home lab

Virtual machines are nothing mystical—yet a small stack of persistent myths keeps turning otherwise sensible choices into needless fear, wasted money, or fragile setups that break at the worst moment. The five misconceptions below are the ones most likely to trip up hobbyists, home-labbers, and...

Running high-end games on a virtual machine might once have sounded ludicrous to even the most seasoned system tinkerers, but recent advances in virtualization, hardware, and optimized software tools are rewriting the rules for home lab enthusiasts and power users. For many, the transition from...

Venturing into the world of home labs unveils an alluring promise: total control, relentless experimentation, and the satisfaction of running every pivotal service yourself. As enthusiasts rush to consolidate tasks onto fewer machines—especially with power costs rising and hardware prices...

Few experiences push the boundaries of both practicality and technical curiosity like the quest to turn virtual machines from specialized tools into genuine daily drivers. For many in the Windows enthusiast and home lab community, laying hands on the likes of Proxmox is an invitation to...

Self-hosting applications on a primary Windows PC is an increasingly common entry point for enthusiasts exploring the world of private cloud computing. Driven by cost concerns, hardware limitations, and a desire for convenience, many Windows users are experimenting with hosting services not on...

For decades, the notion of a “home lab” has been a touchstone for the most passionate technologists—those who thrive on hands-on experimentation, relentless troubleshooting, and continual learning. While the tools have evolved from test tubes and kitchen-sink chemistry to servers brimming with...

From an era when the home lab meant more mad science than microservices, the concept of tinkering at home has fundamentally shifted from kitchen-table chaos to a thriving playground for IT professionals and tech enthusiasts. Today’s home lab is not only less explosive, but it’s become a vital...

Proxmox: the open-source swiss army knife of virtualization, often whispered about by IT pros in dim server rooms and meme-laden forums alike, has recently been thrust further into the limelight thanks to a growing chorus of enthusiasts. If you’ve ever wondered whether running Windows 11 inside...

A full year after VMware unceremoniously stuffed its most beloved community freebie into a digital sarcophagus, something unexpected is stirring in the world of virtualization: the resurrection of ESXi's free tier. In a move that’s as quietly dramatic as a hypervisor reboot at 3am (when nobody’s...

Exploring the Hewlett Packard Microserver Gen8 and Enhancing Your Web Experience The world of IT hardware and software is filled with innovations that span from the physical equipment in our workspaces to the digital tools that enhance our online experience. Today, we dive into two exciting...

Virtualization is no longer a luxury reserved solely for data centers and enterprise giants—it’s become the bread and butter of both IT professionals and enthusiastic home lab builders alike. Microsoft’s Hyper-V hypervisor, a native component in Windows Pro, Enterprise, and Windows Server, has...

A Quick Dive into Virtualization for Home Labs Virtualization has long been the playground for enthusiasts looking to experiment with multiple operating systems from a single machine. In today’s home labs, you’re not just running a Windows 11 workstation; you’re also building environments that...

The launch of Windows 11 has been met with mixed reactions, especially concerning its redesigned taskbar. Many users who appreciate the classic functionality and design of the Windows 10 taskbar have been exploring ways to revert their interface to a more familiar setup. In this article, we'll...

When most people think “home labs,” their minds race to Linux-powered systems. After all, Linux dominates the home server and DIY tinkering scene for good reason: it's robust, secure, community-driven, and free. But what if we told you that Windows 11 Pro has been quietly staking its claim as a...

What do you get when you mix a bare-metal virtualization platform with the comforting embrace of Windows 11? An interesting exercise in creativity and frustration! Recently, a daring enthusiast decided to run a Proxmox virtual environment on top of their existing Windows 11 installation, and...

Hello, i have a home lab where im running AD domain controller and AD DNS server. The issue im trying to solve is with the txt records that acme creates in my cloudflare dns zone and the AD DNS server not being able to resolve those queries so cert manager can validate my certificates. What is...

Hi all. With the VMware broadcom pricing issue and them doubling the costs overnight we are starting to look at Hyper V. I have been a VMware guy for over 10 years and while i have worked with Hyper V some small details escape me. I need to get up to speed again. I am looking at setting up...