A few years ago I had a couple old and slow Optiplex’s running Hyper-V, with Windows/Linux VM’s, doing things like NPS, AD, etc.

Had some old equipment collecting dust, so I’ve built out a decent homelab and am curious if anyone else has done the same, and if so what are they running on them for fun?

In my new “rack”:

  • PowerEdge R430
    • Running ProxMox, with a Windows VM (DC), and a Linux VM with Docker for Plex
  • EqualLogic PS4100
    • VM storage for both PowerEdge servers (10TB)
  • Ubiquiti EdgeSwitch 24 250w
  • PowerEdge R720
    • Running ProxMox, with some Linux VM’s, most utilizing Docker for Plex “assistance/automations” (ahem), NextCloud for phone photo backup and wife’s photography, and another DC as a failover of R430’s DC.
  • Schroeder
    2•1 year ago

    I really like the portable rack config! That would be ideal!!

    Very similar set up:

    • Dell R440 (local storage, sadly)
    • Ubiquiti USW-24
    • Low-end Antsle D for random container & VM shenanigans.

    I’d like to mess around more with a Pi cluster (or some other low power/RISC setup) or an Intel NUC to keep the noise and power consumption down.

      • Schroeder
        1•11 months ago

        It changes from time to time, but it’s usually ESXi/vCenter (VMUG Advantage is worth getting to get some vmware drive time, especially if you can snag it through work or school) running some basic VMs for a print server and other random stuff I happen to be messing with. The Antsle has turned into a sandbox for containers and learning more about docker/kubernetes.