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 2026: 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 2026

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 (2026 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 2026 – 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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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 2026 – 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.

Uses of a Home Server - What you can actually do

Uses of a Home Server: What You Can Actually Do With One in 2026

If you’ve ever wondered about the uses of a home server, you’re not alone. In 2026, more people are discovering that a home server isn’t just a niche tool for IT pros—it’s a flexible and surprisingly accessible way to take control of your digital life.

Best Hypervisor for Home Lab

Best Hypervisor for Home Lab in 2026 – I Tested 5 Free & Powerful Options

When I started building my home lab, choosing the right server was only half the story. The other half? Picking the best hypervisor. After all, it’s the hypervisor that actually runs your virtual machines—so it plays a huge role in how flexible, efficient, and manageable your home lab setup is.

Quiet Server for Home Lab

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

A quiet server for home lab use isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s often essential if your setup runs in a home office, bedroom, or shared space. Many people assume enterprise servers are too loud for this, but that’s not always the case. In fact, models like the Dell PowerEdge T440 or HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen10 are surprisingly quiet when properly configured.

homelab-rack-hero

Choose the Perfect Homelab Rack for Your Server Setup

If you’re like me and enjoy diving into the world of technology, you know that setting up a homelab is rewarding and challenging. But one crucial factor can make or break your setup: the homelab rack.