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Architecture ​

Workload types ​

TypeDescription
low0W - 15W
medium15W - 50W
highfrom 50W

Network Topology ​

The homelab is organized with a segmented network topology to isolate different types of traffic and services. This helps improve security, performance, and management. Key components of the network topology include:

  • VLANs: Different VLANs are used for separating services such as:

    • Management (for administrative access to servers and networking gear).
    • Services (for internal services such as file storage, media servers, etc.).
    • IoT Devices (to separate less-secure devices like smart home gadgets).
    • Guest Network (for isolated network access without touching sensitive systems).

  • Router and Firewall:

    • Router: Central router that connects all devices and handles traffic between VLANs and the internet.
    • Firewall: Security rules enforced by either a dedicated hardware firewall or a software firewall on the router. These rules govern what devices and VLANs can communicate with each other.

  • VPN Access:

    • VPN (e.g., WireGuard or OpenVPN) is used for secure remote access to the homelab from external networks, providing encrypted traffic for managing the homelab remotely.

Network Diagram (optional) ​

A visual diagram (e.g., created with Lucidchart, draw.io, or any network diagram tool) helps to visualize how devices are interconnected across different VLANs, switches, routers, and external connections.

Hardware Components ​

The homelab consists of various hardware components that form the backbone of its infrastructure. Below is a high-level overview:

Servers ​

  • Primary Server:

    • Model: Dell PowerEdge T340
    • CPU: Intel Xeon E-2224
    • RAM: 32 GB ECC RAM
    • Storage: 2x 1TB SSD (RAID 1) for the OS, 4x 4TB HDD (RAID 5) for data
    • Role: Hypervisor (e.g., Proxmox, ESXi) for running virtual machines and containers.

  • Secondary Server (Optional):

    • Model: Intel NUC 10
    • CPU: Intel i7-10710U
    • RAM: 16 GB
    • Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD
    • Role: Backup server and test environment for lightweight tasks.

Networking Gear ​

  • Router: Ubiquiti EdgeRouter 4 (or similar).
  • Switch: Ubiquiti UniFi 16-port Managed Switch.
  • Access Points: UniFi UAP-AC-PRO for wireless access.
  • Firewall: Dedicated firewall using pfSense or OPNsense.

Storage ​

  • NAS (Network Attached Storage):

    • TrueNAS Core running on a dedicated server.
    • Disks: 4x 6TB HDDs (RAID-Z for redundancy).
    • Shared via SMB and NFS for file access across the homelab.

  • Backup Storage:

    • External USB drives or cloud storage (e.g., Backblaze B2, Storj) for offsite backups.

Software Stack ​

The homelab runs a diverse software stack to manage services, automation, and networking. Below are key components:

Virtualization and Containers ​

  • Hypervisor: Proxmox VE (or VMware ESXi).
  • Containers:
    • Docker for running containerized services (e.g., Nextcloud, Vaultwarden).
    • Kubernetes (Optional) for orchestrating containers at scale.

Services ​

  • Self-Hosted Services:

    • Nextcloud for file syncing and sharing.
    • Vaultwarden for password management.
    • Plex or Jellyfin for media streaming.
    • Home Assistant for home automation.
    • Grafana and Prometheus for monitoring and metrics collection.

  • Backup Tools:

    • Restic or Kopia for automated backups.
    • Duplicati for encrypted, scheduled cloud backups.

  • Monitoring Tools:

    • Netdata for system performance monitoring.
    • Uptime Kuma for tracking service uptime.

Security and Network ​

  • Firewall: pfSense or OPNsense managing network security rules.
  • VPN: WireGuard for secure remote access.
  • Let's Encrypt: SSL/TLS certificates for securing internal and external services.
  • Ansible: Used for automation and configuration management across systems.

Automation and Orchestration ​

  • Ansible: To automate system provisioning and configuration.
  • CI/CD: GitLab CI for deploying applications and managing infrastructure.
  • Docker Compose: For orchestrating multi-container setups.

Summary ​

The homelab is designed with scalability, security, and flexibility in mind. It consists of a structured network with VLANs, reliable hardware for virtualization and storage, and a robust software stack that supports everything from self-hosted services to automation and backups.