Virtual Homelab Journey
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Hey ITPro peeps!
I was wondering if it would be kosher for me to create a thread here in the general section about my journey with a brand new virtual lab? I'll be starting fresh with a used SFF Dell Optiplex 7040 and juicing it up with a ton of RAM and a 1TB SSD, installing Server 2022 and try to setup a small/medium business with DNS/DHCP, AD etc. I would love to hear peoples feedback on what choices I make and help with any issues I encounter.
If this isn't the place then maybe I'll look at starting a blog website haha
Thanks everyone!
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@Andrew-Despres I think that is a great idea. I would be interested in that journey, and I have a suspicion that others would as well!
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I have an SFF Optiplex 9020 refurb under my desk right now.
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One thing @Andrew-Despres that I would keep in mind is that Dell uses proprietary motherboard form factors sometimes. This is not a problem as all of the components that connect to the motherboard are standardized, just keep that in mind. Another great thing about these machines is that the parts for them are widely available. I used to support Optiplex 720s, 745s and 980s at one point.
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Thanks for the nod of approval @wes-bryan!
Yes, I am quite familar with the Optiplex line. I used them exclusively at an IT technician for a school division as my previous role. It was only in my last year they made the switch over to the HP SFF desktops. Both had fairly common PSU issues. Drivers on the HPs were much worse to deal with overall haha.
I will start a new thread for this journey after I do some planning the first couple "milestones" and I get the Optiplex up and running.
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For those interested in @Andrew-Despres 's build, please follow and comment in the following thread!
https://forums.acilearning.com/topic/4515/home-lab-for-skills-buidling