Update (one year later): The verdict is in. I went with the TP-Link SG2210XMP-M2, and after a full year in the rack it’s been running flawlessly: fanless, multigig, VLANs and not a single issue. Full reasoning below. Recently, I started the process of upgrading my home network to give myself more room to experiment and […]
Articles tagged: homelab
Network Rack for Small Office (Build Guide)
Last week I walked into an empty 5 × 4 ft storage room. By the end of the week, that blank space held a fully functional network core designed to keep a small professional office online through power cuts, ISP hiccups, and future growth. If you run a home office or manage IT for a […]
Linux Network Bonding: Combine Network Interfaces
Two network interfaces are better than one. With Linux network bonding (also known as NIC bonding or link aggregation), you can combine multiple NICs into a single logical interface, gaining either increased throughput, failover redundancy, or both. It works on physical servers, VMs, and even home lab setups. I set this up on my home […]
Linux Server Setup – Part 1: A Beginner’s Guide
Setting up a Linux server is one of the best ways to learn Linux and server management hands-on. Linux servers offer unmatched flexibility, performance, and control for hosting services, running applications, supporting production workloads, and even building your own homelab. This Linux server setup beginner’s guide will walk you through the basics of setting up […]
How to Install Docker on Linux and Run Your First Container
Docker is a platform for packaging and running applications in isolated units called containers. Each container bundles an application together with its libraries and dependencies, sharing the host’s Linux kernel instead of a full separate OS. If you are looking to install Docker on Linux and run your first container, this guide covers everything you […]
Home Lab Beginners Guide: Hardware (2026)
My home lab in a 12U rack as of March 2026. What is a Home Lab? Think of a home lab as a place where you can fail in the privacy of your own home. As Thomas A. Edison said: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” I consider myself […]
What to buy for your Raspberry Pi 4
Update 2026: This article has been updated to fix broken links and verify long-term reliability. After 4 years, every device recommended below is still working in my lab, including multiple SD cards that continue to perform without issue. Over the past year, the prices of Raspberry Pi 4 boards have skyrocketed to $200, $300 and […]
Dewedda.com – A weather side project for where I live
I’ve been spending the past month or so working on a hobby project I started last year, a weather and hurricane tracking site built for the Eastern Caribbean. I figured it was worth sharing here since it’s a full-stack project running on a Linux/PHP stack. What is it? Dewedda.com is a hurricane tracking and weather […]
Choosing a Network Switch – 6 Essential Tips
Choosing a switch can feel deceptively simple, until slow file transfers, port shortages, and similar unexpected upgrade costs remind you otherwise. Before you click “Buy,” it helps to step back and look at the entire network you’re building: how many devices you run today, where you expect growth, and which features will save you headaches […]
Raspberry Pi Reliability Has a Storage Problem
Raspberry Pi board has earned its reputation as one of the most versatile and capable single-board computers ever made. From home labs, to kiosks and lightweight infrastructure, the hardware itself is rarely the limiting factor. When things go wrong, it’s usually not CPU, memory, or thermals. It’s something much more basic: storage. Over years of […]
