🖥️ Building Your HomeLab Server - Hardware & Ubuntu Setup [Part 2 of 10]

CaptainDumbass · December 3, 2025, 2:08am

Building Your HomeLab Server - Hardware & Ubuntu Setup [Part 2 of 10]

Choosing the right hardware and installing a rock-solid foundation

You’ve decided to build a HomeLab. Now comes the fun part: building (or repurposing) the server that will run everything.

The good news? You don’t need enterprise-grade hardware or a massive budget. Let’s talk about what actually works.

Hardware: What You Actually Need

The Reality Check

You probably already have something that will work. That old gaming PC gathering dust? The desktop you replaced last year? Even a retired office workstation can make an excellent HomeLab server.

Don’t let “perfect” be the enemy of “good enough.” Start with what you have, learn the ropes, then upgrade if needed.

Hardware Options (Budget to Beast)

Option 1: Repurpose What You Have ($0)

Best for: Getting started, learning, testing

What works:

Old gaming PC (5+ years old)
Retired desktop or workstation
Mini PC with decent specs
Even a laptop (if you can keep it cool and plugged in)

Minimum specs:

Multi-core CPU (Intel i5/i7, AMD Ryzen 5/7, or equivalent)
16GB RAM (8GB will work but you’ll feel the limits quickly)
256GB+ storage for OS
Gigabit Ethernet port

Real talk: I’ve seen HomeLabs running on 10-year-old hardware. If it boots and has network connectivity, you can probably use it.

Option 2: Budget Build ($300-600)

Best for: Dedicated server on a budget

What to look for:

Used office workstation (Dell Optiplex, HP ProDesk, Lenovo ThinkCentre)
Often available for $200-400
Reliable, quiet, low power consumption
Easy to find parts
Refurbished server (Dell PowerEdge T-series, HP ProLiant ML-series)
More expandable
Can be louder and use more power
Great for learning enterprise hardware

Recommended specs:

CPU: Intel i5/i7 (6th gen+) or AMD Ryzen 5/7
RAM: 16-32GB DDR4
Storage: 256GB SSD for OS + 3-4 drives for RAID
Network: Gigabit Ethernet (built-in is fine)

Where to buy:

eBay, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace
Local computer shops
Corporate surplus sales

Option 3: Mini PC Build ($270-600)

Best for: Compact, quiet, low power consumption

Real-world example (my first HomeLab):

Base: PELADN WO4 Mini PC or similar
AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (6 cores/12 threads)
16GB RAM (stock)
512GB SSD (stock)
Dual 2.5Gbe LAN
Price: ~$270
Upgrades I added:
32GB RAM upgrade (~$65-100)
2TB SSD upgrade (~$100-150) - Did this immediately to avoid reinstalling
Total cost: ~$435-520

Why a mini PC?

Small footprint (fits anywhere)
Very quiet operation
Low power consumption (~15-35W)
Dual NIC options available (great for networking projects)
Upgrade RAM and storage as needed
Perfect for learning without a huge investment

This is where I started - ran multiple Docker containers, learned the basics, then upgraded to bigger hardware later when I needed more power.

Option 4: New Budget Build ($600-1000)

Best for: Building exactly what you want

Sample build:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 or Intel i5-12400 (~$150-200)
Motherboard: B550/B660 with good I/O (~$100-150)
RAM: 32GB DDR4 (2x16GB) (~$65-160)

Storage:

500GB NVMe SSD for OS (~$40-60)
4x 4TB HDDs for RAID 5 (~$300-400)
Case: ATX case with good airflow (~$50-80)
PSU: 550-650W 80+ Bronze (~$50-80)

Total: ~$755-1,130

Option 5: Enthusiast Build / Repurposed Gaming PC ($1000-2000+)

Best for: Future-proofing, heavy workloads, or repurposing high-end hardware

Real-world example (my setup):

Source: Retired gaming PC (removed GPU, repurposed for HomeLab)
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (16 cores/32 threads)
RAM: 128GB DDR5

Storage:

1TB NVMe for OS
3x 2TB NVMe in RAID 5 for Docker/data
Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX X670E-E

Why repurpose a gaming PC?

Already have the hardware (free!)
High-end components = excellent server performance
Remove GPU = lower power consumption
Runs 10+ Docker containers simultaneously
Room for VMs and future expansion
Handles media transcoding, photo processing, etc.

The lesson: Don’t buy new if you have capable hardware sitting around. That old gaming rig makes an excellent HomeLab server.

My Hardware Recommendations by Use Case

Just Starting Out

CPU: 4-6 cores minimum
RAM: 16GB (upgrade to 32GB later)
Storage: 1 SSD + 2-3 HDDs for RAID
Budget: $0-400 (repurpose or used)

Running 5-10 Services

CPU: 6-8 cores
RAM: 32GB
Storage: 1 SSD + 3-4 HDDs for RAID
Budget: $400-800

Power User / Future-Proofing

CPU: 8+ cores
RAM: 64GB+
Storage: NVMe for OS + 4+ drives for RAID
Budget: $1000+

Don’t Forget These Components

Network Connection

Gigabit Ethernet minimum (local network speed, not your ISP)
Wired connection (WiFi works but not recommended for a server)
Most motherboards have this built-in

Power Protection

UPS/Battery backup highly recommended
Protects against power outages and surges
Gives time for graceful shutdown

Options:

Budget: CyberPower (~$100-150)
Premium: APC (~$150-300)
Portable: EcoFlow RIVER 2 Pro (~$400-600)

Cooling

Stock CPU cooler is usually fine for servers
Good case airflow is more important than fancy cooling
Keep it in a ventilated area

Installing Ubuntu Server

Now that you have hardware, let’s install the operating system.

Why Ubuntu Server?

My choice: Ubuntu Server - Here’s why:

Massive community support - Largest user base means easy to find help
Long-term support (LTS releases get 5 years of updates)
Excellent documentation - Tutorials and guides everywhere
Docker-friendly - Everything just works
Beginner-friendly - Great for learning Linux server administration

Other solid options:

Debian - Lighter weight, more experienced users
Ubuntu is based on Debian, so very similar
Slightly more minimal and stable
Great choice if you want less bloat
Proxmox - If you want to run VMs alongside containers
CentOS Stream / Rocky Linux - Enterprise-focused (RHEL-based)

Important notes:

Most popular distros are Debian or Ubuntu-based anyway
We’re installing server (no desktop GUI) - keeps it lightweight
You can add a desktop environment later if you want, but it’s not needed
For this series, I’m using Ubuntu Server for consistency

Bottom line: Ubuntu Server hits the sweet spot of beginner-friendly + powerful + well-supported.

Download Ubuntu Server

Go to Ubuntu Server download page
Download Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS (or latest LTS version)
You’ll get an .iso file (~2GB)

LTS = Long Term Support - Gets updates for 5 years. Always choose LTS for servers.

Create Installation Media

You’ll need a USB drive (8GB minimum) to install Ubuntu.

On Windows:

Download Rufus
Insert USB drive
Open Rufus
Select your USB drive
Select the Ubuntu .iso file
Click Start

On Mac:

Download balenaEtcher
Insert USB drive
Open Etcher
Select the Ubuntu .iso file
Select your USB drive
Click Flash

On Linux:


# Find your USB drive (usually /dev/sdb or /dev/sdc)

lsblk

# Write ISO to USB (replace /dev/sdX with your drive)

sudo dd if=ubuntu-24.04-live-server-amd64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress

sudo sync

Installing Ubuntu Server

BIOS/UEFI Settings (Important for Newer Hardware)

Before installing, check these BIOS settings:

Enter BIOS/UEFI:

Power on and press F2, F12, Del, or Esc (varies by manufacturer)

Settings to disable (if present):

Secure Boot - Can prevent Linux from booting
Usually under Security or Boot settings
Set to Disabled
Fast Boot - Can cause USB boot issues
Usually under Boot settings
Set to Disabled

Settings to enable:

UEFI Boot Mode (not Legacy/CSM)
Modern standard, better compatibility
Virtualization (Intel VT-x / AMD-V)
Needed if you plan to run VMs later
Usually under CPU or Advanced settings

Boot order:

Set USB drive as first boot device
Or use one-time boot menu (usually F12)

Save and exit - Your system will reboot

Boot from USB

Insert USB drive into your server
System should boot from USB automatically
If not, enter boot menu (F12) and select USB drive

Installation Steps

The Ubuntu installer is text-based but straightforward:

1. Language Selection

Choose your language (English is fine)

2. Keyboard Layout

Select your keyboard layout
Test it to make sure it’s correct

3. Installation Type

Choose “Ubuntu Server” (not minimal)

4. Network Configuration

Use DHCP for now (we’ll set static IP later)
Make sure it detects your Ethernet connection
Note the IP address shown

5. Proxy Configuration

Leave blank unless you need a proxy
Most home users don’t

6. Mirror Configuration

Use default Ubuntu mirror
It will auto-select based on your location

7. Storage Configuration

This is important. You have two options:

Option A: Use Entire Disk (Simple)

Select your OS drive (usually the SSD)
Choose “Use an entire disk”
Enable LVM (Logical Volume Manager)
This is fine for getting started

Option B: Custom Partitioning (Advanced)

Only if you know what you’re doing
We’ll cover RAID setup in Part 3

For now, choose Option A. We’ll add RAID storage later.

8. Profile Setup

Your name: Your actual name
Server name: homelab-server (or whatever you want)
Username: admin (or your preferred username)
Password: Choose a strong password (you’ll use this a lot)

9. SSH Setup

Install OpenSSH server (IMPORTANT!)
This lets you manage the server remotely
Don’t skip this

10. Featured Server Snaps

Don’t select anything here
Skip all snap packages
We’ll install everything manually using apt (traditional package manager)

Why avoid snaps?

Slower startup times
Larger disk usage
Can have permission issues with Docker volumes
We want full control over our installations
Throughout this series, we won’t use snaps at all

11. Installation

Review your choices
Confirm and start installation
This takes 10-15 minutes
When done, select “Reboot Now”
Remove the USB drive when prompted

First Boot

After reboot, you’ll see a login prompt:


homelab-server login: _

Log in with:

Username: admin (or whatever you chose)
Password: (your password)

You’re in! You should see a command prompt:


admin@homelab-server:~$

Initial Configuration

Let’s do some basic setup before moving forward.

Update the System


# Update package lists

sudo apt update

# Upgrade installed packages

sudo apt upgrade -y

# Reboot if kernel was updated

sudo reboot

Set Static IP Address

Your server needs a consistent IP address. Right now it’s using DHCP (dynamic).

Find your current network info:


ip addr show

Look for your Ethernet interface (usually eno1, enp0s3, or eth0). Note:

Your current IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.100)
Your subnet mask (usually /24)

Edit netplan configuration:


sudo nano /etc/netplan/00-installer-config.yaml

Replace the contents with (adjust values for your network):


network:

version: 2

ethernets:

eno1: # Replace with your interface name

dhcp4: false

addresses:

- 192.168.1.100/24 # Your desired static IP

routes:

- to: default

via: 192.168.1.1 # Your router's IP

nameservers:

addresses:

- 192.168.1.1 # Your router (or 8.8.8.8 for Google DNS)

Save and exit: Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter

Apply the configuration:


sudo netplan apply

Test it:


ip addr show

ping -c 3 google.com

Your server now has a static IP!

Basic Security

Before we go further, let’s lock down SSH access.

Disable IPv6 (Optional but Recommended)

If you’re not using IPv6 on your network:


sudo nano /etc/sysctl.conf

Add these lines at the end:


net.ipv6.conf.all.disable_ipv6 = 1

net.ipv6.conf.default.disable_ipv6 = 1

net.ipv6.conf.lo.disable_ipv6 = 1

Apply changes:


sudo sysctl -p

Configure Firewall (UFW)

Ubuntu includes UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall). Let’s enable it.

Run these commands on your Ubuntu server:


# Allow SSH from your local network only

# NOTE: Replace 192.168.1.0/24 with YOUR network range

# Common ranges: 192.168.0.0/24, 192.168.1.0/24, 10.0.0.0/24

sudo ufw allow from 192.168.1.0/24 to any port 22 proto tcp comment 'SSH from LAN'

# Enable firewall

sudo ufw enable

# Check status

sudo ufw status numbered

Important:

Replace 192.168.1.0/24 with your actual network range
To find your network: Look at your server’s IP (e.g., 192.168.1.100)
If your IP is 192.168.1.100, your network is 192.168.1.0/24
If your IP is 192.168.0.50, your network is 192.168.0.0/24
If your IP is 10.0.0.25, your network is 10.0.0.0/24

TL;DR

Hardware: Start with what you have, upgrade later if needed
Minimum specs: Multi-core CPU, 16GB RAM, SSD + HDDs
OS: Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS (free, stable, well-supported)
Installation: Boot from USB, follow installer, enable SSH
Post-install: Update system, set static IP, enable firewall
Next: We’ll set up RAID storage in Part 3

Your Turn

What hardware are you using for your HomeLab?

Building new or repurposing old equipment?

Hit any snags during Ubuntu installation?

Drop a comment below!

Navigation: ← Part 1 | Part 3 →