Part 2 of my Talos homelab (3 OptiPlex Micros, all control planes). Part 1 got the cluster up, this one is networking.

I moved the running cluster from Flannel + kube-proxy to Cilium without rebuilding it. The default-deny policy that Flannel quietly ignored is now actually enforced, and Hubble shows the drops.

Then I gave it two front doors:

- an internal Gateway on a LAN IP (Cilium LB IPAM, no MetalLB) with a Let's Encrypt wildcard cert, so lab apps get real HTTPS at home

- a public Gateway behind a single Cloudflare Tunnel, so nothing is port-forwarded on the router

An app picks its door with the route's parentRef, which keeps lab stuff from going public by accident.

Write-up with all the manifests and commands: https://blog.prateekjain.dev/networking-a-kubernetes-homelab-cilium-gateway-api-and-cloudflare-tunnel-on-talos-362f548a2f3d?sk=d454cd4eaff4ce8a8fd0cd8e6b3d82f6

Curious if anyone else is using Cilium's Gateway API instead of a separate ingress controller.

I wanted a small environment where I could experiment with the parts of platform engineering that are harder to appreciate in a local single-node cluster, especially networking, HA, failure handling, GitOps, observability, storage, upgrades, and security.

So I built a 3-node bare-metal Kubernetes homelab using Talos Linux on refurbished mini PCs.

The setup includes:

• 3 control-plane + etcd nodes
• a shared Kubernetes API VIP for HA
• DHCP reservations for predictable node IPs
• per-node Talos machine configs
• workloads scheduled on the control-plane nodes
• failure testing by taking a node offline and verifying the API stays reachable

I documented the full setup, including the network design, Talos installation, config generation, bootstrap, validation, workload testing, and HA checks.

Blog: https://blog.prateekjain.dev/building-a-3-node-highly-available-kubernetes-homelab-with-talos-linux-0372066fe49c?sk=4c66cf9181999f9db19ac3aacabcd8e8

I’m planning to use this next for Argo CD, Gateway API, observability, storage, secrets, and more platform-engineering experiments.

Would be interested to know what others here are using for their local platform engineering labs.

I recently set up a 3-node Kubernetes homelab on bare metal (on Dell OptiPlex) using Talos Linux, mainly to have a proper environment for learning, testing failures, networking, storage, GitOps, observability, and general Kubernetes experiments.

The setup uses three control-plane/etcd nodes with a shared Kubernetes API VIP, and I documented the full process from network planning and DHCP reservations to Talos installation, per-node configs, bootstrap, workload scheduling, and HA testing.

I’ve written the full guide with commands, screenshots, and the reasoning behind the setup:

Blog: https://blog.prateekjain.dev/building-a-3-node-highly-available-kubernetes-homelab-with-talos-linux-0372066fe49c?sk=4c66cf9181999f9db19ac3aacabcd8e8

If anyone is planning a similar homelab or has questions around Talos, the API VIP, etcd quorum, or the setup in general, happy to help.

I recently set up a 3-node Kubernetes homelab on bare metal (on Dell OptiPlex) using Talos Linux, mainly to have a proper environment for learning, testing failures, networking, storage, GitOps, observability, and general Kubernetes experiments.

The setup uses three control-plane/etcd nodes with a shared Kubernetes API VIP, and I documented the full process from network planning and DHCP reservations to Talos installation, per-node configs, bootstrap, workload scheduling, and HA testing.

I’ve written the full guide with commands, screenshots, and the reasoning behind the setup:

Blog: https://blog.prateekjain.dev/building-a-3-node-highly-available-kubernetes-homelab-with-talos-linux-0372066fe49c?sk=4c66cf9181999f9db19ac3aacabcd8e8

If anyone is planning a similar homelab or has questions around Talos, the API VIP, etcd quorum, or the setup in general, happy to help.

I recently set up a 3-node Kubernetes homelab on bare metal (on Dell OptiPlex) using Talos Linux, mainly to have a proper environment for learning, testing failures, networking, storage, GitOps, observability, and general Kubernetes experiments.

The setup uses three control-plane/etcd nodes with a shared Kubernetes API VIP, and I documented the full process from network planning and DHCP reservations to Talos installation, per-node configs, bootstrap, workload scheduling, and HA testing.

I’ve written the full guide with commands, screenshots, and the reasoning behind the setup:

Blog: https://blog.prateekjain.dev/building-a-3-node-highly-available-kubernetes-homelab-with-talos-linux-0372066fe49c?sk=4c66cf9181999f9db19ac3aacabcd8e8

If anyone is planning a similar homelab or has questions around Talos, the API VIP, etcd quorum, or the setup in general, happy to help.

A few days ago, I posted my 3-node Talos Kubernetes homelab setup here, and quite a few people reached out through DMs and comments asking for a detailed installation guide.

So I went through the entire setup again from scratch and documented the process properly, including the network setup, DHCP reservations, Talos installation, per-node configuration, Kubernetes API VIP, etcd bootstrap, workload scheduling, validation, and failure testing.

I’ve put everything together in a detailed blog with commands, screenshots, and the reasoning behind the setup.

Blog: https://blog.prateekjain.dev/building-a-3-node-highly-available-kubernetes-homelab-with-talos-linux-0372066fe49c?sk=4c66cf9181999f9db19ac3aacabcd8e8

Please check it out, and if you have any questions about the setup or run into issues while building something similar, feel free to ask.

A few days ago, I posted my 3-node Talos Kubernetes homelab setup here, and quite a few people reached out through DMs and comments asking for a detailed installation guide.

So I went through the entire setup again from scratch and documented the process properly, including the network setup, DHCP reservations, Talos installation, per-node configuration, Kubernetes API VIP, etcd bootstrap, workload scheduling, validation, and failure testing.

I’ve put everything together in a detailed blog with commands, screenshots, and the reasoning behind the setup.

Blog: https://blog.prateekjain.dev/building-a-3-node-highly-available-kubernetes-homelab-with-talos-linux-0372066fe49c?sk=4c66cf9181999f9db19ac3aacabcd8e8

Please check it out, and if you have any questions about the setup or run into issues while building something similar, feel free to ask.

I recently completed the full Kubestronaut certification path after roughly three months of focused preparation.

After completing it, quite a few people reached out asking about the order I followed, the resources I used, and how I prepared for each exam, so I decided to put everything together in one detailed blog rather than answering the same questions separately.

For KCNA and KCSA, my preparation was fairly straightforward and mainly consisted of the KodeKloud courses, KodeKloud notes, and practice tests, while CKAD, CKA, and especially CKS required much more hands-on practice with labs, mock exams, and repeated work on weaker areas.

I’ve also included links to my dedicated CKAD, CKA, and CKS exam-experience posts for anyone who wants a deeper breakdown of those exams.

Full 3-month Kubestronaut journey:
https://medium.com/@prateekjain.dev/my-3-month-journey-to-becoming-a-kubestronaut-c722c4a7cf75?sk=eb78b3ef703262f787f746cc6969d8f1

Hopefully this helps anyone currently working towards the Kubestronaut path. Happy to answer questions about the preparation or any of the five exams.

Been slowly putting this setup together and it has somehow turned into a mix of a work desk, gaming setup, and homelab.

The main machine is currently running Omarchy and handles most of my personal development, homelab management, and gaming.

Main PC

• AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
• NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti
• MSI MAG X870E Tomahawk WiFi
• 64GB Patriot Viper Venom RGB DDR5-6000 CL30
• Crucial T500 2TB Gen4 NVMe
• Corsair Nautilus 360 RS ARGB AIO
• MSI MAG A850GL PCIe 5.0 850W 80+ Gold PSU
• MSI MAG PANO 100R PZ case

Displays / work / gaming setup

• LG 32" 4K 60Hz as the main display — company provided, so I have no idea what the exact model is 😅
• BenQ 27" 1080p 75Hz in portrait mode
• 2023 MacBook Pro with M2 Pro — company machine
• AULA F75 Max keyboard
• Logitech MX Master 3S for Mac
• iPad Pro 11" 2021
• GameSir Cyclone 2 controller
• Soundcore Q20i headphones

And then there is the little cluster sitting on the right.

Homelab

• 3× refurbished Dell OptiPlex 3070 Micro
• Intel Core i5-8500T in each
• 8GB DDR4 each
• 256GB SATA SSD each
• 1GbE networking

Naturally, I couldn't just call them node-1, node-2 and node-3:

• Optimus
• Bumblebee
• Ratchet

Together they form a 3-node bare-metal Talos Linux Kubernetes cluster called cybertron. Networking is currently handled by a Tenda AC10. Nothing fancy, but for three 1GbE nodes and a management workstation it has been good enough so far.

Been using Omarchy recently and decided to make something for the Kubernetes nerds here.

I built a small desktop widget (with Codex, obviously) that shows the status of my K8s cluster at a glance, CPU and memory usage, pods, nodes, workloads, cluster health, and API server latency.

Still experimenting with what else would be useful to show. Thinking about adding things like namespace-level usage, unhealthy pods, restarts, and maybe alerts.

I’m putting together a small 3-node homelab mainly for Kubernetes/Talos, containers, networking experiments, and some HA/storage testing/practice.

Here're the specifications:

- Intel Core i5-8500T
- 8GB DDR4 RAM
- SK hynix 8GB DDR4-2666
- 1×8GB
- New EVM 256GB 2.5” SATA SSD
- Wi-Fi + Bluetooth
- Original adapter
- 1 year warranty

I used Omarchy late last year for a few months but had to move to Windows, but installed Omarchy last night, dual-booted it with Windows. I’ve been running dual-booted systems for more than 10 years now, but the installation experience was never this smooth.

One more thing I fell in love with is that all my Windows Steam and Epic Store games are synced on Omarchy. One of the best features is native AI integration; now I won't have to install Warp terminal separately.