Home Network & Automation Lab

The HomeLab

A hands-on infrastructure lab built to develop real-world skills in networking, automation, and Linux administration. Every component is documented, version controlled, and intentionally built.

Current Topology

Internet
    │
ISP Gateway
    │
Cisco 1941 Router
    │
802.1Q Trunk
    │
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Switch
    │
    ├── VLAN 10  CLIENTS
    ├── VLAN 20  SERVERS
    └── VLAN 99  MANAGEMENT

Raspberry Pi 4  ── Automation Host
Shelly Smart Plug  ── Lab Power Control

Builds

Projects

Network Automation

Complete

Automated Cisco configuration backups using Python and Netmiko. Timestamped backup files stored on external SSD with credentials separated from source code.

Python Netmiko Cisco IOS Git

Multi-VLAN Network

Complete

Designed and deployed a segmented network with VLANs for clients, servers, and management. Router-on-a-stick inter-VLAN routing with PAT for internet access.

VLANs 802.1Q NAT/PAT DHCP

Lab Power Control

Complete

Shelly smart plug integration for remote lab power management. Python CLI controller with on/off/status commands and live power metrics via REST API.

Python REST API Shelly

Monitoring Stack

Complete

Grafana + InfluxDB monitoring stack deployed via Docker. Collects power metrics from Shelly plug and system stats from the Raspberry Pi. Accessible remotely via Cloudflare Tunnel.

Docker Grafana InfluxDB Cloudflare

Minecraft Server

Planned

Self-hosted Minecraft server on the Raspberry Pi via Docker. Persistent world storage on external SSD.

Docker Linux

NAS / File Server

Planned

Network attached storage with SMB shares, backup destination, and Docker service hosting. Targeting a dedicated NAS device.

NAS SMB Storage

Hardware & Software

The Stack

Networking

  • Cisco 1941 Router
  • Cisco Catalyst 2960-X Switch
  • Cisco Catalyst 3750
  • Cisco Catalyst 3560

Compute

  • Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB)
  • Mini PC firewall — planned

Storage

  • 2TB SATA SSD
  • NAS — planned

Services

  • Grafana
  • InfluxDB
  • Cloudflare Tunnel
  • Minecraft Server

Interactive

NetQuiz

Test your networking knowledge. Questions cover subnetting, VLANs, Cisco IOS, and more.

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