Building a Home Data Center

I'm planning to build a mini self-hosted data center. In my house. Yes, you read that correctly. Not just a fancy computer tucked under the stairs, but a proper (ish) setup with servers and networking gear.

The first question that probably pops into your head is: "Why on earth would you do that?"

Fair question. It's one my partner asks regularly, usually with a slightly raised eyebrow. I've asked myself the same thing, particularly when browsing bewildering eBay server listings at 2 AM.

Why Do Something You Probably Shouldn't?

A few reasons, really.

I want to understand how it all actually works. I've always been curious about the internet beyond the TikTok videos and angry subreddits. I've tinkered with software, dabbled with coding, but running my own servers and managing my own little corner of the digital world? That's been lurking in the back of my mind for years.

It's a challenge. Throwing money at problems is easy. Need more computing power? Spin up another AWS instance. Need storage? Click a button, enter your card details. Dead simple.

But how much can I achieve on a shoestring budget? How can I squeeze every last drop of performance from limited hardware? Can I build something functional, power-efficient, and relatively cheap to run 24/7?

Those escalating cloud bills aren't helping. Yes, you get what you pay for, and cloud services are incredibly convenient. But for personal projects and tinkering, the appeal of a fixed cost rather than a meter constantly ticking is undeniable.

And honestly? It sounds like fun. There's real satisfaction in building something yourself and understanding it from the ground up.

Why Not Just Call It "A Server"?

Because my ambition (or delusion) stretches beyond one box.

I want to learn the whole stack—the hardware (what makes a good server? How does ZFS work? What's ECC RAM and do I actually need it?), the software (operating systems, virtualisation, containers), and the networking that glues it together. Understanding how these pieces fit together, even on a small scale, feels like a genuinely valuable skill.

Plus, I don't have deep pockets or a dedicated, air-conditioned server room. My spare room will have to do. These constraints might just force me to find more creative solutions to the problems I'll encounter.

The Plan

It's still evolving, but the core idea is to document this journey, the successes, the inevitable failures and the "aha!" moments.

I'll share what I learn about choosing hardware, setting up operating systems, wrangling networks, and getting useful services running.

Let's see what happens.