Start Self-Hosting on a Budget

Running a home lab has been one of the best investments in my technical education. Here's how I started affordably.

Hardware Choices

You don't need enterprise-grade equipment. I started with:

• An old desktop PC with 16GB RAM
• A Raspberry Pi 4 for low-power services
• A cheap 6 port managed switch for ethernet connections
• External hard drives for storage (hand-me-downs from a cousin)

Total cost: Under $300 (reusing what I had)

I've obviously upgraded since then, but you get the point

Software Stack

• Each docker-compose.yml defines related / dependent services. Mine are tracked in git
• Tailscale facilities secure remote access via meshnet

Services I Run

Essential Services

• Pihole: Network-wide ad blocking
• Nginx Proxy Manager: Reverse proxy for all services
• Home Assistant: Smart home management for lighting automation and others

Media & Files

• Plex: Media server for old movies
• Paperless-NGX: Searchable document / PDF management

Monitoring

• Beszel: Ultra light-weight monitoring and metrics
• Uptime Kuma: Service availability monitoring

Lessons Learned

1. Start small: Add services gradually
2. Document everything: Future you will thank present you (Confluence is free for individual users)
3. Security first: Use VPNs and proper authentication

Conclusion

A home lab doesn't have to be expensive or complicated. Start with what you have, then grow and upgrade as you learn.