28 Nov 2024 · 3 min read

The Home Lab Revisited

It's been a while since I last posted an update on my homelab, and quite a bit has changed since then.

Moving to OPNsense

A few months after my last homelab update, I retired both of my Netgear Nighthawk routers and replaced them with a mini PC running OPNsense.

The goal was to get more control over my network and move away from relying on consumer routers. The mini PC took over firewall, routing, and VPN duties while giving me significantly more flexibility over how the network was configured.

OPNsense Router Mini PC — The mini PC running OPNsense for improved network performance and flexibility.

I ran OPNsense for a few months and was really impressed with what it could do. Compared to the Nighthawks, I had much more control over network management, firewall rules, VPNs, and the network as a whole.

Of course, that eventually sent me down another rabbit hole.

Moving to UniFi

After spending some time with OPNsense, I started looking into Ubiquiti's UniFi ecosystem and eventually picked up a UniFi Dream Machine Special Edition (UDM-SE).

The updated network rack with the UniFi Dream Machine Special Edition (UDM-SE).

The UDM-SE simplified a lot of the network management I had been doing manually while still giving me the features I actually cared about. It also gave me a central platform for adding and managing other UniFi equipment as the network continues to grow.

OPNsense was great and gave me a lot of control, but for a home network I've really enjoyed having everything managed through the UniFi interface.

Adding More Compute

The network wasn't the only thing that got an upgrade.

I also picked up a Lenovo ThinkStation P710 to add some more compute capacity to the homelab.

These older enterprise workstations can usually be found pretty cheap through online marketplaces and refurbished hardware vendors, and they make surprisingly capable home servers.

Lenovo ThinkStation P710 Internals — The Lenovo ThinkStation P710 workstation added to the homelab for additional computing power.

My P710 came with dual Intel Xeon processors for a total of 28 cores. I upgraded it to 192 GB of RAM, giving me plenty of room for virtual machines, containers, and whatever else I decide to throw at it.

It's definitely overkill for some of what I use it for, but that's half the fun of having a homelab.

The Homelab Today

The setup has changed quite a bit from where it started. What was originally built around consumer networking hardware has gradually turned into a more capable environment for experimenting with networking, virtualization, containers, Linux, and whatever else I happen to be working on.

And, as always, the entire operation is closely supervised by the head of IT.

Henry, Head of IT — Henry, age 10. Semi-retired Head of IT. Likes include short walks to the kitchen and anything involving food. Dislikes taking baths.