Origins

I’m on the quest to establish a complete self-managed network to tinker, utilize, and learn from. Much of the inspiration for this project comes from this Youtube video by FUTO.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this project didn’t entirely spark from that one Youtube video. But that video did what all the subreddits, forums, and other online communities couldn’t do. It took every snippet and chunk of how-to’s that I’ve read and been collecting into a single walk-through video. Amazing. Easy to say I became a big fan of FUTO after that.

Progress

This project is very much still a work in progress. I’ve been working on it for a month now and I’ve made a lot of progress. I’ve got a lot of the hardware setup and I’ve been working on the software. Specifically, I have PfSense setup on a BeeLink mini PC and I’m still working on finalizing OpenVPN. I have all the components needed to have a rudimentary working homelab. Really, the goal is to get something working and learn about the components and how they work together as I go.

When this project is complete, I’ll have much better documentation of how it all got put together that I’ll post here.

These are the tools I’ve been using and plan to useto build my homelab.

Inventory

Tools

  • Data Cable Tester (need to test)
    • Can test CAT5e, CAT6, CAT6A, and RJ45 cables
  • Modular Plug Crimper
  • Soldering tool kit
  • Cable strainers
  • RJ45 Heads
    • a lot
  • Network Cable Tester
  • Impact Punchdown Tool (lookup how to use)
  • Wire/Cable Cutters
  • Gaobige Network Tool Kit
    • ethernet crimping tool
    • network cable tester
    • wire stripper
    • flat/cross screwdrivers
    • phone cable and regular rj45 connectors

External Storage:

  • 2 x Sandisk 64GB USB drives
  • Kingston 32 GB USB drive
    • Has Ubuntu Distro on it
  • Samsung T9 SSD 1TB
    • used for complete backups of computers and can be locked
  • Orico Magnetic SSD 1TB
    • used for mobile backups since it works with magsafe

Computers:

  • Raspberry Pi 4 model B
    • 32GB SD card
    • Mini HDMI to HDMI
    • Mini Case
  • iPad Air
    • Model: 5th Gen
    • Storage: 64GB
  • Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon
    • Model: 6th Gen
    • Memory: 16GiB
    • Storage: 512 GB
    • Processor: Intel Core i7-855OU x 8
    • Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620
    • OS: Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS
  • Lenovo Legion
    • Model: Pro 7
    • Memory: 32.0 GB (31.8 GB usable)
    • Storage: 2 TB
    • Processor: 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900HX 2.20 GHz
    • Graphics: NVIDIA Geforce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU
    • OS: Windows 11 Pro
  • iPhone
    • Model: 15 Pro Max
    • Storage: 256 GB
  • Arduino Uno
  • BeeLink EQ14 Mini PC
    • Model: N150
    • Memory: 16 GB DDR4
    • Storage: 500GB (upgradeable)
    • Processor: 3.4 GHz celeron
    • Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics

Networking:

  • 2 x Netgear 5-port G5305 Unmanaged Switches
  • TP-Link MU MMO Wifi Range Extender
  • Ubiquiti Unifi 8-port managed switch
  • NetGear Nighthawk Wifi 6E Router RAXE300
  • PFSense Router - BeeLink EQ14 Mini PC
    • Model: N150
    • Memory: 16 GB DDR4
    • Storage: 500GB (upgradeable)
    • Processor: 3.4 GHz celeron
    • Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics
  • ATT Gateway
  • Synology 2-Bay DiskStation DS224+
    • 2 x Seagate IronWolf 4TB NAS Internal Hard Drives