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My Raspberry Pi home lab: the K3s cluster hardware I actually run
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Igor DevOps profile picture
Igor DevOps
I'm a DevSecOps engineer and I self-host most of my projects at home on a Raspberry Pi K3s cluster, exposed through Cloudflare Tunnel. This is the exact hardware running my lab right now: compute, storage, networking and cooling. Ask me anything abou...
Sections
4
 
Compute: The nodes running my K3s cluster.
 
Storage & backups
 
Networking
 
Cooling & cases

Compute: The nodes running my K3s cluster.

 
Igor DevOps profile picture
The main node of my K3s cluster. Noticeably faster than the Pi 4, and it hosts my live websites behind Cloudflare Tunnel.
Raspberry Pi 5 8GB
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Igor DevOps profile picture
One cable from my laptop to monitor, Ethernet and USB. Reliable and stays cool, unlike the cheap no-name hubs I've burned through.
USB C Hub | UGREEN EU
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Igor DevOps profile picture
I've standardized on UGREEN cables for my desk and my install bag. Solid build, they last, and they don't randomly drop connection.
UGREEN Cables for USB-C, Lightning, HDMI and More
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Igor DevOps profile picture
A simple 2-bay NAS for backups from my home lab. Easy to set up, quiet, and a good alternative if you don't want to build your own storage server.
UGREEN NASync DH2300
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Igor DevOps profile picture
Still a solid K3s worker next to the Pi 5. Get the 8GB version if you plan to run containers.
Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 8GB Single Board PC
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Storage & backups

 
Igor DevOps profile picture
Fast and runs cool. Moving 24/7 workloads off microSD cards is the best reliability upgrade you can make.
Samsung 990 Evo Plus 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD
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Rugged portable SSD for backups and moving images between machines. Survives being thrown in a bag.
Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield 1TB USB 3.2
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Networking

 
Igor DevOps profile picture
I've worked with UniFi for years. Set it up once in the controller and forget about it.
UBIQUITI UniFI UAP-AC-PRO
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Igor DevOps profile picture
Cheap way to get 2.5G on a laptop when moving big files to the NAS.
UGREEN USB C Ethernet Adapter 2.5G
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Igor DevOps profile picture
MikroTik gives you full control for very little money; RouterOS is a must-learn for anyone into networking.
MikroTik hAP ax2 US Version (C52iG-5HaxD2HaxD-TC-US)
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Cooling & cases

 
Igor DevOps profile picture
Cheap must-have for the Pi 4. Stops thermal throttling when it runs 24/7.
ITSTUFF Aluminum Heatsink Set of 4 Black
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Igor DevOps profile picture
Keeps the Pi 5 cool under constant load without being loud. Good value.
Raspberry Pi 5 Case w/ Fan, Heatsink, Control
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