Home Lab

This page documents the public-safe overview of the TFO home lab.

The home lab supports self-hosting, automation, web development, AI experiments, networking, media services, maker projects, and ongoing technology learning.

The home lab consists of a room dedicated to being a maker space and a portion of the basement dedicated to being a video recording studio and the home of my server rack.

 

Maker Space

The maker space contains my 3D printers, electronics workstation, and a workspace for working on various projects.

• Cobblebot Vanguard 3D Printer
• Flux Delta 3D Printer (parts failure - needs work)
• Creality CR10 3D Printer
• Comgrow/Sovol T500 3D Printer
• BambuLab P1S 3D Printer w/ AMS
• Lots of electronic components, servos, microcontrollers, etc.
• Soldering station for soldering, unsoldering, and solder reflow work

 

Studio

The video recording studio isn't large, but it is suitable for making YouTube videos and podcasts. Very suitable for something similar to Wayne's World or Weekend Update from SNL, or Sheldon Cooper's Fun With Flags from Big Bang Theory.

• HD camera w/ shotgun mic
• 2 HD webcams
• 6 studio lights, 2 with umbrellas
• 2 backdrop stands
• Multiple backdrops and green screens
• Stand-behind desk

 

Server Rack

The server rack is the nerve center and backbone of my network. It hosts the majority of my local self-hosted services that includes web servers, home automation, AI, high capacity disk storage, whole-home audio/video media server, and whole-home DVR server.

DVR Server

• Windows 10 Pro operating system
• Intel Core2Quad 2.83GHz w/12GB RAM
• 36.4TB drive pool for network accessible storage
• 7.7TB DVR recording space
• SageTV DVR software
• Comskip commercial skip processing for DVR recordings
• MinIO S3-compatible object storage system

Proxmox Server (MiniPC)

• Proxmox VE bare metal hypervisor operating system
• Intel i9-11900H 4.9GHz 8C/16T w/32GB RAM
• 1TB NVMe SSD - Proxmox + LinuxMint VM
• 2TB SSD - RockyLinux VM, Kubuntu Linux VM, Ubuntu Linux VM
• 2TB HDD - VM backups
• LinuxMint VM - docker swarm worker node
• RockyLinux VM - web server
• Kubuntu VM - OpenClaw and Hermes AI agents
• Ubuntu VM - Agent Zero and Hermes AI agents

Docker Server

• Ubuntu ARM64 operating system
• Raspberry Pi 4
• 8GB RAM
• 125.7GB SSD
• Docker Swarm - manager

Home Automation Server

• Ubuntu ARM64 operating system
• Raspberry Pi 4
• 8GB RAM
• 125.7GB SSD
• Zigbee/Zwave transceiver
• Docker Swarm - worker
• Home Assistant home automation software

Server Rack

• 2 x 8-switch power centers (rackmount)
• DVR Server (rackmount) - specs above
• Proxmox Server - specs above
• 2 x Raspberry Pi 4 SBCs (rackmount) - specs above
• 16-Port gigabit network switch (rackmount)
• Ubiquiti Edgerouter-12 (rackmount)
• 8-Port KVM Switch (rackmount)
• LCD monitor
• 1 x Rackmount Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
• 1 x Uninterruptible Power Supply (not rackmount)
• Eero Pro Mesh wifi access point - router functions disabled
• 1 x HDHR-US dual tuner ethernet TV receiver
• 1 x HDHR5-4US quad tuner ethernet TV receiver

 

Other Computer and Network Hardware

AI Server (MiniPC)

• Windows 11 Pro
• AMD Ryzen 7 5700U 8C/16T 4.3GHz w/32GB RAM
• 1TB NVMe SSD
• Ollama AI server
• Home Assistant development installation

Lightshow Server (MiniPC)

• Windows 11 Pro
• AMD Ryzen 7 5800H 8C/16T 4.4GHz w/16GB RAM
• 500GB NVMe SSD
• 2 x Light-O-Rama USB 
• Light-O-Rama lightshow software

Workstation

• Windows 10 Pro
• AMD FX-6300 3C/6T 3.5GHz w10GB RAM
• 446GB SSD
• 10.5TB HDD Storage
• SDR (Software Defined Radio) receiver

WRT1900AC Wifi Router

• OpenWRT firmware
• Wifi router acting as a wifi-ethernet bridge
• Router functions disabled - only using for wifi
• Provides connectivity to the Lightshow Server
• Provides connectivity to the ethernet pixel lightshow controllers

3 x Eero Pro Mesh Satellite Access Points

2 x Nokia ONTs for Dual Fiber Internet Connection

1 x 8-Port Gigabit Network Switch

2 x SageTV DVR Extender Streaming Devices

1 x ONN AndoidTV Streaming Device

1 x Nintendo Wii gaming console

Many Wifi Lights and Wifi Outlets

Multiple laptops
 

External Cloud Computing

VultrVPS

• Virtualmin dashboard
• Test/experimental/temporary projects

OVHcloud VPS

• Virtualmin dashboard
• several domains and sites hosted

Hostinger VPS

• Virtualmin dashboard
• Several domains and sites hosted

 

Network Diagram