I recently started building out a homelab to learn more about networking, virtualization, Linux administration, and cybersecurity. The goal was to create an isolated environment for testing infrastructure, deploying services, and learning systems administration outside of cloud hosted environments.
Hardware
Initial hardware in the rack:
- DeskPi 8U Rackmate T1
- Netgear GS308E managed switch
- GeeekPi patch panel
- Tupavco PDU
- Beelink mini PC running Proxmox VE
- Two Raspberry Pi 4Bs with 8 GB RAM
- Ice Tower coolers on both Pis
- SanDisk 1 TB USB SSD
- 200W USB power station
- Rii X8 mini keyboard
- MangoApple travel router flashed with Hak5 WiFi Pineapple firmware
The initial focus was keeping the setup compact, low power, and flexible enough to support virtualization and multiple internal services.
Network Configuration
The homelab runs on a dedicated 192.168.1.x subnet isolated from the primary home network.
Network Layout
- Main network: 192.168.0.x
- Homelab subnet: 192.168.1.x
The TP-Link RE505X currently handles DHCP and routing for the homelab subnet.
TP-Link RE505X Configuration
LAN settings:
IP Address: 192.168.1.254
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.1
Primary DNS: 192.168.1.2
Secondary DNS: 1.1.1.1
DHCP settings:
Pool: 192.168.1.100 - 192.168.1.199
Lease Time: 1 minute during testing
Gateway: 192.168.1.1
Primary DNS: 192.168.1.2
Secondary DNS: 1.1.1.1
Devices
pi01 192.168.1.2 Pi-hole
pi02 192.168.1.3 Tailscale node
core01 TBD Proxmox host
zima01 TBD Planned ZimaBoard NAS
Pi-hole handles DNS for the subnet while the Netgear switch manages all internal wired connectivity.
Proxmox and Virtualization
The primary virtualization host is a Beelink mini PC running Proxmox VE.
Current workloads include:
- Kali Linux VM for Hack The Box and TryHackMe
- Linux testing environments
- Docker experimentation
- Internal utility services
Proxmox made it straightforward to create isolated environments for testing and learning virtualization concepts.
Planned Upgrades
Planned additions at the time of the initial build:
- ZimaBoard 2 NAS
- Dedicated firewall appliance
- UPS
- External backup drives
- Wazuh SIEM
- Additional Docker services
- VLAN segmentation
The long term goal is a more structured environment with isolated infrastructure, internal services, monitoring, and self hosted applications.
Lessons Learned
The largest learning curve during the initial build was networking. Troubleshooting DNS, DHCP, routing, and subnetting issues in a live environment provided significantly more practical experience than documentation alone.
The rack also became a useful environment for improving Linux administration, virtualization, and infrastructure troubleshooting skills.