Good Morning from my Robotics Lab! This is Shadow_8472 with a snapshot of my different computers as of mid-March, 2023. Let’s get started!
I have felt a need for a page detailing my so-called “homelab” detailing the computers and other equipment I personally maintain. I didn’t finish any big projects this week, so here’s a first draft of that page. It’s listed in roughly the order I took ownership/responsibility for each piece. I’ve tried to gather each computer’s base model/modified configuration plus a list of its presently bootable operating systems. Warning: unexplained technobabble ahead.
Red Laptop
Dell Inspiron N7110
1 TB SSD
Debian 11
As the oldest operational computer in my fleet, this laptop has been with me for almost 12 years, though most every part was replaced while it was under extended warranty. Shortly after I started this blog, I installed Debian 10 on a USB external drive. I nuked its Windows drive one week by formatting the wrong disk, and later replaced it with a 1 TB SSD, cloned Debian inside, and it served as a get-me-online machine until the screen bezel cracked, threatening to shatter the screen the next time I’m not careful. It’s now serving as a backup home server, and it’s desktop environment has proven vital to rebounding from at least one network emergency since.
Upstairs Workstation
Custom Build
Intel Core i7-3770K (3.50GHz)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 (rev a1)
24 GB RAM (2×8+2×4)
Windows 10
Manjaro
EndeavourOS (WIP)
“Upstairs Workstation” also predates when I started naming my computers. I got it for university when laptop turned up as bit underpowered. I went from Windows 7 to Windows 10 with this machine, narrowly avoiding an online tech support scam (10 didn’t support a Wi-Fi cart I was using at the time and later finished burning out when I put it back in after switching to Linux).
Derpy Chips
Custom Build
Intel Core i7-2600K (3.40GHz)
16 GB RAM
PopOS
Derpy was named for its tendency to give power kernel errors during its first service life until its retirement. When I adopted it, I gave it a new hard drive and inadverantly diagnosed the one lowballed part: its 2 TB HDD. I’ve also had issues with a stick of RAM from it, but I’ve had it running smoothly for a few years now as a secondary workstation.
ButtonMash
Dell Optiplex 7010
16 GB RAM
1×60 GB SSD
1×1 TB SSD (external)
Debian 11
Rocky 8
ButtonMash has been my main x86 experiment machine as well as my home server. I bought it from a church member who was upgrading his dental office computers. I My was host to my first Linux install: Ubuntu, but I’ve put it through a parade of distros including MicroCore (where I learned the command line), MineOS, Debian (originally from “red laptop”), and finally Rocky. Today, it serves as my primary home server, where I am setting up several Podman containers including Vaultwarden, PiHole, Nextcloud, and Minetest – each on a separate account for further isolation.
If and when we need to scan pictures, ButtonMash is dual booted with an external SSD I originally used with my Red Laptop.
GoldenOakLibry
Synology NAS
4x7TB HDD RAID 5 share
1 TB SSD share (external)
GoldenOakLibry is our home NAS intended for picture scanning. If nothing else, it’s exposed me to using a computer that’s meant to do nothing but serve files. I have a long way to go before I master it.
Raspberry Pi’s
1xRpi3B+
2xRpi4B
1xRpi400
My collection of super-flexible Raspberry Pi computers has served me well. At the moment, the Pi 4’s are serving as OpenWRT router firmware configured as Wi-Fi-to-Ethernet adapters for my upstairs workstation and my sister’s desktop. My Pi 3B+ has been inactive since its 3D printed PacMan ghost case got smashed, and my Pi 400 shares a monitor at my upstairs workstation.
Other/Misc computers
3D printer
Maker Select Plus
Added braces+feet
I am no master at 3D printing, but I know enough of the basics to scrape together most everything I try. At present, my printer needs a new fan and a printbed that isn’t warped.
Pine Phone
UBPorts Edition
The average smartphone these days spies on you. Its parent company is allowed to by the terms of service you need to accept before use. I resolved to not blindly accept any new EULA’s without knowing what I’m getting into and learning enough to be confident I’ve done something to mitigate the worst of these violations of privacy. As a consequence, I don’t have a usable phone ever since we switched providers a while back.
UPS’s
I have three uninterruptible power supplies directly under my supervision – one serving the network closet, one serving my upstairs workstation, and the other ButtonMash’s area. As of yet, I have not figured out the open source NUT driver.
My Father’s workstation
Dell Optiplex 7020
15 GB RAM
Linux Mint 20.3
Debian 11
15 GB RAM
After I bought ButtonMash, I got another used workstation out of the same dental office, replaced Windows, and gave it both sets of RAM. I later talked my father through installing Debian 11 on ButtonMash’s original hard disk
Ventoy USB (32 GB)
Not technically a computer, but easily one of my most versatile tools. Ventoy makes Linux media creation as simple as dragging and dropping a .ISO. Even better is that I can still put normal files on it!
Takeaway
Each part of my lab serves its function. There’s a certain joy when I get something new working and get to show it off.
Final Question
Which of your projects are you most proud of?