HomeLab Starter
Page 3 of 11
-
Samba and NFS File Sharing in the Homelab
Samba provides Windows-compatible SMB file shares; NFS is the Linux-native network filesystem. This guide covers setting up both on Ubuntu/Debian, configuring permissions, and choosing between them for homelab use.
-
VictoriaMetrics: A Faster Prometheus for Your Homelab
VictoriaMetrics is a high-performance, cost-efficient time series database that's compatible with Prometheus. Covers single-node setup, Prometheus replacement, and Grafana integration.
-
Docker MACVLAN and IPVLAN: Giving Containers Their Own IP Addresses
MACVLAN and IPVLAN network modes let Docker containers get IP addresses on your physical network, making them accessible from other devices without port forwarding. Covers when to use each, configuration, and Proxmox/homelab use cases.
-
ESPHome: Build Custom Smart Home Sensors with $5 Microcontrollers
ESPHome turns ESP8266 and ESP32 microcontrollers into configurable smart home sensors with a simple YAML configuration. Build temperature sensors, occupancy detectors, and custom automations that integrate directly with Home Assistant.
-
Cloudflare Zero Trust for Homelab Remote Access
Use Cloudflare Zero Trust to expose homelab services securely without opening firewall ports — tunnels, access policies, and identity-based authentication.
-
Free weekly newsletter
Get one focused guide per week delivered to your inbox — no spam.
-
Home Assistant Energy Monitoring: Track and Reduce Your Electricity Bills
Set up Home Assistant's Energy Dashboard to monitor real-time and historical electricity consumption. Covers smart plugs, whole-home monitoring with a CT clamp, solar integration, and cost tracking.
-
ZFS Basics for Homelab Storage
ZFS is a combined filesystem and volume manager with built-in RAID, checksumming, snapshots, and deduplication. This guide covers ZFS pools, VDEV types, datasets, snapshots, and practical ZFS setup on Linux for homelab NAS use.
-
UPS for the Homelab: Power Protection for Servers and NAS
Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) protect homelab equipment from power outages, surges, and dirty power. This guide covers UPS types (standby vs line-interactive vs online), sizing, and integrating with NUT for automated graceful shutdowns.
-
PCIe Bifurcation: Add Multiple NVMe Drives to One Slot
PCIe bifurcation lets you split a single PCIe x16 slot into multiple x4 slots, enabling NVMe expansion cards that add 4+ SSDs to a desktop or server without extra slots.
-
NFS Server Setup for Your Homelab: Share Storage Across All Your Machines
Set up an NFS server on Linux to share storage across your homelab. Covers installation, exports configuration, performance tuning, and securing access.
-
Homelab Documentation — Why and How to Document Your Setup
Most homelabbers skip documentation and regret it later. Here's what to document, which tools to use (BookStack, Obsidian, Wiki.js, and more), and how to keep it all up to date.
-
Alertmanager Setup for Homelab: Get Notified When Things Break
Prometheus Alertmanager handles routing, deduplication, and delivery of alerts from Prometheus. This guide covers setup, alert rules, and routing to Slack, PagerDuty, email, and Discord.
-
Proxmox: LXC Containers vs. VMs — When to Use Each
Proxmox supports both LXC containers and full VMs. Understanding the trade-offs helps you pick the right technology for each workload and avoid common pitfalls.
-
Portainer: The Best Docker Management UI for Your Homelab
Portainer gives you a web-based UI to manage all your Docker containers, images, volumes, and networks without memorizing docker commands. Here's how to set it up.
-
Netdata: Real-Time Monitoring for Your Homelab
Netdata provides zero-configuration real-time monitoring with per-second metrics. This guide covers installation, what it monitors out of the box, and how it compares to Grafana/Prometheus.
-
Jellyfin: The Free Self-Hosted Media Server for Your Homelab
Jellyfin is the open-source alternative to Plex and Emby — no subscriptions, no tracking, no locked features. Learn how to set it up and stream your media library anywhere.
-
Immich: Self-Hosted Google Photos Replacement for Your Homelab
Immich is a self-hosted photo and video backup solution with machine learning features, mobile apps, and a Google Photos-like interface. Here's how to deploy it in your homelab.
-
Syncthing: Peer-to-Peer File Sync Without a Central Server
Syncthing syncs files between your devices without any cloud or central server — just encrypted peer-to-peer sync. Perfect for photos, documents, and homelab config backups.
-
Vaultwarden: Self-Hosted Bitwarden Password Manager for Your Homelab
Vaultwarden is a lightweight, self-hosted Bitwarden-compatible password manager. No subscription required, full control over your credentials. Here's how to deploy it.
-
Tailscale Funnel: Expose Homelab Services Publicly Without Port Forwarding
How to use Tailscale Funnel to share homelab services on the public internet — no port forwarding, no domain name, no exposed home IP. Covers setup, HTTPS handling, limitations, and comparison with Cloudflare Tunnels and ngrok.