Welcome to the rack. You can call it a "Homelab" if you like. This rack setup was fully constructed by me. Size is 42U.
​With the exception of a few items this was fully pieced together using used or open box products.

The rack is an always in progress project. New additions, modifications, and upgrades often appear. 

Explore the image and description layout of the rack below: (Better pictures coming soon)

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CradlePoint AER2200-1200M-B - (used as 4G/5G modem with Verizon)
This provides a backup WAN in case Spectrum goes down (which happens often)

3 Thor HDMI to RF Coax Encoders (4 streams total)
These feed the RF signal via Coax into HDHomerun modulators, which adds custom channels into our TV infrastructure. More on that to come... keep reading!

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​Headless Desktops (5 total):
These are in process of being fully utilized. Overall they run many functions. I will update this when they are fully ready. They also provide me a great resource for fixing/changing things on the home network as I can remote into them (via AnyDesk) when away from home. 








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Servers:

Dell PowerEdge R410
The first Dell PowerEdge R410 runs ESXi. The following VMs are hosted with ESXi:

>Windows 10 Backup Machine
This runs scheduled tasks to backup content on NAS 1 and 2 to a cloud source. 

>Windows 10 Machine. Accessible with RDP on my other computers. I use a Mac as my daily driver, so this is helpful when a Windows machine is needed.  

>Basic Windows 10 machine running a free program called "IP Watcher". This application emails/texts me when my IP changes. I do not have a static IP address and if my IP changes, it will cause my offsite Radius (via JumpCloud) to stop working. I use Radius for authentication of WiFi devices, so it is important that it keeps working.

>Windows 10 machine for OBS

>HomeAssistant - Runs home automations in the house. Also has HomeBridge for non-HomeKit devices to be accessible with HomeKit. 

Chenbro NR12000
This runs my secondary Open Media Vault (OMV) NAS. This is eventually going to be phased out now with the Synology setup. 

Raspberry Pi Mount #1:
Contains 4 Raspberry Pi 4's.
These run TinyPilot. TinyPilot is amazing software that turns your Raspberry Pi into an IP KVM. 
Here is what they control:

TinyPilot #1:
Connected to my Mac Mini (2012).

TinyPilot #2:
Connected to my Mac Mini M1 (2021).

TinyPilot #3:
Connected to old MacBook for Apple Content Caching.

TinyPilot #4:
Connected to Dell PowerEdge R410.

Mac Mini Enclosure:
This enclosure contains 2 Mac Minis. Here is what they do:


​First Mac Mini is an 2012 model that runs "Harmony Bridge". This is a Mac application that bridges Logitech Harmony Hubs into HomeKit.  

Second Mac Mini is a 2020 M1 chip model. This one is more used for testing and in reserve for a future project at this point. 

Raspberry Pi Mount #2:
This mount contains 4 Raspberry Pis. Here is what they do:

Pi Hole #1:
Pi Hole primary DNS Server with network wide ad blocker.

Pi Hole #2:
Pi Hole secondary DNS Server with network wide ad blocker.

Cacti:
This is a network monitoring tool. The feature I am currently using is based on Ping. It pings specified network devices to track uptime and let me know if the device or service goes offline. It also creates uptime graphs and supports a plethora of more features that I hope to learn in the future!

Channels DVR Server:
This runs the Channels DVR Server. Channels DVR configures TVE (via Spectrum Cable) and Over the Air (OTA) channels to be accessed via the Channels app on Apple TV. Each TV in our home has an Apple TV attached to it. This also provides the ability to record content either from TVE or OTA. This cuts the cost of Spectrum service greatly as you do not need to pay for cable boxes. 
Not pictured: External Hard Drive:
This is the boot drive for the Channels DVR server. It connects via USB to the Raspberry Pi. 



Raspberry Pi Mount #3:

DakBoard DSP1:
This provides a dashboard (family photos, WiFi login info, etc.) via DakBoard. The HDMI output of the Raspberry Pi is then modulated to RF Coax and sent to a HDHomerun, which then combines the channel (2.1) with our other standard TV channels. 

Free PBX:
This runs the FreePBX phone system. It is currently hosting Lenny (Learn more: www.lennytroll.com). If you would like to talk to Lenny just call: 262-436-1486

Docker:
This runs my primary Docker instance. Still learning docker but this is an 8GB RAM Raspberry Pi Model 4B+ so it has some power to run lots of containers in the future!

Docker (secondary):
For a future project... stay tuned!

Synology DS1821+:
This is my primary NAS. It current has 34 TB of HDD space with around 19 TB usable due to RAID configuration. I store my local media library on here, which is accessible through the Channels app. This is also used for computer backups. 

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Keystone Patch Panel X2
UniFi Switch US-48-500W (Managed Network Switch w/POE):
This is the main switch of the network. It provides ethernet across the house. 
This device provides POE to a camera, AP, most of the Raspberry Pis, and a few other devices. I also have many 8 port POE UniFi switches around the house. 

Keystone Patch Panel
UniFi Switch US-24 (Managed Network Switch w/o POE):
This is a secondary network switch. Nothing special about this but I try to use it for devices that don't need POE to keep more POE ports open (cost savings). 

UniFi Dream Machine Pro (UDM Pro):
This unit is the Router/Firewall. It also is the UniFi Network and UniFi Protect Controller. It takes an incoming connection from Spectrum internet.

UniFi Switch Aggregation (USW-Aggregation):
This unit is used to connect other network switches to the UDM Pro. Link aggregation is setup for switches that support multiple SFP based connections. In the future this could also enable 10GB networking on the Synology NAS. 

VPN Router:
For a future project. Has an VLAN setup on the primary network. 

Fortigate 50B​:
​Got this for a great deal used. Thought it would be a good learning experience. Hoping to get this up and running soon!

Arris Modem:
From Spectrum for primary internet service. Nothing special here :) 

Storage Drawer:
Simply space for keeping screws, zip ties, and more!

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2x CyberPower UPS Backup Power Units:
Every device in the rack is attached to a UPS for backup power. 

Note: Every device is also is plugged into a remotely switchable outlet. This makes for easy power cycling on any device, anywhere in the world. However, the device I am using for this cannot yet be displayed on this website as it is in a prerelease/beta stage and under a NDA. 

You reached the bottom of the rack.