How to Start Your Own Home Lab in 2025
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- Опубліковано 4 лют 2025
- Today I talk about how to start your own home lab. Home labs are very cool, but do you need one, and if you do, how do you get started?
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==== Time Stamps ====
00:00:39 Intro
00:01:03 Why Do You Need One?
00:04:05 Start Simple, Build Complexity
00:07:27 Don't Be Afraid to Screw Up
00:08:53 Don't Get Greedy
00:09:56 Your Software Journey
00:12:05 Start to Learn About Security
00:15:13 Learn Networking
00:17:43 Learn About Docker and Containers
00:19:25 Explore Containers
00:20:04 Learn How to Monitor Everything Remotely
00:21:05 Backup EVERYTHING!
00:23:37 Wrapping Up
#homelab #linux #homeserver
Check out my merch store! shop.thelinuxcast.org
==== Time Stamps ====
00:00:39 Intro
00:01:03 Why Do You Need One?
00:04:05 Start Simple, Build Complexity
00:07:27 Don't Be Afraid to Screw Up
00:08:53 Don't Get Greedy
00:09:56 Your Software Journey
00:12:05 Start to Learn About Security
00:15:13 Learn Networking
00:17:43 Learn About Docker and Containers
00:19:25 Explore Containers
00:20:04 Learn How to Monitor Everything Remotely
00:21:05 Backup EVERYTHING!
00:23:37 Wrapping Up
Started a homelab just over 2 years ago. It is hands down my favorite hobby. Matt hit the main point: I like to tinker.
My first device was a dell 9010 sff. Another of Matt’s points: resist homelab envy as the dark side. Figure out what’s a logical upgrade over envy.
The key is in the name. The word 'lab': experimentation. Learning. Discovery.
YES! And this means at least TWO networks. A lab network and a 'production' network. That the one the living room TV and the PC with the household accounts lives on.
You need to make a beginner's homelab series. It'll be great because your fans will get to make mistakes and learn right along with you. Mistakes are the best way to learn!
Yup! If you get a job after "doing" your home lab, you'll have a #1 priority of backing your shit up. I'd even say this is a key thing to learn in your home labbing journey. Learn how to back shit up. At a job, you will be the hero with data to restore. I can't emphasize this enough. Back shit up. AND KNOW HOW TO RESTORE!
Great video dude youre so right. When I started 2 years ago from dead zero. I bought (and got lucky0 Dell with 32GB of RAM and an ssd NVme in it. 6 cores. Just leanred linux VMs to simply crash course simply learning the linux OS. Navigating and configuring. I tried going to hero to fast and spent more time back pedaling fixing and configuring and knowing where shit was. Let alone different distros. I learned on Kali Linux and it wasnt to bad. Then I got my first Pi. Then I got a used Macbook to learn all the same on Mac. Come to find the Mac's native CLI terminal is almost identical to Linux commands which was great cause Im a Mac guy. NOW I have a crazy but not 10k dollar home Lab. OPNSense FW Im learning. Rebuilding old unibody Macs for pennies on ebay only to resell them having upgraded them and making a few bucks or donating them to poorer kids in my building while keeping them out of the trash as Ewaste here in Chicago.. Love your channel. I can honestly say now that im an advanced beginner.. Sooooo much more shit to ;learn. I have 7 raspberry pis and 7 Laptops of all kinds. Old Macs baremetalling Linux which is so good. An Old unibody Macbook runs bare metal Linux amazingly well. Im not even joking The unibody Macs on only Linux are just as good has my insane raspberry pi 5 compute module. Just different architecture
Nice video.
Why do I want to start a homelab?
it's seems an interesting and fun thing to do. also a useful *skill* to have in ones backpocket (or the skill(s) learned/developed when creating a homelab are)
When it comes to homelab here is how i see one for myself. Before i even buy hardware for homelab first i need to know what will i use it for because it will influence my choice depending on use case, then i need to know what software i will use depending on use case. Not everything requires expensive hardware so i won't buy expensive hardware unless absolutely necessary. For my homelab security i would set it up in layers using OSI layers, i would also document it so i know what kind of security i have on each layer because it give is element of predictability of attacks because i can easily intercept attack and just switch configuration on fly since i know what and where it is and i don't lose valuable time.
Good advice.
#DataLiberty cannot be underestimated IMO. Having ownership and control over an overwhelming majority of my data is a good feeling.
@@darthkielbasa This is the way. My journey began with a Ubiquti router because the google mesh system I had was blocking me from being an idiot with my own network (guard rails everywhere), then was sick of MS 360, and Google drive, so I bought a NAS and started transitioning from the cloud to local hosted. Now almost all of what I use from password managers to LLMs to project management software to game servers are self hosted. Having control over my data, and being able to add whatever apps and services I want ad-hoc, without buying into an ecosystem or subscription model. I don’t use a SaaS with 100 features and 10 of them that I use. I setup 10 apps and use 10 apps.
I think you’re completely right. I think everybody needs to go in with a clear goal of what they wanna do. Maybe it’s organize several decades worth of pictures and media. Maybe it’s doing game servers,recipes, documents I don’t know, but you’re right start off of one and just by doing that one all the way through you’ll learn an awful lot
I can say 100% one of the major goals for me was to get off of the major Tech platforms and I’m just beginning. I have a ways to go, but that’s what I wanna do.
I started my home lab a few months ago. I started this because I wanted to expand my network at home. I bought 1 mini PC to install OPNSense. I also bought a 28 port 1 GB switch and an access point. I bought another for Proxmox. I bought a cheap NAS unit for long term storage and backing up systems. I'm happy with my setup. I don't intend to expand much more because I have limited outlets in my living room. I have no intention of moving any equipment into my bedroom.
The video is awesome!
I am new to home lab stuf, and want to learn more about that topic.
About backups, I heard about the 3-2-1 rule (3 copies of the data on 2 different drives, and at least 1 of them should be offline), and zraid kinda thing, so I am wondering if you can show us more about that, along with docker and all of the things you are planning to speak about
Thanks Matt, great honest info. I usually use cheap Chinese stuff for testing and development just in case I blow it up! 😂. It isn't worth buying expensive stuff while learning unless you have a specific use case. Great video as always 👍
My "home lab " comprises a mini pc , two raspberry pis and a bunch of drives in caddys
Home Labs are way over hyped by influencers. Most will find that the headaches and complexities far outweigh the benefits. KISS is much better in my experience. The home lab is generally just a stepping stone to learning a few things.
I wish there was just more focus on self hosting. You don’t need a mini IT data center in your house to do that.
My "Home Lab" started around 4 years ago with the idea of setting up a NAS. It's setup on a generic PC based on an Athlon 64 processor with approx 4 or 8 GB ram (can't remember) using XigmaNAS. I haven't had it running for a bit, but I hope to expand it for some other fun stuff.
Also: any chance of a homelab software/(& hardware?) tour video in the future?
I found refurbished server gear to be a great and affordable way to build a home lab.
Also, the machine that bridges my internal network and my DMZ sports a 21yo mainboard. it works fine.
What primer do you recommend for securing homelab and services?
Please start a new series of videos of basic homelab setup. Very basic, simple and cheap. Networking, installing apps etc.
My 'homelab' is just an AM5 system running Jellyfin, Immich, and a samba share.
A home lab can be as simple as a virtual machine.
It's just an 'experimental area', a 'dev box'.
Usually isolated from your live / personal files.
Or you could build "WOPR"
@@Martin-lc1sk or use wsl in windows, i started my homelab like this few months ago, the problem is everyone is tqlking about hardware buy this not that , use old pc, no one i found explains software or how to research softhware or what you nead in terms of softhware, i believe there are linux distro like caseos (it also could be softwre) you nead to learn what are thoese they simply say instal this instal that i only find one person who explains this only ONE
This is what gets to me. Surely the entire point of a 'home lab' is to experiment or play around in one form or another, yet what most of these 'home lab' videos describe is... A server. Just a server.
Yeah thanks bro really useful
You mentioned you bought a used hp server .. what did you end up getting? model and specs please... thanks
HP Z440 Workstation 18 Core E5-2699 V3 128GB RAM 512GB SSD 2TB WiFi WIN10 DVD
Got it on eBay
Incorporate “Nerd envy” into merch.
I'm just starting my home lab. I have almost no idea how to do system admin stuff so this is going to be fun! I'm going with a computer I have laying around and I can say with confidence that my biggest outlay of money will be SSDs. I have next to no disk space.
If you need a lot of storage for something like a Plex server, you can always find some refurbished HDDs with a ton of storage for dirt cheap. You can get like 12TB for 130$.
Don’t think you need a proxmox cluster and a rack to start self hosting. Debian stable server on bare metal, KVM/Qemu, and docker will get you started just fine and take you a long way.
#justpushthestartbutton
BTW mine is running on a 18W potatoe AMD APU(AMD E-350). 8GB hosting wordpress, grav, immich, littlelink, nextcloud,searxng, and sometimes i just start azuracast to stream my music... I have a 128gb ssd in it and 1TB 3.5 HDD... on the board i have 6 sata connector... but i need to change the PSU and case if i want to expand... (But i dont see the reason to do that) without azureacast eating 3.79 GB mem... Alpine linux with docker containers...
Why didn't you build your own workstation for half the cost, non of the proprietary baggage, twice the component power and 100% of the fun of doing it?
💖
are vm a great lab ??? cause it is free ... i dont have the space or time to build a lab with tower lol
It's a good start. There's no reason why you can't set up proxmox and docker in a vm and get started that way. Eventually, actual hardware will be something you'll want, but vms are a great way to dip your toes in the water without spending cash
@@TheLinuxCast thank !
a Minecraft server?
If you can't build your own workstation, don't bother leaping into computing projects.