Case study · Homelab
A practical homelab environment built to learn, deploy, monitor, and troubleshoot real services.
// ARCHITECTURE
Animated data paths from the network edge through secure access to the Proxmox host and downstream services in a controlled lab environment.
Hover for quick info · Click a node for details
Custom domain with DNS records managed for mail and service routing.
Records validated against provider expectations.
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC aligned with provider guidance; monitored before tightening policy.
Policy tightened only after clean reporting windows.
Remote access hardening and Tailscale-style mesh for admin paths—planned, not overstated.
Zero-trust admin paths under evaluation.
// SYSTEMS
What it is, how I used it, and what I learned while operating it.
What: Type-1 hypervisor for VMs and LXC.
Used for: Hosts lab workloads and isolates Docker workloads in a VM.
Learned: Snapshots, resource planning, and network bridge behavior under load.
What: Container runtime and declarative stacks.
Used for: Runs core services with repeatable compose files and clear ports/volumes.
Learned: Networking between stacks, health checks, and upgrade discipline.
What: Headless server maintenance and permissions model.
Used for: SSH access, service restarts, log inspection, disk and user hygiene.
Learned: Tracing failures from logs first instead of guessing at config.
What: Public DNS records and mail trust mechanisms.
Used for: Aligned TXT/CNAME records with provider requirements.
Learned: SPF/DKIM/DMARC interplay and why DNS TTL and validation matter.
What: Availability metrics and alerting paths.
Used for: Heartbeat checks across internal services and dashboards for trends.
Learned: Reducing alert noise and confirming incidents with second signals.
What: Local-first automation and device integration.
Used for: Stable automations with clear failure modes.
Learned: Prefer reliability over novelty; document assumptions.
What: Scheduled jobs and integration flows.
Used for: n8n-style automation between APIs and internal hooks.
Learned: Idempotent steps and safe retries beat fragile one-off scripts.
What: Shipping apps with hosting, TLS, and CI-style discipline.
Used for: Shipped a full-stack app with auth, database, and production hosting.
Learned: Environment parity and deployment logs are half the battle.
// WINS
Concrete problems solved—not theory.
// ROADMAP
Active learning—not claimed mastery. These are the next concrete improvements I'm focused on.