I started a homelab and I have fallen behind in documenting what I am doing. That ends today.

What is a Homelab?

There are many definitions for homelab. In my mind, a homelab is a lab you run locally to play with services, computers and network equipment. You can experiment with things safely and learn how things work.

Why am I “Cosplaying as a Sys-Admin”?

I am a fan of Jeff Geerling (https://www.redshirtjeff.com/shop/p/cosplaying-as-a-sysadmin-shirt) and have been inspired to try my hand at a homelab ‘hobby’. Ultimately it is a mix of personal projects and work-related projects. I love to learn and a homelab ticks all the boxes for me. But for my work as a software developer, there are many areas I don’t get to explore as part of my day job. A homelab gives me a place to learn about things I wouldn’t normally get a chance to.

I started on this journey when I replaced the networking gear in my home. I had a set of TP Link gear that I was never completely satisfied with. My biggest complaint was my inability to know what equipment was on my network. I saw over 20 devices but didn’t know what half of them were. I had to maintain a spreadsheet of IP address, MAC IDs and device names. I also was more concerned about security and wanted to better isolate my work PC (I work from home) and the rest of my network. I decided to get new Unifi gear and replace the TP Link router and switch.

The new Unifi controller/router and switch were all I was hoping for and more. They gave me all the insights I wanted and a level of control I never thought was possible. I got hooked on learning more and more about setting up the gear. There were a lot of YouTube videos by homelab enthusiasts that were doing the same thing I was. I had plenty to fuel my new passion.

Goals

I have several goals, I think, but they are likely to change as I learn more about homelabs. My first goal with my homelab is to learn more about all the things in the world that aren’t Microsoft. I am not bashing Microsoft, but it is 100% the only exposure I have to computing with my work. I know so little about Linux and other technology stacks. I want to learn more about Linux desktops, running Linux servers, SSH, Python, and other things I haven’t discovered yet I’m sure. For that I need to have a safe place to play.

Second, I want to learn more about virtualization and containers. Again, I don’t get exposure to these technologies with my work, and I’d love to know more about them.

I’d also like to learn more about home automation. I have a few IoT devices to control Christmas lights and grow lights for growing seedlings for my garden. But I know there are so many more things to explore.

Priorities

My priorities for now are to get a homelab established. I want to create a virtualization ‘platform’ (not sure that’s the right word) where I can safely experiment. Once I have that completed (does one ever complete such a thing?) I want to focus on learning Python. It has been on my list to do for a long time.

I also want to experiment more with using AI tools (GitHub CoPilot and Claude Code) for software development. I don’t use them to their fullest potential at work. I feel use of these tools will be required of all developers soon enough and I want to be prepared.

Next Steps

In my next post I plan on outlining the current hardware I have for my lab and how I intend on using it. That should be fun!