Day: 9 October 2023

Homelab initial setup

I have gone with Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS for my Homelab’s operating system.

Most of the videos I’ve seen for Homelab-related guides and reviews tend to revolve around Proxmox and/or TrueNAS. I have no experience with either of those, but I do have experience with Docker, so I am opting to go with straight up docker — at least for now.

Setting up the Operating system

I’m using a Linux-based system and so instructions are based on this.

Step 1: Download the Ubuntu Server iso image

Head here to download your preferred version of Ubuntu Server. I chose the latest LTS version at the time of writing (22.04)

Step 2: Create a bootable USB stick with the iso image you downloaded.

Once downloaded, insert and a usb stick to install the Ubuntu Server iso on to.

Firstly, check where your USB stick is on your filesystem. For that, I use fdisk:

Bash
sudo fdisk -l

Assuming the USB stick is located at “/dev/sdb“, I use the dd command to create my bootable USB (please check and double check where your USB is mounted on your system):

Bash
sudo dd bs=4M if=/path/to/Ubuntu-Server-22-04.iso of=/dev/sdb status=progress oflag=sync

Step 3: Insert and boot to the bootable USB stick into the Homelab computer

Boot the computer that you’re using for your server, using the USB stick as a temporary boot device.

Step 4: Install the operating system

Follow the steps that the set up guide gives you.

As an aside, I set my server ssd drive up with the “LVM” option. This has helped immensely this week, as I have added a second drive and doubled my capacity to 440GB.

Step 5: install and enable ssh remote access

I can’t remember if ssh came installed or enabled, but you can install openssh and then enable the sshd service.

You can then connect to the server from a device on your network with:

Bash
ssh username@192.168.0.77

This assumes your server’s IP address is 192.168.0.77. Chances are very high it’ll be a different number (although the 192.168.0 section may be correct.

Everything else done remotely

I have an external keyboard in case I ever need to plug in to my server. However, now I have ssh enabled, I tend to just connect from my laptop using the ssh command show just above.

Setting up mine, and my family’s, Homelab

I’ve opted for what I believe is the easiest, and cheapest, method of setting up my Homelab.

I’m using my old work PC which has the following spec:

  • Quad core processor — i7, I think.
  • 16gb of RAM
  • 440GB ssd storage (2x 220gb in an LVM setup)
  • A USB plug-in network adapter (really want to upgrade to an internal one though)

My Homelab Goals

My homelab goals are centered around two fundamental tenets: lower cost for online services and privacy.

I want to be:

  • Hosting my own personal media backups: All my personal photos and videos I want stored in my own installation of Nextcloud. Along with those I want to also utilize its organizational apps too: calendar; todos; project planning; contacts.
  • Hosting my own music collection: despite hating everything Google stands for, I do enjoy using its Youtube Music service. However, I have many CDs (yes, CDs) in the loft and don’t like the idea of essentially renting access to music. Plus it would be nice to streaming music to offline smart speakers (i.e. not Alexa; Google Speaker; et al.)
  • Hosting old DVD films: I have lots of DVDs in the loft and would like to be able to watch them (without having to buy a new DVD player)
  • Learning more about networking: configuring my own network is enjoyable to me and is something I want to increase my knowledge in. Hosting my own services for my family and myself is a great way to do this.
  • Teach my Son how to own and control his own digital identity (he’s 7 months old): I want my Son to be armed with the knowledge of modern day digital existence and the privacy nightmares that engulf 95% of the web. And I want Him to have the knowledge and ability to be able to control his own data and identity, should He wish to when he’s older.

Documenting my journey

I will be documenting my Homelab journey as best as I can, and will tag all of these posts with the category of Homelab.

Gutted that I’m now all up to date with Taskmaster. Only discovered it a month or so ago and been binging it.