My Homelab Journey

This all started when I replaced my old Dell XPS tower with an Intel NUC for daily use. I found myself wondering what to do with the Dell. A quick search led me down the rabbit hole of homelabbing, and a few trips to the local e-recycling bin later, I was hooked. What began as a way to repurpose hardware quickly turned into a full-blown addiction to learning, experimenting, and building.

Then AI came along, and my humble e-waste hobby became an investment. After countless hours reading and learning, I managed to turn a pile of secondhand equipment into a serious homelab focused on exploring the ever-evolving world of selfhosting and AI.

Meet PVE10: The Crown Jewel of My Lab

Today, my primary Proxmox host, PVE10, represents the culmination of my homelab journey so far. Here’s a closer look at its specs:

• Server Model: HPE DL380 Gen10
• Memory: 192 GB HPE 16GB 2Rx8 PC4-2666V DDR4-2666 ECC
• Processors: Dual Intel Xeon Gold 6128 CPUs @ 3.40GHz (6 cores, 12 threads each)
• Networking: 2x 10Gb SFP+ NIC HPE 560FLR
• Boot Drive: 480 GB HP SATA 3 M.2 SSD
• Storage: 4 TB NVMe container storage
• GPUs: NVIDIA RTX A6000 ADA and 3x RTX 4090 GPUs dedicated to AI inference and related tasks
  

This server is my go-to for hosting and experimenting with locally run AI models, image generation, and various containers and VMs. Whether I’m testing new software, building tools, or just diving into the technical depths of AI, PVE10 powers it all.

Why MyFirstHomelab.com?

Over the years, I’ve learned so much from the homelab community, and I created this site to give back. My goal is to provide beginners with a structured, easy-to-follow guide to building their first homelab.  I couldn't possibly teach you everything about homelabbing, but hopefully I can make sure 

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy exploring this site and starting your own homelab journey. If you have any questions or ideas, feel free to reach out—I’d love to hear from you.  Admin@MyFirstHomelab.com

Let’s build something amazing—together!