Home Lab Build Log

This is my personal home lab setup and the way I maintain it. I built it to learn properly, ship real systems, and keep my core tools local, private, and under my control.

Small Iterations Homelab Self Hosted Build Log

I update this page as things break, get fixed, and improve. It is less a static report and more a practical engineering journal.

Overview

Why I Built It

I wanted local control over media, AI tooling, and personal data workflows
I use it as a hands-on training ground for networking, Linux, virtualization, and containers
I am deliberately reducing dependence on default big-platform cloud setups

How I Run It

Privacy-first architecture with a small exposed surface
Self-host where practical, cloud only where it genuinely adds value
Reliability through repeatable fixes, backups, and clear runbook habits

Platform Inventory

Node	Role	Platform	Key Workloads
Node A	Virtualization Host	Proxmox VE	VM orchestration, network bridge, GPU passthrough
Node B	Container VM	Ubuntu LTS	Docker stack, media automation, AI assistant runtime
Node C	Storage Edge	Raspberry Pi OS	SMB shares for media and notes data
Cloud Layer	Always-On Services	Privacy-focused VPS + storage	Remote media services, archive sync, offsite redundancy

Deployment Map

How services are actually laid out in my setup, from local network core to cloud extension.

LAN Core

Router, DNS, and local network pathing for all homelab nodes.

Router

DNS

Proxmox Host

Main virtualization node running the container VM and service orchestration.

Proxmox

GPU Pass

Docker VM

Container runtime for media, automation stack, dashboards, and AI workflows.

Docker

Jellyfin

Arr Stack

Storage Edge

Raspberry Pi shares media and notes data into the VM over SMB.

Raspberry Pi SMB file sharing icon

SMB File Sharing

Cloud Extension

Offsite storage and remote services for continuity and archive workflows.

VPS

Service Architecture

Core Stack

Containerized media server with hardware-accelerated transcoding path
Automation stack for indexing, acquisition, and subtitle workflows
Dashboard and management tooling for operational visibility

Networking Model

Segregated local access patterns with explicit VPN routing where required
DNS and egress choices aligned with privacy requirements
Mixed wired backhaul strategy for reliable in-home service delivery

Reliability and Backup Posture

Backup Scope

Application configs and metadata synchronized nightly
System snapshots and selected service data retained by policy
Cloud destination used for archive and offsite protection

Known Engineering Improvements

NIC stability workaround applied on virtualization host
Network-dependent mount timing corrected with boot-order safe options
Container runtime and GPU compatibility path normalized

Security and Sovereignty Position

I favor self-hosted services where I need strong data ownership and operational independence
I treat provider and jurisdiction choices as part of my threat model, not an afterthought
I document changes so my setup is auditable, reproducible, and recoverable
I design for calm failure handling: backup, restore, and iteration over panic