As its primarily for personal use(playing around), media server, backup server, i don't need it to be on all the time but if it's efficient enough I could leave it on

So my question is how efficient are these servers and are there ways to let it completely sit at a high c state and then let it boot when required over the network ?

Or if there are ways I can add additional storage to my mini pc via USB port, has to be large and possibility of raid 5 as its git QSV and it transcodes quiet efficiently

Hey! excited to get into this and start learning. I want to build my first homelab and I just need a little help. not entirely sure what all the uses will be yet since I'm new to this but to start I'm hoping to use it for plex and all other kinds of media including family photo backups and storage. Ideally it should be able to transcode 4k streams remotely.

I have just a couple restrictions though. the CPU has to be AMD and the case can't be wider than 22cm. I have a 1070 that I can use, which I think should be able to handle the transcoding fairly well...I'd like to try and keep the price around $500-700 CAD (Less is better obviously), not including storage. From most of my research it seems intel tends to be preferred for this use case so even if someone can recommend a good AMD CPU to get my build started that would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT: Also should say it would be nice if the case has 4 or more 3.5" drive bays

I have a dell OptiPlex 7020 micro form, and I want to turn it into a router and a plex server.

Specs: Intel i5 14500T vPro 16GB DDR5 (Will upgrade later)

Plex server is possible,but I'm not sure what hardware I need to give the device additional... Oh, I just realized that have USB to Ethernet cables 😅

Well, I'm also thinking about attaching some external hardware to server as a backup for the Plex.

Do you all have any suggestions or alternativ methods?

I also have an intrl nuc running Pi.

Image of the motherboard: https://imgur.com/a/O63IFWH

Thanks

I'm new to the homelab community and would appreciate anyone who can lend their experience and expertise to this project.

The Project:
I want to build a dockerized system to run Home Assistant, Jellyfin w/ NAS, and a DeepSeek instance for software development. Ideally, I would like to keep this compact, with 2u being the most attractive size at the moment.

OS:
This will likely be a pain point for most, but I care more about ease of use and a simple UX than granularity. Something like HexOS seems ideal for my use case, but I am open to alternatives. Though it would be valuable to learn more of the pro tools, I work about 80 hours a week and, unfortunately, do not have the time at the moment.

Parts:
I currently have an Ampere A4000 with a single fan cooler, AM5 itx motherboard, and a platinum 1U 750W Flex ATX psu that I would like to use, and would value some firsthand experience and comparisons between AMD and Intel for home servers.

For the chassis, I'm considering the two below. My main pc is in a 4U Sliger chassis, which I really like but the MyElectronics chassis is significantly shorter, making it more flexible for the future (home theater, desk-mounted, etc.):
MyElectronics: https://www.myelectronics.nl/us/19-inch-mini-itx-case-2u-short-depth-full-pci.html
Sliger: https://sliger.com/products/rackmount/2u/cx2151x/

For the CPU, I could use some advice as to not over-spec. Home Assistant runs on a potato, and my assumption is that a local AI instance cares more about GPU performance than CPU. What would be the minimum number of cores I should consider? Is it worth it to sell my current motherboard and going with Intel?

Similar to the previous point, my current assumption is that system memory is a low priority, and using anything more than 16GB seems like overkill, but please tell me if I am wrong.

Thank you in advance for your attention and time.

How to do Physical Network Segmentation?

Planning physical network segmentation to avoid VLANs and managed switches, keeping central management only in the router.

Setup/Plan:

• AP with at least 3 Ethernet ports (for each network/ssid) → LAN, IoT, Guest
• 2 Unmanaged Switches → LAN, IoT
• Router with 4 NICs → connection to AP and switches

Is this a good plan?

Which APs with multiple Ethernet ports exists?