My Home Lab Design & Architecture

Posted on January 15, 2025

Welcome to my home lab! This setup has evolved over time to become a comprehensive testing and development environment. It serves as both a learning platform and a production environment for various personal projects and experiments.

Topology

My home lab network is designed with redundancy and performance in mind. The architecture follows a hierarchical approach with clear separation between different network segments.

Network Configuration (192.168.255.0/24):

  • Gateway (.254): OPNsense Firewall - Primary router and security appliance
  • Compute Infrastructure (.101-.103): Proxmox VE cluster nodes
  • Services (.201-.207): Containerized applications and services

Infrastructure Nodes:

  • 192.168.255.101: Proxmox 01 (home-cluster-01)
  • 192.168.255.102: Proxmox 02 (home-cluster-01)
  • 192.168.255.103: Proxmox 03 (home-cluster-01)

The network utilizes OPNsense as the primary firewall and router, providing advanced security features and traffic management. The three-node Proxmox cluster (home-cluster-01) provides high availability and load distribution for virtual machines and containers.

Equipment

The physical infrastructure is built around three Dell OptiPlex 7050 small form factor computers housed in a portable 12U mobile rack cabinet. This setup combines compact, energy-efficient hardware with enterprise-grade networking equipment including a Cisco 3750 managed switch. The wireless infrastructure utilizes a Netgear Orbi mesh system with two satellites to provide seamless WiFi coverage throughout the house.

home-cluster-01 3x Dell OptiPlex 7050 Cisco 3750 Switch Orbi Mesh WiFi 12U Mobile Rack

Proxmox Cluster Hardware (home-cluster-01):

  • Proxmox 01 (192.168.255.101): Dell OptiPlex 7050 - Primary cluster node
  • Proxmox 02 (192.168.255.102): Dell OptiPlex 7050 - Secondary cluster node
  • Proxmox 03 (192.168.255.103): Dell OptiPlex 7050 - Tertiary cluster node

Hardware Specifications:

  • Form Factor: Dell OptiPlex 7050 Small Form Factor
  • Network Expansion: M.2 to Ethernet port adapter for additional connectivity
  • USB Networking: USB-to-Ethernet adapter for management network
  • Cluster Benefits: Compact, energy-efficient, enterprise-grade reliability

Network Interface Configuration:

  • Onboard NIC: WAN connection
  • M.2 Ethernet Adapter: LAN network (192.168.255.0/24)
  • USB Ethernet: Proxmox management network

Physical Infrastructure & Rack Setup:

  • 12U Mobile Rack Cabinet: Portable rack housing all critical infrastructure
  • Cisco 3750 Network Switch: Enterprise-grade managed switch with VLAN capabilities
  • 3x Dell OptiPlex 7050: Compact cluster nodes mounted in rack
  • UPS System: Rack-mounted uninterruptible power supply

Network Infrastructure:

  • OPNsense Firewall (192.168.255.254): Primary gateway and security appliance
  • Netgear Orbi Mesh WiFi: Main router + 2 satellites providing seamless whole-house coverage
  • Cisco 3750 Switch: Rack-mounted managed switch for wired infrastructure
  • Network Segmentation: VLANs and firewall rules for security isolation

Apps / Services

The lab runs a diverse ecosystem of applications and services, ranging from infrastructure tools to development platforms and personal productivity applications.

Core Infrastructure Services:

  • Proxmox VE Cluster: home-cluster-01 (3 nodes) - Virtualization platform
  • OPNsense (192.168.255.254): Firewall, router, and gateway
  • Docker Container Server (192.168.255.201): Containerized application hosting
  • Agent Server (192.168.255.202): Cloudflared tunnel and Tailscale mesh VPN

Monitoring & Network Services:

  • Uptime Kuma (192.168.255.203): Service uptime monitoring and status page
  • AdGuard Home (192.168.255.205): Network-wide ad blocking and DNS filtering

Development & Productivity Services:

  • GitLab (192.168.255.204): Self-hosted Git repository, CI/CD, and DevOps platform
  • Private N8N (192.168.255.206): Workflow automation and integration platform

Security & Authentication:

  • Bitwarden Password Manager (192.168.255.207): Self-hosted password vault and secure sharing

This home lab serves as both a production environment for personal services and a testing ground for new technologies. The setup allows for experimentation with enterprise-grade tools while maintaining reliability for daily-use applications.

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