You have probably heard of the term homelab and wondering what it is. You may be thinking about why you need one. Of course, not everyone needs a homelab. But if you would like to experiment with your computer and software, then you may need one. Even if you would like to store a lot of movies, it will be a good idea to have a homelab. It is essential to know what it is and what purpose it can serve.
What Is A Homelab?
A homelab can be considered as a place where you can experiment on various hardware and software. It affords you the luxury of failing without damaging your company’s or personal computer architecture. When trying new applications or software, there is always the risk that a single command can destroy everything. A homelab will protect your other hardware and allow you to learn about new technologies in the process.
When you start a homelab, one of the most important aspects is the location to place the equipment. There are various places where you can place the hardware and each of these places has benefits. Keeping it in the home office allows you to constantly keep a watch on your hardware. There are fewer cables to run and it is close to your desk or table. One could use the living room as it will have a cooler environment. But it may not be something that your family will agree to. The basement, garage, or even the closet are good options. Many people use a section of a closet for a homelab too! Wherever you put it, make sure there is ample airflow, cooling, electricity, and internet access.
Why Do You Need One?
Even if the cloud does provide an alternative to holding on-premise hardware, it is always beneficial to have an on-premise environment. There are certain areas like physical power cycles and the ability to physically swap out drives and other hardware that you don’t get access to when using the cloud. It is a great way to do virtualization as well. Virtualization is the process of divvying up a server into multiple chunks that you can install your own operating system on and applications on top of that. You can run multiple virtual servers with a homelab. Many people build a homelab to store photos and videos or run other applications that make life easier. When you cannot trust the cloud service provider with your media, this is the best option.
Additionally, a homelab is an excellent way to reuse obsolete hardware. You can make old company hardware that most companies would throw out work again in a useful way. Hosting applications is another benefit of having a homelab. In a lot of cases, there are open source or free alternatives to many popular proprietary applications. Since you are recycling used hardware that you would not normally have access to, as an added benefit, you learn about various enterprise hardware if you have your own set up at home. This infrastructure will also allow you to learn about new software and how it works without fears of bringing down production networks or services. You can use a homelab for IT-related administration works as well and learn the tricks of the trade. Finally, Software developers gain great benefit from a homelab using many tools to see the progress and test the software during the development process.
Essentials For A Homelab
Those building their very own homelab may need some essential things. Firstly, any form of computer will do the trick here. Homelabs range all the way from a raspberry pi to server racks full of equipment. All you need to start is something you ca install an operating system on to tinker with. Creating a VPN server will allow you to operate your homelab remotely, but isn’t essential for the overall ability to run a homelab. Even if you are using it only for internal purposes, getting a domain name is useful because it allows you to eventually open it up to the public or host a blog on. Furthermore, you can get SSL certificates that you can generate to make your homelab secure. It is also good to get yourself a password manager to keep track of your passwords.
A homelab may not be an alternative for real work experience. But it is a great place to learn a lot and make mistakes without fear of losing everything.