Spent more on patch panel ports than my actual hardware,
Hi r/minilab! Long time lurker, first time posting a picture of my tiny money pit.
I work in IT support and needed an environment where breaking production doesn't get me in an HR meeting, and breaking stuff actually costs nothing
The Infrastructure (2x i5-6500T | 16GB RAM | 512GB SSD):
IGRIS (The Brain):
Runs the crucial stuff so my partner doesn't complain when the Wi-Fi dies.
LXC: Nginx NPM, AdGuard Home, Homarr, Tailscale (exit node/subnet router)
GENOS (The Heavy Lifter):
Where the actual crimes happen.
OPNsense (Zenarmor + Suricata) keeping my sandbox isolated from the household.
pfSense, Debian, and Windows Server 2022 (100% legitimately licensed for 10 RDS users, trust me 😉).
The "I'll Upgrade Next Month" Network:
Gateway:
MikroTik RB2011 (Dual-WAN set up for when my secondary ISP arrives).
Switching & AP:
A generic TP-Link unmanaged switch and a 10-year-old TP-Link router held together by prayer and AP mode.
Patch Panel:
24 ports for 4 active cables, because aesthetic > necessity.
Public Exposure & Future Plans:
Currently hosting my blog on Ghost via Cloudflare Tunnel in a Debian/Docker VM so I don't have to explain open router ports to my ISP.
Building a dedicated NAS next for Immich + my anime/manga hoard (because I refuses to give Node 1 & 2 storage anxiety).
But fr, I'm Studying for Cloud/Infra Engineering, so Azure hybrid mess-ups are on the horizon.
ISP: 50/25 Mbps - No Hate I'm form South Africa 🇿🇦* (Local LAN: 1 Gbps*)
Be honest: On a scale of "Clean Setup" to "Fire Hazard", how bad is the cable management? Also drop your best budget managed switch recommendations pleaseeee.
I forgot about the UPS. 😭