What's On My Smart HomeLab Server?
Everything Smart Home・16 minutes read
The author's home automation setup revolves around Home Assistant but includes various other apps and services for a comprehensive smart home ecosystem. Managing two physical locations with independent servers connected via a site-to-site VPN, the author utilizes Proxmox for virtualization, TrueNAS Scale for storage, OpenSense as the firewall, Bitwarden for password management, Jellyfin for media playback, and UniFi hardware with wireless switches for efficient network management.
Insights
- The author's home automation setup revolves around Home Assistant but includes various other apps and services for a comprehensive smart home ecosystem, showcasing a holistic approach to automation and convenience.
- Managing two locations with independent servers connected via a site-to-site VPN, utilizing Proxmox for virtualization, TrueNAS Scale for storage, and OpenSense for firewall security, demonstrates a sophisticated and resilient infrastructure supporting the author's diverse technological needs.
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Recent questions
What is the author's preferred storage solution for media storage and backups?
TrueNAS Scale is the author's preferred storage solution for media storage, backups, and replication between their main and remote sites.
What are the essential open-source tools for home automation and file syncing?
Home Assistant and Nextcloud are the essential open-source tools for home automation and file syncing, ensuring seamless device connectivity and data backup.
What is the author's password manager of choice?
Bitwarden serves as the author's password manager, with a self-hosted option available for data control.
What is the author's reason for transitioning from Plex to Jellyfin for media playback?
The author transitioned from Plex to Jellyfin for media playback due to Plex's user experience issues, with Jellyfin offering straightforward media playback without unnecessary features.
What is the main firewall choice for the author's home setup?
OpenSense is the main firewall choice for the author's home setup, offering frequent updates, gigabit fiber connection support, VPN capabilities, and application control features like Zen Armor.
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Summary
00:00
"Smart Home Setup with Home Assistant"
- Home Assistant is central to the author's home automation setup, but various other apps and services contribute to the smart home ecosystem.
- The author recently added a dashboard app, Homer, inspired by a friend's setup, to organize and access daily apps and services conveniently.
- The author manages two physical locations with independent servers, storage, and network, connected via a site-to-site VPN for resource sharing and seamless access.
- Proxmox version 8 serves as the hypervisor for virtualization in the author's home lab, offering high availability and the ability to move VMs between servers.
- TrueNAS Scale is the preferred storage solution, replacing FreeNAS, for media storage, backups, and replication between the author's main and remote sites.
- OpenSense is the main firewall choice, offering frequent updates, gigabit fiber connection support, VPN capabilities, and application control features like Zen Armor.
- Home Assistant and Nextcloud are essential open-source tools for home automation and file syncing, respectively, ensuring seamless device connectivity and data backup.
- Bitwarden serves as the author's password manager, with a self-hosted option available for data control, while AdGuard handles DNS and ad-blocking services.
- Transitioning from Plex to Jellyfin for media playback due to Plex's user experience issues, Jellyfin offers straightforward media playback without unnecessary features.
- Unified controllers manage UniFi hardware, primarily wireless access points, at each site for efficient network management and connectivity.
14:03
Home users rely on wireless switches for management.
- Wireless switches have been a reliable choice for many home users, with one site utilizing a physical Cloud Key Gen 2 for management and the other running a unified controller in a Docker container in a VM for managing the equipment at each site. These components form the core of the user's home lab setup, with a mix of long-standing tools like TrueNAS and pfSense, alongside newer additions that have been adopted for a change in routine.
