This page discusses the hardware (servers, storage, networking gear, virtualization hosts), Virtualization (VMware, Proxmox, Hyper-V, Docker, Kubernetes), Storage (RAID/ZFS, NAS, backup strategy), and Networking (firewalls, VLANs, NAT, VPN, reverse proxy).
Reminder: Last Updated 9/17/2025
This page is constantly being updated to reflect the current state of both hardware and software. Check out Homelab Evolution to see the changes that I have made over the years and how I got here.
Hardware
Hypervisor
Dell PowerEdge R630 Server
- OS: Proxmox
- CPU: 2x E5-2680 V4 - 28 Cores
- RAM: 128GB RAM DDR4
- RAID Controller: H730P
- Storage:
- 2x 1TB SSD
- 6X 1TB WD Black 7200 RPM
- Services:
- Hardware virtualization
Plex Server
Custom Build
- OS: Debian
- CPU: Intel Core i5-7600K
- RAM: 2x 4GB DDR4-2133 CL15
- RAID Card: LSI SAS 9300-16I 12GB/S HBA
- Storage:
- 1x Kingston A400 120 GB 2.5” SSD
- 1x Western Digital Red 4 TB 3.5” 5400 RPM
- Services:
- Plex
Supermicro
X9DRi-LN4F+
- OS: Fedora
- CPU:
- RAM:
- Storage:
- Services:
Power
This machine uses so much energy and puts out so much heat that I rarely use it for anything long term. Its more of a cold spare that I keep around for larger one off projects.
NAS 2.0
Custom Build
- OS: TrueNAS
- CPU: Ryzen 5 5600G
- RAM: 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 CL16
- Storage:
- 5x Western Digital Red 6 TB 3.5” 5400 RPM
- 5x Western Digital Red Plus 10 TB 3.5” 7200 RPM
Synology NAS
DS418
- OS: DiskStation Manager (DSM)
- CPU: Realtek RTD1296 quad-core
- RAM: 2 GB DDR4
- Storage:
- 4x Seagate IronWolf 6TB NAS Hard Drive 7200 RPM
- Services:
- Synology Drive
- Synology Photos
Raspberry Pi #1
Pi 5
- OS: DietPi
- CPU: Broadcom BCM2712
- RAM: 8GB
- Storage:
- 32GB SD Card
- Services:
- Jellyfin Live TV
OFF Site Backup
Raspberry Pi #2
Pi 3 B+
- OS: DietPi
- CPU: Broadcom BCM2837B0
- RAM: 1GB LPDDR2
- Storage:
- 32GB SD Card
- Services:
- Offsite backup. Details TBD
Synology NAS
DS220+
- OS: DiskStation Manager (DSM)
- CPU: Intel Celeron J4025 2-core
- RAM: 2 GB DDR4
- Storage:
- 2x Seagate IronWolf 6TB NAS Hard Drive 7200 RPM
Virtualization
Currently I only have 1 Hypervisor that is has about 10-15 VMs on it at any given time. Some of the VMs handle things like
- Docker
- Syncthing
- PiHole
- Game Servers
- Reverse Proxy
- Friends VMs for their projects.
- See More: Services
I will not go into specifics because I would be making any attackers job easier. Security by obfuscation serves to make reconnaissance from bad actors and unauthorized users harder.
Storage
NAS 1 and NAS 2 have a combined RAW capacity of 104 Terabytes. However, I use RAID 5 so that reduces the usable storage to 82 Terabytes. There is also a 4TB hard drive in the Plex server that is used for temporary project storage. So the total usable space is 86 Terabytes of useable space.
Networking
By having a wildcard certificate in my DNS records I can direct all traffic from my domain to my reverse proxy server. Personally I use Caddy.So then the proxy server can serve different content from the same IP address.
