When I started writing about technology, I don’t think the term homelab existed. I only started hearing it more recently. But like many things, I apparently had one before the term existed. Homelab usually refers to a computer or computers used within your home to experiment. People self-host applications in their homelabs, they build network attached storage, they host and serve their media files. Some people use it to experiment with technologies they might need to or wish to use professionally.

The communities of hobbyists and tech enthusiasts have changed a lot over those years. I still remember when buying a single megabyte of RAM was a big deal, or having a whole 40MB of hard drive space. There is so much out there to experiment with and I’ve been running a homelab without even realizing that’s what I could call it.

A homelab can be as simple as an old retired computer you run a server on. Or it could be a custom built system for purpose. I’ve had both. And I’ve repurposed numerous times before the end of computer hardware’s life cycle.

I’ve written a lot about topics that fall under that previously…self-hosting, storage, media, etc. So, thinking about this under the banner of homelab gives me the chance to talk about this idea of running your own applications on either your home server, or server space you rent outside your house, and the infrastructure I’ve created to do just that. And there is always a new application or new need to experiment with.

A quick warning though. If you experiment in your own home, you do have to be aware that…should you share that home with someone else, that your experiments may affect their quality of life. For example, if you are playing with home automation, they might not appreciate if you cover up the light switches so you can use smart bulbs they can’t control.

That said, let’s get started.