NL
ii. First steps
Aside from the NAS, there are a few more things that need to be addressed, which we will cover in these first steps. This refers to the part of the network that is located located in the office. The diagram of version 0 shows that there are four network connections the patch panel goes to the office there.
These are mounted in the office on a patch panel, but this time one with 24 ports. This is necessary because the workroom has a large number of has network connections.
Skirting gutter system
For the record, these network connections are only finished in a skirting duct system, type K40. This was done after I renovated the interior of the office, which became necessary, after about 20 years of living it this house.
By the way, I decided at the same time to renew the existing network cabling, because this was easier than reusing the old cabling. That's why I installed new CAT6 network cable. Unfortunately, the K40 outlet connection boxes were only suitable for CAT5, so I made a conversion to CAT6 for them myself.
Small server rack
Small server rack
Since the patch panel has to be mounted somewhere, and it is a standard 19-inch rack version, it seemed logical to me to purchase a small server rack, also with a view to further Homelab activities.
After some research I found and purchased a, in my opinion, suitable and affordable example. It is a cube with sides of approx. 60 cm and 12 HE high internally.
For better accessibility I mounted it on top of an IKEA cabinet of almost the same dimensions. This all fits nicely with my cabinet wall in the office. As you can see, the whole thing stands on legs, which is handy for finishing all the cables.
I took into account some extra length when laying out the cabling, so that I can easily remove the cabinet with rack from the wall, if necessary (after removing two screws inside the IKEA cabinet, which fixes the assembly to the back wall).
The K40 skirting gutter starts at the bottom right at the back and runs around the workroom, along three walls up to the door. The gutter then has connection boxes at various points in the room.
Power supply
Under the patch panel, another device can be seen. This is a UPS of the BlueWalker brand, type Power Walker VI 2200 RLE, a line-interactive version. This supplies not only all the components I plan to install in the rack. It also supplies the fiber optic modem, the router and the network switch, which we discussed in the introduction, in the utility cabinet down in the hall.
Although long-term power outages are in general a rarity in the Netherlands, lately short-term dips in the grid occur also here more frequently, due to all the problems surrounding the energy transition. That is why, in my opinion, a UPS is no longer is an unnecessary luxury.
And when running a Homelab, you want to have things always up and running, so that makes a UPS a no-brainer anyway and a good investment. Whether you should use a line interactive or a online version, is another discussion, that i wont go in to detail about here.
Next steps - a preview
So we have now more or less covered the situation, that will nbe the starting point of our Homelab adventure. We will address some topics, that we will cover in the next episodes of this series, in no particular order. Visit this site for updates and articles, that will be going into dept on each subject.
NAS
For now, the current NAS solution is sufficient. With proper maintenance and backup, this RAID system will do just fine. Meanwhile, we can make plans for a more modern solution.
Network
I'm planning on replacing the FB7590, supplied by my ISP, with a router that gives me more freedom and possibilities. I already have gained some experience with home brew routers, both software and hardware. For now, I've decided to opt for the OPNsense platform.
Currently, i'm also deploying a local DNS server, that will handle the name space for my device in the house and the Homelab. My DNS server of choice wil be BIND9, running in a container on a hypervisor.
Hypervisor
I've stared with the first steps towards utilizing a hypervisor system, in this case Proxmox. I will use it for development of software projects, websites and applications on VM and in containers.
Coding, programming and more
For purpose of programming projects, maintenance of running apps, etcetera, nowadays only one environment comes in view the most. I am talking of Visual Studio Code of course, which I have been using for the past 1,5 year now, for various programming tasks and web development. It has become my number one tool so to speak.
Other stuff
Seeing the future is hard, we will see how things evolve during this year and what we have achieved by next year. I will try to keep this site regularly updated, but don't push me.
Apart from my Homelab, I will also have to do the necessary time sharing with my other hobbies as well. So it is not all IT, that i'm focusing on. You will find out about those project as well, when visiting this site.
20250212-01