// Infrastructure

Home Lab Network

PersonalOngoing

Tools & technologies

Ubiquiti UniFi
Proxmox
Pi-hole
Home Assistant
Docker
Ollama
Ubuntu
DHCP
DNS

Problem

I wanted a hands-on environment to practice enterprise-style networking and run my own services, with backups that don't depend on a single location.

Approach

Built a Ubiquiti network at the main site with three switches, seven access points, and an NVR.
Set up a second site with a Ubiquiti Dream Router (gateway and access point) and two smaller switches.
Run DHCP and DNS, network-wide ad blocking with Pi-hole on Proxmox, on-site file sharing on a NAS, and Home Assistant, and ran a local LLM server with Ollama on Ubuntu Server.
Run four virtual machines and containers for services.

Diagrams

Network diagram of the main site: the internet connection feeds the gateway, which connects the NAS and a core switch; the core switch fans out to access points, security cameras, and further switches. — Main siteOpen full size (opens in a new tab)

Network diagram of the second site: the internet connection feeds a Ubiquiti Dream Router, which connects a wireless camera and two switches; the office switch serves the NAS and a Proxmox server running Pi-hole, and the living room switch serves Home Assistant. — Second siteOpen full size (opens in a new tab)

Result

A self-hosted network running core services across two sites.
In progress: a site-to-site VPN so the network-attached storage at each site can back up to the other.