Practical step-by-step guides covering homelab infrastructure, networking, Windows, Linux, self-hosting, Raspberry Pi and automation, based on systems built and tested in Realm Labs.
It provides managed Gigabit Ethernet, VLAN support, a proper command-line interface and remote management over SSH. For learning networking or building a more advanced home network, switches like this still have plenty of life left in them. This guide covers…
Hyper-V is Microsoft’s native Type-1 hypervisor built directly into Windows. Whether you are building a local dev environment, testing new operating systems, or setting up dedicated homelab services, Hyper-V offers bare-metal virtualization performance without needing third-party hypervisors like VMware Workstation…
Your Hyper-V virtual machines can continue running normally while Hyper-V Manager shows an empty host, refuses to connect, or reports that an object could not be found. When the guests are still reachable through SSH, RDP or their hosted services,…
Node-RED home automation has become one of the key systems behind Realm Labs. It provides a visual way to connect Home Assistant, MQTT and physical hardware without forcing every automation to live on the same device. The project began with…
Every growing homelab reaches a point where remembering IP addresses, port numbers, and service URLs becomes a chore. If you are new to container management, my Docker and Portainer homelab guide provides the foundation for this setup. While browser bookmarks…
Proxmox VE gives a home lab two useful ways to run workloads: full virtual machines with their own kernels, and lightweight Linux Containers that share the Proxmox host kernel. Choosing the right one—and configuring storage, networking and drivers correctly—matters more…
Proxmox VE is the platform that turned a repurposed compact PC into the main virtualisation host for Realm Labs. The host is a Shuttle DS81 named QuanChi. It is not enterprise server hardware and it was never intended to be.…
Home Assistant Container NAS storage solves a simple problem in Realm Labs: the container itself can remain disposable while the important configuration stays persistent, visible and easy to back up. Home Assistant Container runs through Portainer on the Synology infrastructure,…
A Tuya Home Assistant automation is a useful way to bring inexpensive Smart Life and Tuya devices into the same system as the rest of a smart home. Instead of opening a separate manufacturer app, the device can appear on…
Deploy a reliable Windows desktop wallpaper with Group Policy, PowerShell and local caching from a central network share, with practical troubleshooting steps.