[{"content":"TL;DR: A two-node Proxmox setup powers my home lab. One node runs all my services and experiments, the other acts as a NAS. I keep things organized with VM-based IPs and rely on automated backups so I can tinker without worrying.\nIntroduction Welcome to a tour of my Proxmox home lab! In this post, I\u0026rsquo;ll walk you through all the services I run across my two-node cluster. Everything here is deployed using the excellent Proxmox Helper Scripts, which I rely on not just to spin up containers quickly but also to discover new services to experiment with.\nAfter a fresh Proxmox install, I take care of the usual setup chores, such as disabling the enterprise repository and removing the subscription nag, before building my infrastructure. There is a script that does it.\nNode 1: Primary Services Hub This is my main workhorse node, running production services and serving as a playground for new applications. To keep things organized, I follow a numbering system for VMIDs:\n100–149: Internal services (private, not internet-facing) 150–199: Public-facing services 200+: Full virtual machines The VMID also determines the container’s static IP. For example, VMID 100 becomes 10.0.0.100. This makes it easy to identify and manage everything at a glance.\nEssential Services Here are the services I rely on the most:\nHome Assistant – The backbone of my home automation setup OpenMediaVault – File sharing and storage management IT Tools – A collection of useful development utilities Uptime Kuma – Monitors service uptime and health Beyond these, I also run various experimental services that are “good to have” when needed.\nCentralized Dashboard I use Homepage as my dashboard, providing quick access to all services while showing real-time status. It makes spotting issues instant and convenient.\nSingle Sign-On (SSO) Experiments I’m exploring SSO for my lab. Keycloak is my current setup, but I recently discovered PocketID, which offers passkey-based authentication via OIDC. I’m still testing which option fits best.\nPackage Tracking One fun automation I built uses Change Detection to track package deliveries. Here’s how it works:\nCreate a monitor for the tracking page URL Check the page every 30 minutes during the expected delivery window Receive a Telegram alert the moment the keyword \u0026ldquo;Delivered\u0026rdquo; appears This saves me from constantly refreshing pages and I know when my package arrives.\nNode 2: Dedicated Storage \u0026amp; Fedora Testing This node is purpose-built for storage. It runs OpenMediaVault with:\nA 1TB drive for storage A separate OS disk Shared folders are accessible from both my laptop and Windows 11 workstation. WiFi works fine for everyday tasks, but for large file transfers, I connect via LAN to reach 100 Mbps. This node serves as my archive for important data.\nFedora Workstation Playground I also run a Fedora instance here to explore the latest updates. As a Red Hatter, it feels wrong not to.\nBackup Strategy: Safety First Backups are critical. I use Proxmox Backup Server with the following setup:\nSchedule: Nightly incremental backups Retention: 1 daily backup 1 weekly backup 1 monthly backup Storage: Backups reside on the NAS-connected drive This approach provides multiple restore points, letting me roll back to any specific day, week, or month. Incremental backups save space while ensuring nothing important is lost.\nConclusion From a single Raspberry Pi to a two-node Proxmox cluster, my home lab has grown into a bit more reliable setup now. The Proxmox Helper Scripts make service deployment easy and repeatable, while my backup strategy allows me to experiment without worry.\nWhat\u0026rsquo;s Next? In upcoming posts, I’ll be documenting:\nHome automation, where the real fun begins ","permalink":"https://piyushlabs.us/2026/01/inside-my-proxmox-home-lab-two-nodes-endless-possibilities/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTL;DR:\u003c/strong\u003e A two-node Proxmox setup powers my home lab. One node runs all my services and experiments, the other acts as a NAS. I keep things organized with VM-based IPs and rely on automated backups so I can tinker without worrying.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"introduction\"\u003eIntroduction\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWelcome to a tour of my Proxmox home lab! In this post, I\u0026rsquo;ll walk you through all the services I run across my two-node cluster. Everything here is deployed using the excellent \u003ca href=\"https://community-scripts.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u003eProxmox Helper Scripts\u003c/a\u003e, which I rely on not just to spin up containers quickly but also to discover new services to experiment with.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Inside My Proxmox Home Lab: Two Nodes, Endless Possibilities"},{"content":"TL;DR: Upgraded from a single Raspberry Pi to a multi-node homelab featuring 3x HP ProDesk Mini PCs and a Lenovo ThinkCentre, running Proxmox for virtualization with Tailscale VPN for remote access. One node serves as a Windows 11 Pro workstation, while the other two form a Proxmox cluster for running self-hosted services and NAS.\nThe Journey Begins This is my second attempt at building a homelab. My first setup was a single Raspberry Pi running a few containers, but it quickly hit its limits. This time, I’m scaling it into a more structured setup and documenting the journey along the way.\nThe Hardware Let\u0026rsquo;s go through the hardware. I sourced these before memory and storage prices saw a steep rise over the last 10 months. I was lucky enough to find most of these on Facebook Marketplace.\nMy Current Setup 3x HP ProDesk 400 G5 Desktop Mini\nCPU: Intel Core i3-9100T @ 3.10GHz RAM: 8GB / 16GB / 20GB (varies by unit) Storage: 256GB to 1TB 1x Raspberry Pi 4 Model B\nCPU: Broadcom BCM2711, Quad core Cortex-A72 (ARM v8) 64-bit SoC @ 1.5GHz RAM: 8GB Storage: 64GB 1x Lenovo ThinkCentre M910q Tiny Desktop Mini PC\nCPU: Intel Core i7-6700 @ 3.40GHz RAM: 16GB Storage: 500GB This is what a 1-liter mini PC looks like from the inside. It has two RAM slots, one 2.5-inch SATA bay, and one NVMe drive slot.\nSetup Strategy Machine 1: Primary Workstation (HP ProDesk) I set up one of the HP machines as my primary PC, running Windows 11 Pro for day-to-day use. The Pro version allows remote access via Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), so I don’t need to switch between display, mouse, and keyboard. I can access it from my laptop or even my phone.\nWhen I’m away from home, I use Tailscale VPN to securely connect to my local network and continue working.\nAdvantages:\nWindows 11 Pro with RDP support Tailscale VPN for secure remote access Access from any device Machines 2 \u0026amp; 3: Proxmox Cluster (2x HP ProDesk) In my previous Raspberry Pi setup, I installed Ubuntu directly and ran a few containers on top. While it worked, A few instances where I had to restart from scratch when something broke at the OS level.\nThis time, I wanted a proper virtualization setup that could handle both containers and full VMs with better isolation and flexibility.\nI chose Proxmox VE and installed it on both HP machines, connecting them into a small cluster. This allows me to manage both nodes from a single interface.\nWhy Proxmox over a standard Linux setup? In my previous setup, if something broke at the OS level, I often had to reinstall the OS and manually set everything up again. While Docker helped, recovery was still time-consuming. With Proxmox, I can take snapshots of VMs and containers and restore them quickly.\nProxmox makes it easy to manage and restart machines through a UI without needing physical access.\nSome services, like Home Assistant, offer better compatibility and more features when run as a full VM instead of a container.\nCluster Purpose:\nNode 1: Running and experimenting with self-hosted services Node 2: Dedicated NAS setup to separate storage from workloads This dashboard shows both nodes in the cluster and gives a quick overview of resource usage and status.\nMachines 4: (Lenovo ThinkCentre) This is a spare hardware for now, I’ll figure out how to put it to use later.\nMachines 5: (Raspberry) Still TBD. Might turn it into a local DNS server.\nWhat\u0026rsquo;s Next? In upcoming posts, I’ll be documenting:\nSpecific tools and applications I’m running ","permalink":"https://piyushlabs.us/2026/01/goodbye-raspberry-pi-hello-proxmox/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTL;DR:\u003c/strong\u003e Upgraded from a single Raspberry Pi to a multi-node homelab featuring 3x HP ProDesk Mini PCs and a Lenovo ThinkCentre, running Proxmox for virtualization with Tailscale VPN for remote access. One node serves as a Windows 11 Pro workstation, while the other two form a Proxmox cluster for running self-hosted services and NAS.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"the-journey-begins\"\u003eThe Journey Begins\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is my second attempt at building a homelab. My first setup was a single Raspberry Pi running a few containers, but it quickly hit its limits. This time, I’m scaling it into a more structured setup and documenting the journey along the way.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Goodbye Raspberry Pi, Hello Proxmox"}]