Taking the plunge AKA 'Home Lab'

[db2995]

Hello,Looking to take the plunge and setup my own home lab to try and gain some new experiences and learn things that I wouldn't normally get the chance to learn on a day to day basis.Basically, I'm looking to setup a home lab to cover the following and just wondering how you folks did it. Not after a puppy walk as such and currently reading up about things online (part of the fun I suppose) but more so advice in terms of the required hardware, software etc.

 

- Networking

- Virtualisation

- Storage

- Windows Server (AD, GPO, DCHP, DNS and the rest..........)

 

In terms of hardware / software (left some out as I'm a bit unsure of what route to go down), I know that I will need the following:

 

- Router (already supplied for Home Broadband unless I need another one!)

- Switches (got a tonne of old ones at work in the store)

- Software / OS (Should be covered by MS for evaluation copies etc, just wondering what route to go down for Hypervisor software and maybe backups and AV)In terms of the actual Hardware to host the Hypervisor and OS, I'm looking to go down the bare-metal route for the Hypervisor to Virtually host my servers. What hardware would you folks recommend for this? What else would you's recommend for backups? Many thanks for taking the time to read this and apologies if I come across as a bit daft. Just very keen to look into it and hopefully, start learning and experimenting.

 

All the best!

Dave

Edited January 24, 2018 by db2995

[ADMaster]

In my experience doing a full home lab / having a domain for home use is overkill.

If you have a decent spec machine you can install virtual box (free) and test things out there. Then just shut them down when your done.

 

Most MS software has a 180 day eval license.

There is also Microsoft Academy that provides access to virtual labs.

 

That should get you started on Windows Servers anyway.

 

If you want to learn virtualization, what platform? The concepts are the same, just different terminology.

Again if you have a decent spec Windows machine you should be able to install hyper-v even on client OS. I think you need pro though.

 

VMware used to provide esxi free, I'm sure they still do, but I've been on Hyper-v for several years now. It doesn't have any of the bells and whistles just a plain bare metal hyper-visor.

 

Then there is Xen an OSS hyper-visor, I've never used it though.

 

Storage and networking would probably be the most expensive to play with, but if you have access to the hardware great.

 

Cisco has their packet tracer software that will allow you to learn switching a routing on your PC.

 

Good Luck

[computer_expert]

If you are looking for a second hand server, make sure you get a 12th gen dell (e.g. Rx20 for rack or Tx20 for tower) or HP gen8 or newer. You could go down a generation to 11th gen dell/HP G7 but just be aware that ESXi will flash up a message during install warning that the CPUs are unsupported (but ESXi will still work).

 

I'd go dell if you can as they are less fussy with hard drives and you are able to get firmware/bios updates that aren't put behind a paywall like HP stuff is. I've found HP kit to ramp the fan speed up (= more noise!) as soon as you start using non HP stuff in them too.

Edited January 25, 2018 by computer_expert

[PotNoodleTech]

You can pick up cheap server hardware from places like bargainhardware or ITinStock - but server hardware is usually loud/power hungry so it depends if you want that in your house or if you have a nice garage or shed it can go in.

 

I am doing the opposite as me and my techie both don't have room in our houses for a lab - I am building one in the corner of our office for us both to train on!

[pete]

I'm still using Intel NUCs. The newest is restricted to 32GB RAM, (older is 16GB) but with a couple of SSDs they do everything I care about and don't clutter up the office. Base hypervisor is VMWare on one and Ubuntu on the other.

 

Currently playing around with Docker swarm when the mood takes me.

[robk]

Something like a bargain hardware hp z600 would give you a good starting point. I have one running the windows 10 microsoft labs in hyper-v. Disk io could be faster but the cost of an ssd would have put the cost up.

[SHimmer45]

i have a couple of HP microservers (GEN7 N40L and N36L) and a 3com SS4500 and a whitebox for a storage location and it seems to work alright and was pretty cheap and compact.

not long set it up but will be used to lab 2012r2 fail over etc. (likely move over to 2016 at some point as i can then run hyper-v within hyper-v)

if i could fit more ram without costing an arm and a leg i would but not really an option atm

 

what ever you choose SSD is the way to go for disk storage for your VM

[SHimmer45]

bargainhardware --> some good stuff like

Cheap E5-2600 Sixteen Core Cloud Foxconn Server (Configure-To-Order)

[Davit2005]

I'm still using Intel NUCs. The newest is restricted to 32GB RAM, (older is 16GB) but with a couple of SSDs they do everything I care about and don't clutter up the office. Base hypervisor is VMWare on one and Ubuntu on the other.

 

Currently playing around with Docker swarm when the mood takes me.

 

Another vote for a NUC as a Lab ESXi server. I've got a NUC6i5 at home, 32GB Ram, M.2 SSD for boot/VMs and an additional 1TB HDD for VMs. You can attach extra NICs for networking with a few hacks.

 

The below link is a good resource:

 

VMware Homeserver ? ESXi on 7th Gen Intel NUC (Kaby Lake) | Virten.net

 

If you want to learn more about networking etc then take a look at Eli the Computer guy YouTube channel, some decent info.

 

As others have mentioned a 2nd hand MicroServer (or even new) may well be cheaper when you cost in the NUC, RAM and Storage.

Edited January 25, 2018 by Davit2005

[SHimmer45]

id have some NUC's if they werent so expensive

[Davit2005]

id have some NUC's if they werent so expensive

 

The things that NUCs have going for them is low power consumption, near silent and small footprint. They are limited when it comes to extra NICs without hacks and internal storage space.

 

If power consumption or noise is not an issue then get a 2nd hand decent 2U dell, HP or IBM that is compatible with your chosen hypervisor or OS. You should be able to get a decent server for a couple of hundred quid.

 

If you are not running 24/7 then the power consumption or noise should not matter.

Edited January 26, 2018 by Davit2005

[Bedders]

As I've upgraded my gaming rig over the years, the spare parts have been assembled to form my 'server'.

 

AMD Phenom II x6 1100t-be, 16GB DDR3 RAM, 128GB OCZ SSD, 2 x 3TB WD Red HDD's in RAID 1. Currently running Windows Server 2012 R2 with Hyper-V installed, and the File-Sharing role as a backup for my photos.

[jmak]

On a slightly different note, you mentioned using your ISP provided router for the networking part of your lab. Obviously it'll let you put your server on your home network, but it'd be quite surprising if it let you do any significant configuration. You'll either want a software based one to run in a VM on your shiny new/old server or an emulator or pick up a second hand enterprise router from fleabay. You might want to focus on one area at a time though....

[SHimmer45]

just got this lot chucked in the garage lets me get a feel for HA clustering etc its not that quick (the whitebox storage is only on 100mb and a couple of 7200 disks) but it works

[mavhc]

If you have a old cisco router or similar, you can run a lan within your home lan, and play with configuring external, ie from your normal lan, access.

 

Eg normal lan is 192.168.0.0/24, home lab is 10.0.0.0/24, with an "external" ip of 192.168.0.10

 

And then dhcp etc won't screw up your home lan

[googlemad]

I used to think about all this many years ago, now my personal time is definitely enjoyed away from computer bits!

 

The best training for me these days is experience, learning from each job that comes my way which is a lot more useful in my job than learning about that wonderful Contoso organization!

[SHimmer45]

I used to think about all this many years ago, now my personal time is definitely enjoyed away from computer bits!

 

The best training for me these days is experience, learning from each job that comes my way which is a lot more useful in my job than learning about that wonderful Contoso organization!

 

[negativemode0unfortunately i have little choice as the scope of my IT Support role presently cover anything interesting and spend most my time changing toner and restoring ipads[/negativemode]

 

so its the best way for me to attempt to stay "current" or at least have a reasonable overview of technology which i might come across in a new post (desperately searching for one)

[Davit2005]

[negativemode0unfortunately i have little choice as the scope of my IT Support role presently cover anything interesting and spend most my time changing toner and restoring ipads[/negativemode]

 

so its the best way for me to attempt to stay "current" or at least have a reasonable overview of technology which i might come across in a new post (desperately searching for one)

 

This is mostly the problem, some times it is a time issue sometimes it is a restrictive issue.

 

First job I had in IT I had no time to learn and no exposure of Active Directory or Group policy my only option was to build a home lab and home study for an MCP, it is because of this I got my second job in IT and had lot more exposure and given a lot more freedom. I still do home labs now because I have no exposure to the technologies I used to work with, so jus to try keep the knowledge up to date.

Edited January 30, 2018 by Davit2005

[SHimmer45]

indeed.

im a bit stuck atm so just waiting for the right post to come along