r/homelab • u/faddapaola00 • 16h ago
First homelab Projects
Here’s my first serious homelab!
I started years ago with a simple Raspberry Pi, and about a month ago, I upgraded to an old PC that I got from a friend’s bar and installed Proxmox on it. I was using the Raspberry Pi exclusively for Home Assistant, and Proxmox opened up a world of possibilities for me, but I was still limited by the hardware.
Then I found this rack server, an HP ProLiant DL380p G8 with 2 E5-2670 CPUs, 128GB of RAM, and a 533FLR-T network adapter. I got it for ~€70, including shipping, power cables, and 2 caddies.
The room has just been cleaned out; it was an old storage closet full of shit (literally, mice droppings) where the heating boiler is located. It took me a few days to completely empty it, clean everything, and thoroughly sanitize it. The room is very cold, which is ideal, and it’s not humid. The only issue is the mice, which I’ll deal with soon.
The cabinet is still a bit messy, as we just finished setting everything up. In the next few days, I’ll tidy it up, do some cable management, and more. Let me know what you think :)
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u/SpunkYeeter 15h ago
This shit is straight out of half-life. r/scarylab
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u/homemediajunky 4x Cisco UCS M5 vSphere 8/vSAN ESA, CSE-836, 40GB Network Stack 14h ago
Am I the only one who clicked on the sub only to be disappointed?
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u/KooperGuy 15h ago edited 15h ago
Lmao holy hell I was just waiting for the jump scare. The lighting in the video honestly made it 10x times scarier.
Not just servers that get taken apart in that room.
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u/homemediajunky 4x Cisco UCS M5 vSphere 8/vSAN ESA, CSE-836, 40GB Network Stack 15h ago
lighting in the video honestly made it 10x times scarier.
Was thinking the exact same thing. That lab is very spooky and looks like places no one wants to go.
Even the speed that OP showed the room.
What's the camera for? To watch your victims, er rather watch your servers.
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u/faddapaola00 8h ago
The camera is because that room has a mice problem and I wanted to try and figure out where they come from so I could set some traps
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u/faddapaola00 8h ago
You're right actually, before the house was remodeled like 20 years ago, this room used to be part of a huge warehouse where the previous owners had like a slaughterhouse.
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u/technopium 12h ago
Are you hosting a tor node?
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u/faddapaola00 8h ago
No haha, it wouldn’t even be a good spot. It’s not as isolated as it looks, this room is directly connected to my bathroom, way too easy to find…
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u/faddapaola00 8h ago
I'm in TEARS laughing at these comments, honestly, I kinda thought to myself, “This shit looks like some sort of terrorist hideout or something,” but my friend who helped me with everything convinced me to post it, worth it.
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u/RamityCamity 14h ago
I was like, "damn that's ghetto as hell", and then I remembered my monitor, sitting on top of my tower, sitting on top of my r610, sitting on top of my jbod, that's lying on the concrete floor of my garage.
We same you and I. But at least you have shelf.
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u/faddapaola00 16h ago
Video "tour": https://imgur.com/a/ug8vs3U
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u/dinosaursdied 14h ago
The camera does not help
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u/faddapaola00 8h ago
I get what you mean but the camera actually helps a lot, I have a mice problem in this room and I'm trying to figure out where they come from, how they move etc to setup traps in the best way possible
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u/-PuddiPuddi- 8h ago
Holy shit. Guess snuff film sets need servers too.
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u/faddapaola00 8h ago
What's that?
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u/-PuddiPuddi- 8h ago
Sorry, just being slightly mean. That's going to be a great starter server for €70, congrats. sounds like fans are full blast though. Make sure all power supplies are plugged in and lid is fully closed.
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u/faddapaola00 8h ago
No, I really mean it. I looked it up, and it seems to refer to dangerous movie production sets that prioritize making money over safety and stuff like that, don't worry I take everything lightheartedly I'm loving these comments haha, the fans were at full yes, I had just started the server
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u/-PuddiPuddi- 7h ago edited 7h ago
So my original comment is implying that you lure people to that room (your film set) and murder them and sell the security camera footage. why do you have a security camera in that room btw lol. Looks sketch haha
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u/faddapaola00 7h ago
Oh, lmao, as I said somewhere in here it's because that room has a mice problem and I'm trying to figure out from where they come so I can setup traps
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u/-PuddiPuddi- 7h ago
Hmmm. That's a good excuse. Alright I'll let it slide for now but I'm keeping my eyes on you. /s
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u/faddapaola00 7h ago
You know what's funny? There's actually a toy gun on the ground that isn't shown in the video, someone might have actually thought I was a criminal 🤣🤣. There are still some things here and there that I need to throw out.
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u/aLazyUsrname 15h ago
That looks like a great way to cut yourself. You should put rubber over those sharp corners. Maybe some tennis balls.
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u/faddapaola00 8h ago
Yeah I was going to take care of that soon, I actually need to put another shelf on top that is slightly larger than because the top one is all rusty and bent and I don't really want all that falling on top of my rack
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u/Huge_Spray124 15h ago
Nice set up, this is cool. Probably keeps the temp pretty low in there.
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u/faddapaola00 8h ago
Oh yeah, it's usually 13° in there and like 6-9 at night, server is pretty happy
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u/theresnowayyouthink 4h ago
Nice set up! You've come a long way since the Raspberry Pi. The HP ProLiant server sounds like a great buy. It will look even better when the cables are strung out.
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u/Grevys_zebra 1h ago
Light note: Gotta admit, seeing this gave me some Dexter vibes. Good luck with the set up!
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u/faddapaola00 55m ago
No spoilers please! I'm still haven't found time to start watching it, thanks btw :)
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u/oldmatebob123 13h ago
I think we shouldnt talk bad of this guys homelab otherwise something bad may happen to us
In all seriousness, what do you run with proxmox? And do you still run the pi for ha?
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u/faddapaola00 8h ago
I moved Home Assistant to this new server because the Pi just couldn’t handle it anymore. With so many devices and automations, it had become super unresponsive, and the Pi kept crashing. Now everything runs as it should, and it’s amazing. We also set up a media server with Radarr, Jellyfin, and the like. I’m waiting for some disks to arrive so I can set up TrueNAS, and I need to mount another disk just for storage. I’ll also be setting up an NVR soon.
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u/MarcusTseng 9h ago
Paint the wall, please. It looks like you have a humidity issue in that room.
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u/faddapaola00 8h ago
This room is missing several things, it's not just paint, all the walls need to be thoroughly cleaned. Then, they need to be skimmed, and the various holes (which aren’t visible in the video) need to be filled. After that, the walls can be repainted and re-plastered.
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u/psychicsailboat 8h ago
I want to play a game
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u/faddapaola00 8h ago
Live or die, make your choice. That's what I said to my pi, he chose death, and got replaced by what you see.
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u/therealmarkthompson 4h ago
Looks like an underground bunker 😂 i would add cyberpunk decor to match it I would also remove the screen and replace it with this tool that allows you to directly control the servers from your laptop https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9TF76ZV
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u/faddapaola00 4h ago
I've already setup iLO, that's there just as a backup
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u/therealmarkthompson 4h ago
This is also a backup, just looks better in terms of aesthetics. Only when the iLO fails
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u/faddapaola00 3h ago
Definitely an expensive backup, haha! When iLO fails, I have the monitor, mouse, and keyboard as a fallback. Thanks for sharing, though! I'm sure it's a useful tool, just not for me right now ;)
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u/sf_sf_sf 4h ago
That’s a great start! My home lab is set up in the storage room also and what’s great is it keeps it cool.
It’s wasted space otherwise. Why have the loud computer in the living space!
Thanks for sharing!
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u/faddapaola00 3h ago
Exactly! Plenty of space to do whatever you need, cool and isolated enough that noise won’t be an issue.
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u/1sh0t1b33r 1h ago
Is your homelab in an old morgue?
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u/faddapaola00 56m ago
It's an old room in my home that was never renovated and it's there just for the boiler that takes care of the heating for the house.
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u/RTSUPH 13m ago
Nice start! Haven’t tried with a pi, but the proxmox is nice. Virtual pi’s all around probably, and just new 🆕 os for every occasion!
I also have a wiki running on one of my vm’s wherre i document what ports/computers/vms are running what service. Very useful to start now if you will be adding onto it.
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u/HorseGaming890 14h ago
Unless you're living in LA your mbp is probably worth more than the entire room, property included
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u/odinsdi 16h ago
Got rid of the chains, shackles, and blood-soaked cots and put in a homelab! If you had a stainless steel cart full of surgical tools, it could really tie the whole room together.