My Homelab Guides

What I Build, Test, and Actually Use

I use my homelab to test hypervisors, storage, backups, and network setups, before I rely on them in real projects.

On this page, you’ll find: practical build guides, hardware picks, and the “gotchas” I wish someone told me earlier.

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Homelab setup illustration with server, storage, and network gear

Start Here

New to homelabs? These three guides are the fastest way to get started.

Best Server for Home Lab 2025: Rack, Tower & Refurbished Options Compared

Best Server for Home Lab

A practical breakdown of rack vs tower vs refurbished—so you buy the right box the first time.

Uses of a Home Server: What You Can Actually Do With One in 2025

Uses of a Home Server - What you can actually do

Ideas for what to run once your homelab is online (beyond Plex).

Quiet Server for Home Lab: How to Build a Powerful, Low-Noise Setup

Quiet Server for Home Lab

Build a powerful homelab that stays quiet enough for an office or living room.

Best Picks

My best homelab guides if you’re past the basics.

The Best Mini PC for Home and Small Business Servers (2025 Guide)

The Best Mini PC for Home and Small Business Servers

The “why” behind mini PCs for servers, plus what to look for before you choose.

DNS Server at Home: How to Host Your Own Public Nameserver

DNS Server at home

How to run your own DNS and understand the basics behind domain records.

Best Homelab Firewalls in 2025 – Software and Hardware Compared

best homelab firewall

A comparison of firewall options for VLANs, VPNs, and home security.

Recommended gear

One piece of gear I’d buy again for a homelab setup.

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Best Server for Home Lab

Best Server for Home Lab 2025: Rack, Tower & Refurbished Options Compared

A home lab is great for getting hands-on experience with different technologies. It is the ideal setup for testing products or configurations in a quiet environment. 

The Best Mini PC for Home and Small Business Servers

The Best Mini PC for Home and Small Business Servers (2025 Guide)

You might think, "Oh no, not another guide about mini PCs for servers." I admit there are tons of articles out there about server hardware. However, I couldn't find a clear overview of why mini PCs have become game-changers for home labs, on-premises servers, and small business setups.

DNS Server at home

DNS Server at Home: How to Host Your Own Public Nameserver

Setting up a home lab DNS server may sound like a daunting task reserved for IT professionals, but fear not! You will gain a deeper understanding of how the internet functions and have complete control over your domains, creating a playground of endless possibilities.

best homelab firewall

Best Homelab Firewalls in 2025 – Software and Hardware Compared

Are you building your own homelab and wondering how to keep it secure? Whether you're testing virtual machines, hosting services, or segmenting your smart devices, a firewall is one of the most important components in your setup.

What is a Virtual Lab?

What Is a Virtual Homelab? (And Should You Run It at Home or in the Cloud?)

"Virtual homelab" means different things depending on who you ask. For some, it refers to installing virtualization software on a laptop. For others, it's a full cloud-based setup with VMs running in AWS, Hetzner, or Oracle Cloud.

Best Mini PC for Proxmox

Best Mini PC for Proxmox 2025 – Compact Power for Your Home Lab Setup

If you are looking to run the best mini PC for Proxmox, you are not alone. Mini PCs are increasingly popular among homelab enthusiasts seeking a powerful, compact, and energy-efficient virtualization setup.