Home lab and home automation

My home lab is where I build and test infrastructure independently: Hyper-V, Active Directory, storage, backups, remote access, and a separate Microsoft 365 tenant. It also runs the household automation and several services I use every day.

Servers and identity

Two Dell Precision hosts run Windows Server 2025 and Hyper-V, with redundant domain controllers and separate virtual machines for application and infrastructure roles. Group Policy manages device configuration, and service accounts have permissions scoped to their jobs.

A separate Microsoft 365 E5 Developer tenant lets me test Conditional Access, Intune, Defender, and collaboration services before using similar configurations professionally. Both Windows and macOS devices are enrolled.

Networks and storage

A Firewalla router provides IDS/IPS, WireGuard, and DNS filtering. Aruba switches connect over fiber, with cabling I installed throughout the house. The main LAN uses purpose-based address ranges; storage and cameras have separate networks.

A non-routed 10GbE network carries iSCSI storage, backups, and VM migration. The Synology NAS provides shared storage and backup repositories. Cameras cannot reach the internet; their recording host connects to both the camera network and the main LAN without forwarding access.

Backup and recovery

Veeam backs up virtual machines to local storage, with an off-site copy in Backblaze B2. Application-aware backups include the domain controllers. Synology Active Backup also covers server, Microsoft 365, and Google Workspace data. Recovery procedures cover files, virtual machines, Active Directory, and full-server recovery, with recovery-time and recovery-point targets.

Remote access and monitoring

Remote Desktop Services separates gateway and web access from the session host, with Duo for MFA and WireGuard for VPN access. PRTG, InfluxDB, and Grafana provide monitoring and history, while Home Assistant delivers alerts. Action1 and WSUS handle Windows patching; Linux hosts use unattended upgrades.

Home automation and video

Home Assistant runs lighting, climate, blinds, presence routines, irrigation, alarms, and notifications across Zigbee, Z-Wave, MQTT, and Bluetooth integrations. A dedicated video host runs Milestone XProtect, with recording storage separated from the operating system and other data.

Applications and migrations

A Mac mini M1 hosts Subreddit Sounds in Docker and gives me an ARM development environment alongside Windows and Linux. I also migrated WordPress sites from a Linux container host to Astro on Cloudflare Pages and retired the old host. A Linux VM runs ITFlow for lab documentation and tickets.

Documentation

Configuration and recovery procedures live in a private Git repository. PowerShell generates machine inventories, and scripted exports capture Home Assistant configuration so the records can be refreshed as the environment changes. The woodworking and fabrication projects have their own maker page.