Here is my home lab setup. I was able to re-wire everything over the holidays so things are a bit more tidy thanks to extensive use of Velcro cable management strips and the cable management arms that came with my StarTech rack.
FRONT
- (2x) Sonos Connect Amp
- Arlo Pro Base Station + Sonos Connect Amp
- Microsoft Wireless Keyboard
- “Dumbledore” Dell PowerEdge R820 – Service Fabric Cluster
- “Harry” Dell PowerEdge 850 – Docker Lab, runs my home’s Plex server in a Docker container
- “Ron” Dell PowerEdge 850 – Docker Lab
- “Hermione” Dell PowerEdge 750 – File Server (SMB)
- “Fred” Dell PowerEdge 750 – File Server (SMB)
- “George” Dell PowerEdge 750 – Not in use
- <Unnamed> Dell PowerEdge 750 – Not in use
- Emerson GXT4 UPS
- Emerson GXT4 UPS
Dumbledor, aptly named, is my PowerEdge R820 I am planning on using to experiment with Azure Stack. It’s rocking quad-8 core Xeons so that’s 32-cores, 128GB RAM, and 7 SATA disks which should put me on the playing field! Right now I’m using it for a Stand Alone Service Fabric Cluster.
Harry and Ron, PowerEdge 850s I use mainly for Docker because they are x64 and can actually run it!
Hermione, Fred, and George are my old PowerEdge 750s are x86 therefore, they can’t run modern Windows Server OS so I have them all running Ubuntu 17.04 and they are utility players and mostly do the menial labor of SMB which supports my Plex server running on Harry. Don’t let them fool you however, they are rocking pretty significant storage.
Big props to my buddy Steve that hooked me up on the wicked dual redundant UPS system! Thanks Steve! 😊
REAR
- 15 AMP CyberPower Rack Mounted Power Strip
- 20 AMP CyberPower Rack Mounted Power Strip
- D-Link Web Smart Switch (24-Port) Gigabit – Household Connections + Internet Line (Old)
- D-Link Web Smart Switch (28-Port) Gigabit – Server Connections (New)
- Mac Mini – For iOS Development with Xamarin
Not a whole lot going on back hear. I mounted the networking gear on the rear of the rack to hide all the spaghetti. I connected my two 24-port gigabit routers using a 10Gb/s SFP+ cable. It was super plug and play. I was a bit intimidated as it appears the SFP cables are a bit bifurcated between the networking gear brands. This implied incompatibility which is also a reason I stuck with two D-Link routers. That gave me slightly more confidence that a SFP cable marked “for D-Link” would work.
I try and keep the power cables routed through the center to keep this area focused on the network as the power strips have outlets internally facing as well. All power routes down to the UPS’s and then to several dedicated 20A outlets on the wall. Now all I need is a generator to keep my Plex server running during the Zombie Apocalypse.
Sky Cliffs 