The Homelab
I don’t regret the money I spent on making my homelab.
First of all, it is hosting this very website. All sites, and the whole internet, runs on computers just like this. Well, not exactly like this, most are much newer and nicer. My site runs on a container (essentially a virtual computer that is only powerful enough to run a couple apps or services). That container is on the big Dell PE T610 pictured above in all its glory.
The Dell was new in 2010. Equipped as I have it now, with two Xeon processors, it would have cost far more than I could have dreamed of. Ten years old, however… it was one of the cheapest computers I have ever bought.
Of the eleven hard drives in my lab, the Dell houses nine. It provides network storage for Liz and I to backup our data, hosts a video library that we can watch on our television, serves as an automatic backup location for all of the pictures I take on my phone, filters ads out of my internet connection, hosts this website, and provides me with extra resources to experiment with.
My Dell server is the computer that finally convinced me to try and get a career in technology.
I love it. I have always loved it. Ever since I had money of my own to spend, I’ve been building computers and tinkering with them. But, before the Dell, I never thought I could really make a job of it. Since the decision to move forward with my career in technology, I have spent countless hours in online courses, cloud applications, Reddit threads, and watching YouTube videos that teach me how to run my lab better. Now, in May 2021, fifteen months after buying the Dell off of Craigslist, I got my first job in tech support.
I have a lot to learn. The enterprise world is a lot different than running a home network, and that excites me. Every day there is something new to learn, something different to try, a new challenge to overcome. I cannot wait to see what lies over the horizon.
I don’t regret the money I spent on making my homelab because it ignites a passion in me to keep learning and trying new things.
