Homelab Arena
From messy experiments to a production-ready Kubernetes homelab. Real infrastructure projects, battle-tested lessons, and deep dives you can reuse.
Part 7: From Cluster to Platform — ApplicationSet, Storage, and Backups
Turning a k3s cluster into a repeatable application platform using Argo CD ApplicationSet, shared Helm charts, NFS persistence, and host-level backups.
Part 6: Handing the Cluster Over to Argo CD
Moving from a working k3s cluster to a self-managed platform by introducing Argo CD, wildcard DNS, and the first GitOps workflow.
Part 5: Terraform, Ansible, and k3s on Proxmox
Turning the Ubuntu template into real VMs and a joined k3s cluster: shared token, static IPs, DNS aligned with the Pi-hole/pfSense LAN from Part 3, and Ansible installing the control plane before the workers.
Part 4: Creating the First Ubuntu Cloud Template
Turning the storage foundation into a reusable Ubuntu 24.04 cloud-init template, setting the stage for Terraform-driven infrastructure.
Part 3: The Network Rebuild Side Quest
A short power outage forced a migration that had already been waiting in the wings: recovering pfSense and Pi-hole configuration from the old ESXi stack, rebuilding routing on Proxmox, and moving Pi-hole from Docker in a CentOS VM into a Proxmox LXC on a new HP T740 thin client.
Part 2: Laying the Storage Foundation
After the Proxmox reinstall: mapping two 4TB HDDs as directory storages with stable names (data01/data02), ext4 labels for clarity, and restoring a pre-reinstall VM backup to prove the stack works.
Part 1: Proxmox 9.1 on a Gen8 — The UI Is Dead Trap
A practical reinstall guide for Proxmox VE 9.1 on an HPE MicroServer Gen8, plus the one Gen8 boot fix that saves your future self.
Homelab Arena: Prologue
From messy beginnings to controlled chaos — one pod, one VM, one Helm chart at a time.