Homelab online · always learning
17-year-old building enterprise infrastructure at home.
I’m Rushi Patel. I turn donated hardware into real systems—then keep learning until I understand every layer.
01 About
My homelab started with two Dell OptiPlex desktops donated by my electronics teacher, a retired Salesforce engineer. Another teacher later gave me a Dell PowerEdge T440.
I taught myself Proxmox, turned the three machines into a virtualization cluster, and kept following every new question down another layer—switching, identity, WiFi authentication, automation, remote access, monitoring.
Now I’m studying networking with Cisco Packet Tracer on a CCNA track. I want to work in network, cloud, or infrastructure engineering: the part of technology that makes everything else possible.
I’m also my family’s unofficial IT department. That means the lab is more than a sandbox; it supports people who notice when something doesn’t work.
02 The homelab
This is where I test ideas, break things safely, rebuild them properly, and learn how each infrastructure layer affects the next.
Interactive rack
Every numbered marker is clickable. Select one to see what it is, what it runs, and how it fits into the lab.
Not pictured: the Dell PowerEdge T440—my third Proxmox node with iDRAC—and the three ceiling-mounted Omada access points.
Select a numbered marker for details. Network coordinates and device identifiers stay private.
Compute + virtualization
My Proxmox VE environment combines two Dell OptiPlex nodes with a Dell PowerEdge T440. The T440 adds iDRAC out-of-band management, and the cluster runs a growing fleet of virtual machines and LXC containers.
Network
TP-Link Omada ties together the gateway, managed switches, and three ceiling-mounted access points. Segmented VLANs separate management, servers, home devices, and IoT. A Cisco SG300-10 gives me a dedicated place to practice enterprise switching.
Identity + security
A Windows Server domain controller runs Active Directory and NPS RADIUS. Trusted WiFi devices authenticate with WPA2-Enterprise 802.1X, while IoT devices use per-device PPSK keys. AdGuard Home filters DNS, and Tailscale provides remote access with zero exposed ports.
Self-hosted services
The lab runs the tools my family and I actually use: Home Assistant, AdGuard Home, MeshCentral, Stirling PDF, the Omada controller, a Tailscale subnet router, and custom automation containers.
Voice
A MagicJack line and Cisco enterprise IP phone are part of the lab today. SIP integration is on the roadmap as I keep exploring voice infrastructure.
03 Selected projects
Each project starts with a real problem, then becomes an excuse to learn the stack underneath it.
Home automation / computer vision
I built a Python and AppDaemon automation that turns Spotify album art into live room lighting—fast enough to change the moment the track does.
Each cover is split into quadrants. PIL extracts a dominant vibrant color from each one, while Gaussian blur creates smoother, Apple Music-style gradient blending. Four lights per room update in parallel with threading and zero-transition changes.
Two instances run independently in the theater room and bedroom. The logic also handles dark covers and true color-temperature whites instead of forcing every frame into RGB.
Data pipeline / self-hosting
Every weekday at 8:55 AM ET, a dedicated LXC container builds the market context I want on screen before the 9:30 open.
The pipeline pulls 90 days of data and scans roughly 180 tickers. It calculates excess return against SPY, QQQ, ES, and NQ across 1-, 5-, and 20-day windows, plus relative volume, premarket gaps, overnight futures moves, and implied opens.
It publishes a dark-mode HTML dashboard on my LAN. Cron schedules the scan, while systemd keeps the dashboard available. The output is analysis only—not trade execution or advice.
Synthetic sample values · informational tooling, not financial advice.
Network operations / ongoing
A 60+ client network gets complicated quickly. I’m building a repeatable process to identify unknown devices and keep the network mapped and secure.
I combine MAC OUI analysis, DNS query-log fingerprinting through AdGuard, port scans, and process-level tracing. One signal rarely tells the whole story; correlating several of them usually does.
This is an ongoing operational project, not a one-time inventory. As devices change, the map and identification process evolve with them.
In development / iOS concept
I’m designing an iOS concept that explores how iPhone LiDAR scans could help visualize residential Wi-Fi coverage and plan mesh node placement.
The proposed experience turns a scan of a home’s layout into an estimated coverage heat map, then helps users explore placement options without tying recommendations to a specific networking vendor.
This project is still in the design and validation stage. The scanning workflow, coverage model, and placement guidance are planned capabilities—not a finished product.
04 Family IT
I build, fix, secure, and remotely support the technology my family uses every day. It’s real operational experience: the systems have users, and those users expect them to work.
I use MeshCentral to diagnose and fix family devices without needing to be in the same room—or the same place.
New computers, phones, printers, updates, backups, and the inevitable ‘why did this stop working?’
I maintain the network, segmentation, access controls, and secure remote access that keep everyone connected.
AdGuard Home filters ads and noisy domains across the house without configuring every device individually.
I connect and automate lights, sensors, and routines through Home Assistant while keeping local control central.
These are services people depend on every day, so monitoring, maintenance, and recovery are part of the job.
Operational mindset: keep the services people rely on available, maintained, and recoverable around the clock.
05 Roadmap
The lab is never really finished. That’s the point.
Faster links between the three hypervisor nodes.
Deepening the networking fundamentals I practice in the lab.
More analysis and better context while keeping the workflow focused.
Smarter automations that understand network boundaries.
Designing and validating a vendor-neutral iOS concept for residential coverage and mesh placement.
06 Contact
Open to learning + opportunitiesI’m interested in internships, college opportunities, and conversations with people building reliable networks, cloud platforms, and infrastructure.