Homelab Guides
A homelab is a personal server and network environment for learning, self-hosting, and experimenting with enterprise technologies at home. These guides cover everything from your first Proxmox install to advanced VLAN segmentation, Docker containers, and self-hosted applications.
Getting Started
What Is a Homelab?
What a homelab is, why people build them, what hardware to start with, and the most popular self-hosted applications.
Homelab Network Design Guide
How to plan IP addressing, VLANs, firewall rules, and DNS for a well-structured home lab network.
How to Set Up VLANs in a Home Lab
Segment IoT, servers, and trusted clients onto separate VLANs with a managed switch and pfSense or OPNsense.
Virtualization
Proxmox vs VMware ESXi
Cost, features, hardware support, and which hypervisor to choose for a home lab in 2026.
Docker vs Virtual Machines in a Home Lab
When to use containers vs full VMs, and how to combine both on a single Proxmox host.
Hypervisor Type 1 vs Type 2
Bare-metal vs hosted virtualization, performance, and security implications.
Container Networking Basics
Bridge, host, macvlan, and overlay networks compared.
Networking & Routing
pfSense vs OPNsense for Home Router
Compare the two leading open-source firewall operating systems on UI, features, and security track record.
Network Bridges Explained
How VMs and containers get on the network — Linux bridges, TAP devices, and modes.
DNS for Homelab
Internal resolution, split-horizon, and Pi-hole patterns.
Reverse Proxy for Homelab
One entrypoint for many self-hosted services.
Let's Encrypt for Self-Hosted
HTTP-01 vs DNS-01, wildcard certs, and automated renewal.
Operations
Hardware & Power
Home Server Rack Setup Guide
Rack sizes, component layout, airflow, and cable management for a tidy homelab rack.
How to Choose a UPS for Your Home Lab
Size a UPS correctly for your load and configure automatic graceful shutdown for servers and NAS devices.
What Is IPMI and BMC Remote Management?
Access server hardware remotely — power on/off, BIOS console, ISO mount — even when the OS is down.