Home Lab

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A Raspberry Pi with a couple of HDDs
My Raspberry Pi NAS taught me that cheap storage isn't worth the compromise
DIY

A NAS without dependable storage is just a very patient disappointment.

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Running LXCs on TrueNAS 26
The best NAS distro dropped a public beta for its new update, and it feels more like Proxmox with each release

It changes everything for home server users

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Bambu Lab P1S with AMS front view
Remote 3D printing stopped feeling reckless when I added Home Assistant to the mix

Home Assistant made my 3D printer setup smarter, more responsive, and far less stressful to manage remotely.

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A laptop showing a Proxmox dashboard inside a browser, showing the notification settings
Email alerts in Proxmox saved me from discovering backup failures weeks too late

It's easy to stay on top of things

Selecting the Network Settings when installing Proxmox
Your old laptop is a decent entry-level Proxmox server – if you respect its limits

It may not be a powerful VM-hosting behemoth, but there's a lot you can do with an outdated laptop

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3D print model design displayed on a monitor
Your 3D printer wastes filament long before anything fails
DIY

You might be wasting more filament than you think, and most of it comes from habits that feel completely normal while printing.

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An image of a mobile lab built with Proxmox and a mini PC.
Stop treating Proxmox's firewall like an optional feature — it's your lab's clearest safety net

Proxmox’s built-in firewall helps turn ‘later’ into a real process, and that alone gave it more value than I expected.

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A Raspberry with a USB Wi-Fi adapter attached to turn it into a travel router
Travel computing doesn't need a laptop — the Raspberry Pi 5 proved that to me

For the right traveler, the Raspberry Pi 5 is more than just adequate on the road.

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Printing QR labels using NIIMBOT printer
A $40 label maker and QR codes completely changed how I manage my home lab

Keeping tabs on everything within my home lab.

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FreeCAD with a 3D model of the Raspberry Pi 5 displayed
FreeCAD's learning curve made me quit once, but now I trust it more than any subscription CAD tool
DIY

FreeCAD isn’t the flashiest option, and I wouldn’t describe it as the most beginner-friendly path on day one.

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3D printing toolkit with builds
Your 3D printer doesn't need as much tweaking as people say — defaults work better than you think
DIY

New users should be told what matters first, what matters later, and what only matters when a specific problem appears.

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X2D proves Bambu Lab understands what desktop 3D printing still gets wrong - featured
The X2D proves Bambu Lab understands what desktop 3D printing still gets wrong
DIY

The X2D directly addresses the biggest frustrations in desktop 3D printing, from messy supports to failed prints and constant calibration.

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An image of an Asus ZenWifi gaming Router
Stop blaming your ISP — where you placed your router is killing your Wi-Fi

A new home for your old router might be the answer to your problems

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bosgame m5 mini pc with xbox controller
Mini PC clusters are silently replacing rack servers in home labs, and I finally understand why

Such versatile power in such tiny boxes

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Accessing a Pop_OS! VM on Sylve
I switched from Proxmox to its FreeBSD counterpart on my home server – here's how it went

Despite its FreeBSD origins, I adore this virtualization platform

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Angles view of the M4 Mac Mini with the Asus NUC 14 Pro stacked on top of it
A used Mac Mini could be great for your home lab, but take a look at regular mini PCs first

Mac Minis are really strong in a couple of areas, but conventional mini PCs are better as general home lab machines

Someone 3D printing files in Anycubic machine
Layer height was sabotaging my 3D prints, and I didn't notice until the pattern became obvious
DIY

My printer wasn’t the problem. One slicer setting was making good hardware look bad, and changing it fixed more than I expected.

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threadripper in socket
I stopped being afraid to break my systems after learning what each OS actually needs to recover

Three very different ways of working, one overworked sysadmin

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SteaOS 3.9 on Geekom A9 Max AI - featured
SteamOS 3.9 is the closest thing to a perfect desktop Linux I've ever used

SteamOS 3.9 fixed the Linux frustrations I’m tired of and came closer to a perfect desktop than I've ever seen.

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Every maker should know about these 5 free 3D printing websites  - featured
Stop blaming your 3D printer for slow prints, your slicer settings are sabotaging you
DIY

If your slicer says to lay down a ton of plastic, the 3D printer obeys.

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