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🛡️ Proxmox Virtualization Environment

This is the "brain" of my homelab. I use Proxmox VE to host everything from core network services to experimental Python environments.

🖥️ The Hardware

I currently run 2 proxmox nodes (not in a cluster). One is mainly for hosting my virtualized firewall, the second is for Ubuntu/Rocky linux VMs and Docker/Podman containers.

  • Primary Host: Intel Core i5-13600K
  • Resources: 128GB DDR5
  • Storage: Local LVM pool for VM disks + Synology NFS share for backups
  • Secondary Host: Custom build: Intel N150; Rack Mounted Case;
  • Resources: 16GB DDR4
  • Storage: Local LVM pool for VM disks + Synology NFS share for backups

🐳 Docker Consolidation Project

I recently optimized my container strategy. Originally, I was spread across three separate Ubuntu VM Docker hosts. To reduce overhead and simplify management, I consolidated down to a 2-node Docker cluster.

  • Runtime: Docker Engine (I used to use Portainer, but now I just manage containers through the terminal mainly)
  • Storage: Persistent data is mapped via NFS shares to my TrueNAS/Synology instances.
  • Key Services:
    • n8n: Handling all my Telegram-to-Google Calendar automations.
    • Home Assistant: Smart home orchestration.
    • Pi-hole: Network-wide DNS filtering.

🌐 Networking & VLANs

The Proxmox host is trunked to my UniFi switch, allowing me to assign specific VMs to isolated VLANs.

VLAN ID Name Purpose
10 Home All end user devices go here
20 Malware Cybersecurity playground, test Kali Linux and other pentest tools
30 Lab Test different operating systems
40 Servers All Ubuntu/Rocky Linux VMs live here
50 IoT All smart devices go here
99 Management Proxmox GUI, Switch, and AP access
999 Native Sink hole VLAN instead of VLAN 1

🛠️ Current Projects & "To-Do"

  • [ ] Implement Terraform to spin up/down Ubuntu VMs automatically.
  • [ ] Automate Proxmox backups to an offsite S3 bucket.

Note: Documentation is a living breathing thing. As I scale from 2 Docker hosts to more (or less!), I update these specs to reflect the current state of "The Subnet."