The next step in the homelab: consolidating services onto a proper Proxmox hypervisor instead of scattering them across single-board computers and repurposed old hardware.
Why the EliteDesk
I originally bought the HP EliteDesk 800 G1 mini to replace a Mac mini I’d been using as a media server — only to realize that setup was redundant once I actually looked at what my Synology DS723+ NAS could already handle on its own.
Pi-hole
Originally running on a Raspberry Pi 4B, I migrated Pi-hole onto Proxmox as a Linux Container (LXC) — same network-wide ad blocking, less single-point-of-failure hardware to babysit.
Tailscale (work in progress)
Next up is wiring in Tailscale — partly so I can run Jellyfin without fighting Plex’s rough edges, and partly to reach the local AI machine securely from anywhere without opening ports to the internet.
Home Assistant (work in progress)
On occasion, my home will experience internet dropouts. On the one hand, I should be grateful for how consistent it is otherwise, and having internet in the first place; but on the other hand, having moved from a place that had even more consistent internet, it’s… troubling to say the least. But it’s most noticeable when I can’t use my family’s Google Home speakers during the dropouts. I eventually learned about Apple HomeKit (when the internet came back up) and learned that local hosting was a thing, but in true Apple fashion, required a device to use as a home hub and a whole line of products specifically compatible with HomeKit and more expensive than their Google Home and Amazon Alexa counterparts. Continuing my search led me to Home Assistant. Also, breaking free from Google’s centralized ecosystem (and Amazon’s were I to end up getting any Alexa devices) is always a plus.