Recently, I embarked on a journey to create my very own Homelab. Despite the fancy term, it's essentially just a dedicated computer running Linux and various services 24x7.
Before we dive into the technical details, let me share the motivation behind creating my Homelab.
My father uses Tally, an accounting software that can only run on a single machine at a time. When he travels, he uses a different machine, making it impossible to use Tally on the go. To resolve this, he would have had to purchase another Tally license for his travel machine. To provide a cost-effective and efficient solution, I convinced him to invest in a server. I configured the server to run a Windows VM, allowing my father to RDP into it and use Tally from anywhere in the world. This setup not only saves him the hassle of purchasing an additional license but also ensures the security of his data, as everything remains on the home server.
Now Let me walk you through the specs and components of my setup.
Let's start with the specifications of my Homelab. I opted for a Dell PowerEdge T20.
The solid CPU, clocked at 3.60 GHz, came bundled with the system. It provides ample power for all the tasks I run on the server.
Currently using integrated graphics, I plan to upgrade to a dedicated graphics card in the future for improved multimedia transcoding capabilities.
Equipped with 4 slots, the motherboard supports up to 32GB of RAM. The system came with a 4GB stick, and I added two more 8GB sticks for a total of 20GB. All RAM sticks are ECC Memory to ensure stability, especially since the motherboard supports it.
My storage setup involves a total of 10.5TB, with 5.5TB of usable space. I utilize OpenZFS as the file system, known for its robustness and battle-tested performance.
Here are the disks I'm using:
I use the 500GB SSD for the OS, and the 4TB drives are in a mirror, along with the 1TB drives in another mirror. This effectively creates a 5TB pool, acting like a RAID-10 configuration. While I plan to add another pair of 4TB drives to expand the pool, it currently meets my hobbyist needs.
To accommodate extra drives beyond the 4 SATA ports, I added a PCI-E SATA Expansion card. The onboard Ethernet port provides internet connectivity, and to address power cut-offs, the system is connected to an external PSU.
In conclusion, my Homelab server, built on the Dell PowerEdge T20, serves my current needs with room for future expansion. Feel free to share your thoughts or ask any questions about my setup.
In the next blog I'll discuss about the Operating System(Linux Duh..) I am using and why. Along with some guides on the setup.