Creating your dream home lab can include a lot of money, electricity, time, and hardware purchases, but it can be worthwhile if you want to ditch subscriptions and self-host as much as possible. What you're guaranteed to encounter is problems. Whether this be power outages, the lack of any backups for a sudden system failure, or getting lost down the package rabbit hole with countless dependency issues, we've collated some problems you may face and how to solve them.
7 Using your ISP router
It's good, but not great
The router that arrives from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) is good enough for basic use and smaller households, but you may encounter issues with the hardware when setting up a home lab. Networking is part of the fun when it comes to configuring your home lab. I bet your ISP-provided router doesn't even have 2.5Gb networking or Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) support. This is what using OPNsense or some other software on custom hardware can solve.
Don't worry if you don't wish to build your firewall and router as many aftermarket solutions will also work fine.
How I made the ultimate firewall for my home with OPNsense
Armed with tons of security provisions, OPNsense is an amazing firewall OS for your home network
How to easily replace your ISP router with a custom OPNsense firewall
Easily create your own router with this free open-source software
6 Not planning for power outages
99.9% uptime or bust
An Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) is a smart power extension with an integrated battery pack. It's recommended for general use with networking hardware, let alone home lab equipment. Even if you don't have any dedicated systems for your home lab, using a UPS can allow your LAN to remain online for valuable minutes, if not hours. A UPS can be picked up for less than $100, especially during promotions such as Amazon Prime Day. Keep an eye out and add one to your tech arsenal.
A UPS is the best thing in my setup
Having an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) isn't just for the home lab; it's the most critical part of my computing setup. I recently moved into a new subdivision, and between the additional strain on the local grid and odd weather patterns, I get frequent brownouts or minor overnight outages. That's fine when I'm not using my computer; otherwise, it's a big issue that often leads to lost data. Now, it's a thing of the past, with a 1300W UPS smoothing out those minor blips. It might not be a cheap fix, but it's essential for anyone using a desktop instead of a laptop for their work-from-home job.
5 Package and dependency mess
Use Docker containers
If you've never heard of Docker or containerization, don't worry as it's not common knowledge outside communities focused on self-hosting and home lab. These are essentially packages containing apps and all their dependencies. For instance, if you wanted to install Apache, MySQL, and PHP to run a website, you'd have to install each package separately. A Docker container with all three included can be deployed instantly and is isolated so it doesn't share much with other containers or the underlying OS.
Managing various apps and services without containerization or VMs (such as Proxmox) can be a pain, especially if you want to keep dependencies on a specific version. Because each dependency is included within the container, you can keep everything tidy.
4 Buying hardware you don't require
No, you don't need a 24-core server
It's easy to get lost shopping classified websites for old server hardware. You can find some epic deals on older systems that offer specific features tailored to home lab use, including Error Checking Code (ECC) RAM support, multi-CPU motherboards, compact rack form factors, and redundant power supplies. The question is; do you truly require this level of hardware? Having a server cabinet full of systems running a few services may sound like fun, but wait until you receive your utility bill.
Start small with a compact NAS, Raspberry Pi, and other affordable devices that don't suck up much power. Once you've gotten the hang of home lab deployments and management, it may be time to launch a full-size server.
Assuming you find them for cheap, server PCs can double as solid budget-friendly gaming systems
After waiting for several weeks, I was finally able to grab an outdated dual-Xeon CPU and motherboard combo for dirt cheap prices from a local retailer back in July, and I'm really glad I bought it for my home lab. While it usually serves as my Proxmox workstation, it also makes for a killer NAS thanks to its multiple SATA slots and support for ECC memory. Heck, it's even possible to game on this old system. Considering that I snagged this thing for less than $150, I'd say server PCs can even double as budget-friendly gaming systems, provided you pair them with a semi-decent GPU and can deal with the weaker single-core performance of these behemoths.
3 Not doing enough research
YouTube and Reddit are your best friends
YouTube and Reddit can become your best friends for the home lab. NetworkChuck is a fantastic resource for configuring a reliable and robust network. The /r/homelab subreddit is a gold mine of posts covering problems, suggestions, advice requests, and more. If you're struggling to work something out, don't feel bad for asking a question and throwing it out there. While there's plenty of documentation available, you'll always be learning new things.
2 Troubleshooting the same problems
Document everything
Encountering the same problems and errors? You may want to start documenting everything. We've covered some impressively convenient software such as Obsidian, which can create network schematics, log code to fix known problems, and more. It's also great for allowing others to quickly apply fixes, which can be handy when an issue arises and you're unavailable.
How I set up a local wiki for my projects using Obsidian
My secret weapon for project mastery
1 Not having any backups
This is an easy one to fix
Look, I know how mundane backups sound and it's not the most exciting thing to do with your home lab, but you must back everything up. I'm talking devices to a NAS or some form of network storage and then this server needs to be backed up too. A home lab will consist of many moving parts (though often figuratively) including switches, access points, firewalls, Docker containers, virtual machines, and physical systems. Something can (and eventually will) go wrong.
Ensure you have copies of any configuration files that can be extracted from systems and follow the 3-2-1 backup rule.
5 reasons you need to set up cold storage for your backups
Having backups of any kind is good, but cold storage can be preferable in certain ways
Start small, think big
Anyone with a well-established home lab will tell you to start with small instances, systems, and networks. Plan everything out accordingly and include everything you plan on self-hosting further down the line. This could be everything from an email server to websites for the family, media streaming to replace monthly subscriptions, and Nextcloud to bring all your documents and contacts in-house. There's no wrong way to build a home lab. What works for others may not do so for yourself.