1 - Architecture

Tags: 0 - Overview 0 - HomeLab Networking-Computer

2026 Homelab Architecture

This environment is organized as a layered system rather than a collection of loosely related hosts. Each node has a defined responsibility, which keeps operational boundaries clear and makes the lab easier to expand without creating unnecessary coupling.

Node Layout

AI Node

Role: GPU inference workloads

Operating system: Ubuntu Server 24.04 on bare metal

Services:

• vLLM on 8000
• Ollama on 11434
• ComfyUI planned for future image workflows

Optiplex 3080

Role: Control plane, orchestration, and lab environments

Operating system: Proxmox

Gateway VM

Role: API gateway and orchestration layer

Services:

• FastAPI for request routing
• Nginx or Caddy for reverse proxying
• Logging and metrics

Ports:

• 80/443 public entry
• 8080 internal FastAPI service

Rocky Linux VM

Role: RHCSA practice environment

Focus areas:

• systemd
• SELinux
• storage and LVM
• networking
• users and groups

Lab VM

Role: Temporary experiments

• Docker testing
• k3s evaluation
• throwaway workloads

Media and Storage Node

Role: Media, storage, and download automation

Operating system: Ubuntu Server 24.04 on bare metal

Services:

• Jellyfin on 8096
• Sonarr on 8989
• Radarr on 7878
• Prowlarr on 9696
• qBittorrent on 8081
• Immich on 2283

Storage paths:

• /mnt/media
• /mnt/downloads
• /mnt/photos

IP Scheme

Device	Hostname	IP
Router	gateway	192.168.1.1
AI Node	ai-node	192.168.1.7
Proxmox Host	proxmox	192.168.1.8
Gateway VM	ai-gateway	192.168.1.20
Rocky VM	rocky-lab	192.168.1.21
Media Node	media-node	192.168.1.9

Request Flow

1. A client sends a request to ai-gateway.
2. The gateway decides whether the request should stay local or use a cloud model.
3. Local inference routes to ai-node through vLLM.
4. Cloud requests route to external APIs such as OpenAI or Anthropic.
5. Logging and metrics stay at the gateway layer for visibility and control.
6. Media and storage workloads are served from the media node, including NFS-backed access where needed.

Mermaid Diagram

flowchart TD
    WS[Main Workstation<br/>AM5 PC] --> GW[Gateway VM<br/>FastAPI + Reverse Proxy]
    GW --> AI[AI Node<br/>vLLM + Ollama]
    GW --> CLOUD[Cloud AI Providers<br/>OpenAI / Anthropic]
    GW --> MEDIA[Media Node<br/>ARR Stack + Immich]
    PX[Optiplex 3080<br/>Proxmox Host] --> GW
    PX --> ROCKY[Rocky Linux VM<br/>RHCSA Practice]
    PX --> LAB[Lab VM<br/>Docker / k3s]

Anti-Patterns

• Mixing AI and media workloads on the same node
• Treating stable systems as experiment boxes
• Adding orchestration layers before they solve a real problem
• Letting convenience override separation of concerns