At my house, I run a full 42U Rack mount server cabinet to enclose all of my various IT and Homelab projects and home infrastructure. Each day, we are adding new technology into our lives in the hopes of making them better. In my case, that is true and on steroids due to the nature of my day job. I needed a place to hold my equipment and temporarily hold the equipment of the project of the day.
Currently, I am running a web and email server for my websites. I have two load balancers setup to keep the site running when I am working on the server. I have a Truenas server to safely store project files, personal documents and photographs.
In addition, I have a Homebridge instance running along with an AllStar Node amateur radio repeater.
Currently, my philosophy with my homelab server cabinets is as follows.
Expand my skillset
I love tinkering with Linux opensource projects and finding solutions to projects or problems. As a result, I tend to have a lot of things going on.
Keep Working Projects Organized
What better way to help keep you home nice, than to hide computer projects in a server cabinet. Sure the cabinet is not a nice piece of furnature, it is better to look at the a table full of computers.
Mind the Decibels
As someone who spends quite a bit of time in datacenters, I am always mindful of the sound level of my Homelab. A key component of a Homelab, is that it is in your home. From time to time, I will need to bring in a server which is very high powered and very loud. I do not want to run these in my home twenty four hours of the day. I have an old Dell Poweredge 1900 Server which I spent some time on, to quiet the noise from the server fans. Even so, the Dell PowerEdge is not run anymore unless needed.
Currently, running all of my servers with the expectation of the Dell PowerEdge, my home office is running at about 45 decibels. I am hopeful that I can continue to keep the sound levels down under normal conditions.
Keep the electrical bill down
Computers and technology require power and produce heat. You are paying for the power and again to cool the room. The best option is to not run systems which produce a lot of heat in the first place. Whenever I run a system for a prolonged period of time, considering the power usage is a key factor.
Project Activity
 Setting up a dot local domainWith the purchase of a new Wireless Access Point, there is not going to be a better time to setup a dot local domain in… |
 Updating my Wireless Access PointLately, it is become more clear that updating my wireless access point was just no longer an option and not performing the way I needed… |
 Update the HomeLab ServerFor the last 8 years or so, I have run my two websites on a Dell PowerEdge 1900 and it is long past time to… |
 KVM Switch Upgrade in the HomelabA long time ago, when I started working professionally on computer networks, I purchased a four port Cybex Swithview VGA KVM (Keyboard, Video, Mouse )… |
 Homelab New Years ResolutionsIT Homelab and Server Cabinet Every year, each of us takes stock in their situation and this year is no different. This year, I am… |
 High Availability on the Homelab / Home ServerFor a home server or lab setup, you simply do not need to have a high availability load balancer. However, if you wanted to set… |
 Ubuntu on a Dell PowerEdge 1900 as a Homelab ServerThe ideal home server setup for me runs on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Server Hardware Currently, my home server is running on an old Dell Poweredge… |
 Mikrotik Routers – Reclaiming my Home Network – Part 2For my home network, I have used many different routers to secure my systems from Internet Traffic. I am not fond of the cheap routers… |
 Reclaiming my Home Network Part 1Reclaiming my home network switch. I don't always need 24 ports, until I do.... For the bulk of my professional career network computer systems, I… |