🛠️ My Homelab Journey: From Dust to Development

A personal project log of moving away from expensive cloud hosting to a custom-built home server environment.

🌍 The Motivation

I previously used a paid server with a hosting company in Qatar. However, it became very expensive and limited my ability to experiment and improve my skills. I decided to build a homelab to have full control over my environment.

🔍 Hardware & Investigation

Initially, I looked into mini PCs like the Lenovo ThinkCentre, but with prices around 10,000 TL, I decided to repurpose hardware I already owned:

Motherboard: Biostar TB360-BTC (Mining board)
CPU: Intel i3
RAM: Standard DDR4
Storage: 500 GB SSD (Upgraded)

🏗️ The Build Process

The assembly wasn’t easy. The motherboard had been sitting in a dusty basement for 6 months. After installing everything into a new case, the system wouldn’t post.

🔊 Troubleshooting with Arduino

The motherboard didn’t have a buzzer, so there were no error beeps to guide me. I borrowed a buzzer from an Arduino kit I bought for my son. After finding the right pins, I heard the code: 8 short beeps.

🛠️ The “Riser” Solution

The error code indicated a graphics issue. Since this is a mining-focused motherboard with many PCI slots, I realized the primary slot might be picky.

The Fix: I used a PCIe Riser to connect the graphics card to a different slot.
Result: The screen finally came to life!

💾 Software & Storage Challenges

I planned to install Ubuntu, but hit a compatibility wall:

NVMe Support: I discovered the TB360-BTC did not recognize the new NVMe SSD I purchased.
The Swap: I moved the SSD to my family’s PC and took the older SATA SSD for the server.
OS: Successfully installed Ubuntu and configured OpenSSH.

🚀 Current Status & Goals

The server is now fully “headless” (no monitor or keyboard needed). I manage everything remotely via SSH.

Upcoming Roadmap:

Web Hosting: Deploy my personal website.
Smart Home: Set up and test Home Assistant.
Docker: Experiment with containerized applications.

Follow my journey as I build out my local infrastructure!